ADInstruments is an international company that produces data acquisition

Data acquisition

Data acquisition is the process of sampling signals that measure real world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer. Data acquisition systems typically convert analog waveforms into digital values for processing...

 and analysis systems for the life science industry. It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia and has more than 160 staff worldwide. Voted a finalist in JRA's Top 10 Best Place to work in 2009 and 2010. ADInstruments partners with several producers of life science equipment, including Transonic Systems Inc., Danish Myo Technology, Telemetry Research Ltd., Radnoti Glass Technologies Inc., Panlab s.I. and Millar Instruments Ltd.

History

In 1985, the Physiology Department at New Zealand's University of Otago

University of Otago

The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

 encouraged the development of a computer-based data acquisition system to replace their paper-based systems. In 1985, as part of his Computer Science Masters at the university, Michael Macknight built the MacLab, one of the first analog to digital converters that connected to a Macintosh

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 computer.

Two software packages were then developed: Chart (chart-recorder software, now LabChart) and Scope (digital oscilloscope

Oscilloscope

An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...

 software), which provided software control of the recording unit as well as a range of display and analysis features:

• In 1988, business name was registered and the company began manufacturing Macintosh computer-based data acquisition systems for the life science research market.
• In 1996 the company's first Windows compatible data acquisition system was released. The Windows compatible MacLab data acquisition systems were branded as PowerLab.
• In 2005 the LabTutor software for education was released.

Sponsorship

The company provides grants, awards and sponsorship to students, researchers and educators in the life science industry:

Undergraduate

• The Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) presents awards to undergraduate neuroscience students.
• Prize for Human Structure and Function, for the highest aggregate mark in human structure and function subjects at the University of Newcastle
  University of Newcastle, Australia
  The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
  
   (Australia).
• Zoology Prize, awarded annually to a student of LaTrobe University (Australia) with the highest aggregate mark in the animal physiology stream of Zoology Honours

Educator

• The Technology Grant.
• Progressive Educator Award.
• The Innovation Technology grant has been offered since 2011

Award nomination

In 2008 the company was nominated for two Life Science Industry Awards:

• Best Sales Representative and
• Most Knowledgeable Technical Support.

External links

• BusinessWeek profile