Spectroscopy's Silver Anniversary
They certainly were correct when they said, "Timing is everything" (whoever "they" are). As fate would have it, this is actually the second 25th anniversary issue that I have introduced, as I was lucky enough to be in my current position when LCGC North America celebrated its 25th anniversary way back in 2007.
They certainly were correct when they said, "Timing is everything" (whoever "they" are). As fate would have it, this is actually the second 25th anniversary issue that I have introduced, as I was lucky enough to be in my current position when LCGC North America celebrated its 25th anniversary way back in 2007. I found myself thinking about this fact a great deal as I read through the great retrospective articles in this issue by Spectroscopy veteran Howard Mark ("Milestones in Spectroscopy") and long-time Spectroscopy editor Mike MacRae ("Spectroscopy Uncensored: An Insider's Story of the First 15 years").
David Walsh
With all of the great minds and unbelievably dedicated people who have come and gone and made such long-lasting contributions to these publications, the chances that I would be here for such a monumental milestone in the history of not only LCGC, but now Spectroscopy, is certainly a humbling honor. Sir Isaac Newton knew of which he spoke when he talked about "Standing on the shoulders of giants."
So now we find ourselves in this, the 25th anniversary issue of Spectroscopy, and perhaps even more than most issues, this is truly an issue for you, the reader. It is no secret that Spectroscopy has some of the most loyal and dedicated readers in the industry, and I'm betting that more than a few of you will enjoy the wistful nostalgia evoked by Mike MacRae's trip down memory lane ("Spectroscopy Uncensored: An Insider's Story of the First 15 Years"). For as is the case with most good pieces of writing, in the process of telling us one thing (in this case, the history of Spectroscopy), he ends up telling us something about ourselves in the process. A story about Spectroscopy's first editor-in-chief or the staff in the early 1990s not only reminds us of the beginnings of a great publication, it also reminds us of where we were and what we were doing at a certain place in time. It reminds us of people we knew and places we visited.
Personally, I got an immense kick out of seeing some of the people I've come to know in recent years as much younger men and women in Mike's photo collection, and I think many of you will, too. In short, this is an issue for remembering and celebrating the first 25 years of a very special publication, and I hope you will enjoy reading the issue as much as we at Spectroscopy enjoyed putting it together and writing it for you.
David Walsh
Editor-in-Chief
Your Guide to the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry
February 27th 2025The 20th European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry (EWCPS 2025) is scheduled to take place from March 2 to 7, 2025, in Berlin, Germany. Here, we provide a conference insider regarding what spectroscopists should consider checking out, as well as the topics that will be discussed at the conference.
IoT-based Spectral Sensing Brings Real-Time Grape Ripeness Monitoring to Vineyards
February 26th 2025A team of researchers from the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) in Braga, Portugal, has developed an autonomous Internet of Things (IoT) spectral sensing system designed to monitor grape ripening in real-time. The study, led by Hugo M. Oliveira, Alessio Tugnolo, Natacha Fontes, Carlos Marques, and Álvaro Geraldes, was published in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and introduces a novel approach to non-destructive, in-situ optical monitoring of grape maturity.
Pittcon 2025: Highlighting Talks on Atomic Spectroscopy
February 26th 2025At Pittcon this year, there will be numerous sessions dedicated to spotlighting the latest research that uses atomic spectroscopy or elemental analysis techniques. We highlight some of these talks below that might pique the interest of spectroscopists and researchers attending the conference this year.
