Advancing Spectroscopy: An EAS Interview with Curtis Marcott

At the Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS) in Plainsboro, New Jersey, Spectroscopy sat down with Curtis Marcott to discuss his beginnings in studying spectroscopy, his career in companies like The Proctor & Gamble Company and Light Light Solutions, and why he believes the field of study to be so important.

Marcott is the 2023 recipient of the NY/NJ Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy Gold Medal Award. He is a Senior Partner at Light Light Solutions LLC, a spectroscopic consulting firm. He received a B.S. in math and chemistry at Concordia College and his PhD from University of Minnesota. Following his PhD, he joined The Procter & Gamble Company where he worked for over 28 years in the Optical Spectroscopy Laboratory and was named Research Fellow in 1997. Marcott joined Light Light Solutions LLC in 2008, where he contributed to a number of innovative developments in vibrational spectroscopy: vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), near-IR measurements of interfacial phase boundaries, 2D correlation spectroscopy, publication of the first polarization modulation grazing angle FT-IR measurements of monolayers on metals and the first FT-IR spectroscopic imaging measurements using a focal plane array (FPA). At Light Light Solutions, he played key roles in the commercialization of sub-diffraction IR spectroscopy using photothermal infrared (PTIR), including AFM-PTIR, optical PTIR (O-PTIR), and the simultaneous measurement of O-PTIR and Raman spectra.

Marcott has authored and co-authored more than 150 publications, given more than 650 presentations at national and international meetings. He is a past president of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and has served on numerous conference organizing committees and journal editorial advisory boards. For his work, Marcott received the 1993 Williams-Wright Award from the Coblentz Society for achievement in industrial vibrational spectroscopy and was named the 2001 Cincinnati Chemist of the Year. Marcott was previously Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Utah, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, Miami University, and is currently Affiliated Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware.

In this video interview conducted at EAS, Marcott answers the following questions:

1. Tell us about what you are doing here at EAS. (00:16–00:50)
2. What drew you to/what keeps you drawn to studying spectroscopy? (00:51–01:30)
3. What are some of the notable moments in your career? (01:31–03:27)
4. What does receiving the NY/NJ Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy Gold Medal Award mean to you? (03:28–03:56)
5. What are the next steps in your research? (03:57–04:47)

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