From the Editor
Introduction to this month's issue by David Walsh.
As regular readers of Spectroscopy will know, the feature article in this year's August Buyers' Guide provided an in-depth analysis of the current state of the materials analysis market, and the conclusion (unfortunately) was that no, the spectroscopy market is not immune to the economic downturn that the U.S. economy is currently experiencing ("The Spectroscopy Market Hits a Bump in the Road," Lawrence S. Schmid).
David Walsh
However, amid the generally muted tone of the report were some bright spots and a definitively positive outlook for the future of the industry. And one thing that appears certain is that lasers and laser-based techniques will play an integral role in the eventual recovery of the spectroscopy market, with IR, NIR, and others trending upward. As always, Spectroscopy aims to lead the way in bringing readers the latest research on such cutting-edge techniques and methods, and this month is no exception, as evidenced by the feature, "Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Analysis of Aerosol Particles: The Path Toward Quantitative Analysis" by David W. Hahn. Here, further applications of LIBS are explored, with a novel application in the area of aerosol particle analysis. LIBS is associated to a large extent with areas such as homeland security research, itself a rapidly growing market segment, as seen in the June issue of Spectroscopy ("Current Status of Standoff LIBS Security Applications at the U.S. ARL," by DeLucia and colleagues), and this latest addition to the scientific literature only reaffirms the importance of this technique in the materials analysis community.
Look for more research on LIBS and other laser-based techniques in future issues of Spectroscopy, as upcoming issues will feature further installments of our "Lasers and Optics Interface" column, as well as additional laser-related content (see our October issue for LIBS analysis of complex samples such as paint, petroleum, and motor oil).
If there is a trend emerging in the field of materials analysis, you can bet our columnists and regular authors will be covering it, and LIBS research is just one example.
We hope you enjoy the issue.
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.
