The Lester W. Strock Award is given by the New England Section of the Society of Applied Spectroscopy in recognition of a selected publication of substantive research in/or application of analytical atomic spectrochemistry in the fields of earth science, life sciences, or stellar and cosmic sciences.
This year’s winner is none other than former JAAS Editorial Board Chair, and current Advisory Board Member, Frank Vanhaecke.
Frank received a PhD from Ghent University (Belgium) in 1992. Currently, he is Senior Full Professor in Analytical Chemistry at Ghent University, where he leads the ‘Atomic & Mass Spectrometry – A&MS’ research group that is specialized in the determination, speciation and isotopic analysis of (trace) elements via ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). His group studies fundamentally-oriented aspects of the technique and develops methods for solving challenging scientific problems in an interdisciplinary context.
Nowadays, specific topics of research include the direct bulk and spatially resolved analysis (including depth profiling and 2- and 3-dimensional elemental mapping) of solid materials by means of ICP-MS using laser ablation (LA) for sample introduction, the development of speciation strategies based on HPLC-ICP-MS for ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) studies in cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry and isotopic analysis using multi-collector ICP-MS. Methods for high-precision isotopic analysis are developed for applications in, among other, the fields of archaeometry, geo- and cosmochemistry and medicine (“isotopic diagnosis”).
So far, Frank’s scientific research has resulted in ca. 350 publications in peer-reviewed journals with over 8000 citations, resulting in an h-factor of 45 (according to ISI’s Web of Science). Frank received a ‘European Plasma Spectrochemistry Award’ for his group’s contributions to this research field. In 2013, he was designated ‘Fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy – SAS’.
Congratulations Frank!
