JAAS News

We are delighted to announce Thibaut Van Acker as the recipient of the JAAS Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2024. This Lectureship aims to recognise and support an emerging scientist working in the area of atomic spectrometry in the early stages of their independent career.

Introducing Thibaut Van Acker, Ghent University, Belgium:

Dr Thibaut Van Acker

Thibaut Van Acker is a postdoctoral research fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) in the Atomic & Mass Spectrometry – A&MS research unit of Ghent University, led by Prof. Frank Vanhaecke, and a visiting postdoctoral researcher at The Günther Group – Trace Element and Micro Analysis group (ETH Zürich). His research is focused on both fundamental aspects of laser ablation – ICP-mass spectrometry and analytical method development to explore the capabilities of the technique for high spatial resolution elemental mapping applications in challenging interdisciplinary contexts. Based on a number of hardware improvements, Thibaut has brought elemental mapping – i.e. the revelation of the 2- and even 3-dimensional distribution of elements across a sample – to another level. This can currently be accomplished at a pixel acquisition rate up to 1,000 Hz and a laser spot size down to 1 μm. So far, Thibaut is (co-)author of 32 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and his work has been presented in > 70 lectures and posters on international conferences.

He was awarded the 2023 European Rising Star Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry at the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia and recently, organized the 16th edition of the European Workshop on Laser Ablation (EWLA) in Ghent, Belgium with over 190 participants from 26 different countries worldwide.

We are delighted to announce Benjamin T. Manard as the recipient of the JAAS Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2023. This Lectureship aims to recognise and support an emerging scientist working in the area of atomic spectrometry in the early stages of their independent career.

Introducing Benjamin T. Manard, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA:

Dr Benjamin T. Manard

Benjamin T. Manard received a B.S. in Chemistry from Georgia Southern University (2009) and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Clemson University (2014) under Professor R. Kenneth Marcus. After graduation, Ben was a Glenn T. Seaborg Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) before transitioning into a Staff Scientist position. While at LANL, his research focus was on utilizing atomic spectroscopy for the analysis of bulk special nuclear materials (SNM). In 2018 Ben began working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) within the Chemical and Isotopic Mass Spectrometry Group. Since joining ORNL, Ben has led efforts directed toward developing analytical methodologies in elemental/isotopic analysis by utilizing unique sampling mechanisms (e.g. laser ablation, single particle, and microextraction) and novel detection strategies (e.g. collision/reaction cell) to tackle challenging problems related to national security, advanced energy generation, biosciences, and environmental applications.

Ben has authored over 50 journal articles, been featured on 9 journal covers, authored 1 book chapter, and has received recognitions including The Department of Energy Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award and The Analytical Scientist’s Top 40 Under 40 Power List. Additionally, he is on the Governing Board for The Society for Applied Spectroscopy and Editorial board of Applied Spectroscopy Practica.

We are delighted to announce Alexander Gundlach-Graham as the recipient of the JAAS Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2022. This Lectureship aims to recognise and support an emerging scientist working in the area of atomic spectrometry in the early stages of their independent career.

Introducing Alexander Gundlach-Graham, Iowa State University, USA:

Alexander Gundlach-Graham is an assistant professor of chemistry at Iowa State University (ISU). Research in the Gundlach-Graham group focuses on the development and application of single particle inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (spICP-TOFMS), as well as the investigation of novel plasma-source MS designs.

Alex received a B.A. in chemistry from Earlham College in 2008 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Indiana University under the supervision of Prof. Gary Hieftje in 2013. Following his doctoral studies, Alex joined the group of Prof. Detlef Günther at ETH Zurich as a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow. In 2018, Alex received the Ambizione award from the Swiss National Science Foundation to pursue research on spICP-TOFMS. Alex joined the faculty of ISU in August 2019.

In his career, Alex’s research has focused on atomic mass spectrometry, with significant contributions to the development of distance-of-flight mass spectrometry and quantitative elemental imaging by laser ablation ICP-TOFMS, in addition to spICP-TOFMS analysis. He has authored 37 peer-reviewed papers, one book chapter, and delivered over 20 invited lectures. Alex’s work has led to several awards, including the Ron Hites Award for best paper in the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry in 2013 and the Swiss Association for Spectrometry Award in 2018.

We are delighted to announce we are welcoming nominations for the next JAAS Emerging Investigator Lectureship. The lectureship is awarded to recognise and support an emerging scientist working in the area of atomic spectrometry in the early stages of their independent career. Submission deadline 31st July 2022.

Lectureship details
The recipient of the lectureship will present their research at a relevant high-profile international meeting (to be agreed with the Editorial Office) and receive a contribution of £2000 to cover associated travel and accommodation costs. They will be awarded a certificate and asked to contribute a Primary Research or Review Article to JAAS.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the JAAS Lectureship, the candidate must:

• Have completed their PhD
• Have published in JAAS
• Be working in a research area within the scope of JAAS
• Be at an early stage of their independent career (typically this will be within 10 years of completing their PhD, but appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break or followed a different study path). Please contact the Editorial Office if you have any queries

Nominations

Nominations can be made by anyone and must be sent via email. Self-nominations are not permitted. All nominators will be asked to confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, their nominee’s professional standing is such that there is no confirmed or potential impediment to them receiving the Lectureship.

To nominate a candidate, please provide:

• A recommendation letter, including the name, contact details and website URL of the nominee
• A one-page CV for the nominee, including their date of birth, summary of education and career, a list of up to five of their top independent publications, total numbers of publications
• A one-page statement of achievement with a lay summary, written by the nominee describing their best accomplishments
• A supporting letter of recommendation from an independent referee. This could be for example the nominee’s post doc or PhD supervisor.

Selection

The Editorial Office will screen each nomination for eligibility and draw up a shortlist of candidates based on the nomination documents provided. The lectureship winner will be selected by the JAAS Editorial Board based on the originality, quality, impact and significance of the candidate’s research, as highlighted in their nomination.

Submit a nomination
To make a nomination please send the Editorial Office the requested documents by 31st July 2022.

For any queries, please contact the Editorial Office at jaas-rsc@rsc.org.

We are delighted to announce Jacob T. Shelley as the recipient of the JAAS Emerging Investigator Lectureship 2021. This Lectureship aims to recognise and support an emerging scientist working in the area of atomic spectrometry in the early stages of their independent career.

Introducing Jacob T. Shelley, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA:

Jacob (Jake) Shelley, Alan Paul Schulz Career Development Professor of Chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Northern Arizona University. He completed his Ph.D. at Indiana University under Gary Hieftje where he studied novel plasma ionization sources for molecular mass spectrometry.  Jake did postdoctoral research with Graham Cooks at Purdue University developing portable mass spectrometers capable of in situ analyses.  After another post-doc at the University of Münster, he became Assistant Professor at Kent State University and later moved to RPI in 2016.

His research interests lie in the development of new hardware and software tools for mass spectrometry, which enable rapid, sensitive detection and identification of analytes in complex matrices.  In addition, his research group uses high-energy plasma-generated species to perform unique gas-phase synthesis.  These research areas converge in studying chemical origins-of-life through the Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education (RARE) Center, where he is the Associate Director.

Jake’s recognitions include a Humboldt Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Bunsen-Kirchoff Award (2017), The Analytical Scientist’s Top 40 Under 40 Power List, Spectroscopy’s 2020 Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award, and 2021 EAS Young Investigator Award.  He’s authored 45 journal articles, 4 issued US patents, and given 50+ invited presentations worldwide.

We are delighted to announce we are welcoming nominations for the next JAAS Emerging Investigator Lectureship. The lectureship is awarded to recognise and support an emerging scientist working in the area of atomic spectrometry in the early stages of their independent career. You can read about the previous winner here.

Lectureship details
The recipient of the lectureship will present their research at a relevant high-profile international meeting (to be agreed with the Editorial Office) and receive a contribution of £2000 to cover associated travel and accommodation costs. They will be awarded a certificate and asked to contribute a Primary Research or Review Article to JAAS.

Eligibility
The lectureship is open worldwide to researchers working in atomic spectrometry within the scope of JAAS who are at an early stage of their independent career. The nominee has to be under ten years* from gaining their PhD. (*Appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break or followed a different study path.) The nominee should also have a level of engagement with the journal JAAS and be a published author in it.

Nominations
Nominations must be received by the Editorial Office by January 31^st 2021; researchers cannot nominate themselves and members of the Editorial Board judging panel are not eligible to receive the lectureship.
Nominations must include:
• A letter of recommendation (max. 2 pages), including achievements and evidence of research independence of the nominee. Please indicate if the nomination is for a series of contributions to the field or a single key piece of high impact work
• A completed JAAS Emerging Investigator nomination form (please request a form from the office.)

Selection

The Editorial Office will screen each nomination for eligibility and draw up a shortlist of candidates based on the nomination documents provided. The lectureship winner will be selected by the JAAS Editorial Board based on the originality, quality, impact and significance of the candidate’s research, as highlighted in their nomination.

Submit a nomination
To make a nomination please send the Editorial Office a letter of recommendation, and a completed nomination form no later than January 31^st 2021.

For any queries, please contact the Editorial Office at jaas-rsc@rsc.org.