JAAS News

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!

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 up to £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 and those who hold a senior permanent position are not eligible for the award. (*Appropriate consideration will be given to those who have taken a career break or followed a different study path.)

Nominations

Nominations must be received by the Editorial Office by February 1st 2018; 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, including achievements and evidence of research independence of the nominee
• A brief biography of the nominee, including a summary of education and career
• A list of relevant publications, highlighting those of particular significance as judged by the nominator

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, nominee biography and publication list no later than February 1st 2018.

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

Two JAAS poster prizes were given out at the Tsukuba Seminar 2017, organised by the discussion group for Plasmaspectrochemistry. The two day seminar had a focused on fundamental and recent developments of ICP analysis and had speakers from universities, national institutes and industry.

Ms. Misaki Baba (Tokyo Institute of Technology) won one of the awards for her poster titled  “Measurement of reactive species in atmospheric low temperature plasma for applying to analytical and medical field”. The other winner was Mr. Koyo Ido (Tokyo Denki University and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) with his poster “Highly Sensitive Determination of Rb by Cool Plasma ICP-OES”.

The awards were presented by Professor Takafumi Hirata (University of Tokyo, President of the discussion group for Plasmaspectrochemistry, JAAS Editorial Board) and Dr. Hiromitsu Urakami (RSC Japan).

From left to right: Prof. Takafumi Hirata, Ms. Misaki Baba, Mr. Koyo Ido and Dr Hiromitsu Urakami

Congratulations to both winners!