Jorg Feldman Wins 2015 European Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry
The 2015 European Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry was awarded to Jorg Feldman of the University of Aberdeen (Aberdeen, Scotland) at the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry in Münster in February. The prize promotes analytical plasma spectrochemical developments and applications in Europe, and is awarded for a single outstanding piece of work, or for continued important contributions in the field.
This award provides an opportunity for researchers working in European labs to promote their work by delivering the opening lecture at the conference. The winner also receives a cash prize of EUR 5000, coverage of the usual costs for participating at the European Winter Conference, and a trip to Japan to attend a scientific event or seminar.
Feldman’s research interests include understanding environmental and metabolic processes at the molecular level, in particular if the molecules contain an element heavier than mass 30.
Best of the Week: National Space Day, Battery Analysis
May 2nd 2025Top articles published this week include interviews from our National Space Day content series, a news story about satellite-based spectroscopy, and an interview about battery analysis conducted at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Using Spectroscopy to Measure Geochemical Transformations of Gypsum for Ca-Sulfate Detection on Mars
May 2nd 2025Research was conducted exploring the dehydration pathways of gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O) and its interactions with chloride (Cl) salts under a range of thermal and environmental conditions relevant to Earth and Mars.Spectroscopy spoke to Merve Yeşilbaş, corresponding author of a paper based on this work (1), about the research.
The Role of LIBS in ChemCam and SuperCam: An Interview with Kelsey Williams, Part III
May 2nd 2025In this extended Q&A interview, we sit down with Kelsey Williams, a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), who is working on planetary instrumentation using spectroscopic techniques such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser ablation molecular isotopic spectrometry (LAMIS). In Part III, Williams goes into detail about ChemCam and SuperCam and how LIBS is used in both these instruments.
