Authors
Alex Scheeline is a distinguished analytical chemist and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry, School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his BS in chemistry from Michigan State University in 1974 and his PhD in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1978, where he focused on analytical and physical chemistry. Shortly after his doctoral work, he completed a National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the National Bureau of Standards before beginning his academic career. He served as an assistant professor at the University of Iowa from 1979 to 1981, after which he joined the University of Illinois faculty, where he remained for several decades
Ian Ciesniewski is a Technical Director with Mettler-Toledo, in Columbus, Ohio. His work manages the Mass Metrology business in the USA, developing and delivering strategies for the scientific measurement market, including regulatory compliance for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and related industries.
Joshua Helms was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2000. He attended the University of Alabama as an undergraduate from 2018-2022 and graduated with a Bachelor of Chemistry degree with a minor in mathematics in May 2022. During his senior year, Joshua worked with Dr. Brad Pierce as an undergraduate research assistant. Afterwards, Joshua continued his education at the University of Alabama while working under Dr. Pierce to study the mechanisms of thiol dioxygenase enzymes using EPR spectroscopy and computational chemistry. Joshua earned his master’s degree in chemistry in December of 2024 and is on track to graduate with a Ph.D. in chemistry in May 2027. After graduating, Joshua intends on continuing his education to obtain a postdoctoral degree.
Claire Glynn is a professor of forensic science and director of the Graduate Certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy at the University of New Haven.
Martin Resano is a Coordinator of the Rapid Analysis Methods with Spectroscopic Techniques (MARTE) group and as part of the Aragon Institute for Engineering Research (I3A) at the University of Zaragoza. His research group works with inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and laser-assisted techniques to develop minimally invasive approaches for clinical analysis.
Sarah Theiner is a Sales Manager at Nu Instruments based out of Bozeman, Montana. Theiner’s research integrates laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), single-cell ICP-MS, and quantitative calibration strategies to address biological and clinical questions. Her research is designed to advance atomic spectroscopy as an effective platform for elemental and imaging-based studies. Theiner is most known for developing high-resolution imaging workflows using LA-ICP-time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (TOFMS) and multi-element analysis techniques for biological and clinical applications. She was Spectroscopy’s 2026 Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy awardee.
James Cizdziel is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Mississippi. Cizdziel earned his BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1991 and his PhD from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1998, with research interests spanning analytical, environmental, and forensic chemistry. His research group has developed new methods for studying microplastics, trace elements, mercury biogeochemistry, atmospheric sampling using UAVs, and forensic analysis of trace evidence, including from three-dimensional (3D)-printed firearms, and he has published more than 90 papers with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Education (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Urban Wünsch is an Assistant Professor in the thematic area Ocean at Chalmers University (Gothenburg, Sweden). His research focusses on dissolved organic matter spectroscopy and in-situ sensor technology. He is the author of drEEM, an open-source research software for data analysis of spectral absorbance and fluorescence data sets.
Angela Flack is a Product Manager, Spectroscopy & Analytical Instrumentation, at Edinburgh Instruments. She has been with Edinburgh Instruments since the launch of the company’s Raman product line in 2019. Starting in applications, she spent several years working directly with researchers to understand how Raman microscopy is really used in the lab. That hands-on experience now shapes her role as a product manager, where she helps drive the development of the Raman portfolio—including the multimodal RMS1000—ensuring it continues to meet the evolving needs of scientists.
Lucy Semerjian is a Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Science at the University of Sharjah in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Christina Macie Ryder is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for the Study of the First Americans in the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University. Her work develops and refines non-destructive screening methods to optimize sampling for radiocarbon, stable isotope, and paleoproteomic analyses, with applications to Late Pleistocene megafaunal and archaeological assemblages across North America, Eurasia, and Africa. She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder, where her dissertation, Saving Old Bones, established NIR spectroscopy as a predictive tool for evaluating collagen preservation in archaeological bone. At the Center for the Study of the First Americans, she leads NIR prescreening and radiocarbon sampling within a large-scale radiocarbon dating project investigating the timing of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions.
Yang Liu is a Scientific Liaison for General Chapters at the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). Dr. Liu graduated from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Chicago. He previously served as the Manager of Product Quality and Analytical Methods in the Digital and Innovation division at USP. During his tenure in the Digital and Innovation division, Liu was dedicated to evaluating emerging technologies and incorporating them into USP operations. He also led the development of digital products, including software and database creation. His focus was on advancing digital fluency and the application of digital technologies and solutions throughout the organization and for USP stakeholders. Currently, Liu is responsible for USP General Chapters development, including the spectroscopy technologies (such as UV, NIR, Raman, and NMR), process analytical technologies, and digital reference standard.
Karl Booksh is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware. His research interest is the development of in-situ chemical sensors for environmental, biomedical, and industrial process monitoring.