Will Wetzel

In this tutorial article, we review the latest in microplastic analysis, highlighting the techniques that have been frequently used in this space and where they have been most effective.

Validated green ICP-OES/ICP-MS workflow quantifies 25 toxic metals in wastewater at trace levels, guiding labs on tiered monitoring and compliance.

A recent study demonstrated that Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy combined with chemometric modeling can accurately quantify ethanol in beer.

In this article, we highlight some of the important talks on atomic spectroscopy that will take place at Pittcon on Sunday March 8th.

Top articles published this week include a look at the top 10 applications of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in biopharmaceutical analysis, an interview about the current trends in spectroscopy, and an inside look at handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrumentation.

Spectroscopists are routinely embracing complex algorithms to handle high-dimensional, nonlinear, and multimodal data. Why is this happening? We explore this question in this tutorial.

How are ICP-MS and ICP-OES revealing heavy-metal trends in pet food? In this short tutorial, we explain how these techniques have been tracking pet food trends, and what owners can do in response to these trends.

A study published in Food Control shows that near-infrared spectroscopy can accurately and non-destructively authenticate the feeding regime of purebred Iberian pigs in vivo.

In an upcoming “Pathways in Spectroscopy,” episode, John Margeson of Thermo Fisher Scientific will discuss what it is like to work as a product manager for a major scientific instrument company.

A study in the Journal of Environmental Management shows that wastewater treatment plants in coastal Catalonia remove most microplastics but still release tens of billions of particles annually, with emissions peaking during warmer, tourism-heavy months due to environmental and population-driven pressures.

This dynamic video from the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry reveal 2026 trends in plasma MS, imaging, and clinical analysis.

In an interview recapping the Photonics West Conference, which took place in San Francisco, California in January, Alexis Hobl of CEA-Leti sat down with Spectroscopy to discuss his work integrating quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) with silicon photonic platforms and how it is evolving mid-infrared (MIR) photonics.

Part 2 of our conversation with John Margeson focuses on how Thermo Scientific’s Niton handheld XRF analyzers are engineered to meet the demanding needs of high-volume scrap recycling.

In this video, we preview an upcoming two-part episode of Pathways in Spectroscopy.

If you have downtime at Pittcon 2026, here is how you should spend that time.

In this interview segment, Kelly Elkins and Jaden Force of Towson University focus to the challenges forensic scientists face, including how to position themselves for a career in this field.

A study from the İzmir Institute of Technology published in Food Chemistry shows that combining FT-IR spectroscopy with chemometric modeling enables rapid, non-invasive screening of iron supplements and protein–iron complexes for their ability to restore cellular iron status in iron deficiency anemia models.

In a recent interview, we sat down with Kelly Elkins, a Professor of Chemistry at Towson University and Jaden Force, a Graduate Research Assistant at Towson University, to talk about the state of forensics and how they apply spectroscopic techniques in their research.

Top articles published this week include several interviews from our ongoing coverage of the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Conference.

Tucson was a great host city for the 2026 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, but there are other cities that make sense to host future iterations of this conference. Here are our top five suggestions.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst demonstrated that X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy combined with chemometric modeling can provide a rapid, minimally destructive, and accurate alternative to traditional methods for routine arsenic quantification in rice and rice-based foods.

A new review article explores how integrating artificial intelligence (AI) with established analytical techniques such as spectroscopy, chromatography, mass spectrometry (MS), and sensors is significantly improving the efficiency, accuracy, and scope of food chemistry research and food quality assessment.

In this article, we look at the five major reasons why San Antonio is set to be a perfect host city for Pittcon this year.

A recent study shows that handheld near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with artificial neural networks can rapidly and non-destructively distinguish human from animal bones with high accuracy, offering a practical new tool for on-site forensic investigations.

A recent study demonstrated that combining laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) with machine learning (ML) can accurately identify gunshot residue from nontoxic ammunition and reliably distinguish shooters from non-shooters despite the absence of traditional elemental markers.

The 12th Nordic Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry and Ionization Principles in Mass Spectrometry will take place from June 14–18, 2026, in Loen, Norway. We preview the conference here.

Discover insights from Tom Spudich on forensic science advancements and challenges as AAFS 2026 approaches in New Orleans.

In Part III of our conversation with David Clases, we discuss how optical trapping better enables polymer identification via Raman spectroscopy, and where ICP-MS research is heading in the future.

In this interview previewing the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS 2026), Conference, Spectroscopy sat down with James Cizdziel of the University of Mississippi to discuss the state of forensic analysis.

In an exclusive interview with Spectroscopy, John Margeson, a Product Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific in the company’s Tewksbury headquarters, discusses the current state of handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrumentation.