At the November meeting of the New York–New Jersey Chapter of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy an attentive audience heard David Hopkins present his work on the effective use of derivatives in spectroscopy.

The October meeting of the New York–New Jersey chapter of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (NYSAS) drew a large crowd to hear a talk on three-dimensional (3D) printing and chemical imaging by Emil Ciurczak, a consultant on laboratory and process applications of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy.

The 2017 New York Society for Applied Spectroscopy Gold Medal Award was presented to Richard P. Van Duyne at the Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposition in Plainsboro, New Jersey on October 13.

A new nonprofit laboratory in Wilmington, Delaware, will provide laboratory space and access to experienced laboratory staff for entrepreneurs.

At the September 27, 2017, meeting of the New York–New Jersey chapter of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, Gene Hall, a professor of analytical chemistry at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, shared some of his recent work using Raman spectroscopy, mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC–TOF-MS) to analyze omega-3 fatty acid supplements marketed for pets.

David A. Bryce received the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) Barbara Stull Graduate Student Award at SciX 2017. The award recognizes a graduate student for outstanding research in spectroscopy. He also is the recipient of the 2017 Coblentz Society’s William G. Fately Student Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to vibrational spectroscopy during a current PhD program.

Nick Riley is the winner of the FACSS Student Award at SciX 2017. He earned his B.S. degree in chemistry and psychology from the University of South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina) with honors from the South Carolina Honors College, where he was a Robert C. McNair Scholar. He conducted undergraduate research in forensic analytical chemistry with Dr. Stephen L. Morgan and developed a fascination for the instrumentation he used while in the Morgan laboratory. 

John M. Cottle, a professor of earth science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has won the 2018 Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award, which is presented by Spectroscopy magazine.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, used the laboratory’s unique neutron-imaging and high-energy X-ray capabilities to expose the inner structures of the fossil skull of a 74-million-year-old tyrannosauroid dinosaur nicknamed “Bisti Beast.”

Agilent Technologies (Santa Clara, California) has acquired Cobalt Light Systems (Oxfordshire, United Kingdom), a provider of Raman spectroscopic instruments for the pharmaceutical industry, applied markets, and public safety.

Applications are invited for the 2018 Gordon F. Kirkbright Bursary Award. This prestigious award is given annually to enable a promising student or tenured young scientist of any nation to attend a recognized scientific meeting or visit a place of learning.

A major international center for scientific research in the Middle East, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), recently was inaugurated in Jordan.

Eurofins Scientific (Luxembourg), an international group of laboratories, has plans to establish a new pharmaceutical chemistry and microbiology facility in Livingston, Scotland.

The annual Spectroscopy salary survey investigated spectroscopy employment markets in 2017, and for the first time in three years our results indicated average salaries are on the rise (+2.7%).

ASTM’s committee on analytical chemistry for metals, ores, and related materials has developed a new method for analyzing the composition of aluminum and aluminum alloys.

Edward I. Solomon, Stanford University’s Monroe E. Spaght Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Photon Science at SLAC, has won the 2017 Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award.

Slobodan Sasic has won the 2017 Coblentz Society–Williams-Wright Award. He was presented with the award on Wednesday, March 8, at Pittcon 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.

Keith Nelson of MIT has won the 2017 Bomem-Michelson Award. Nelson was presented with the award on Tuesday, March 7, at Pittcon in Chicago, Illinois.

At the 2017 European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, held in St. Anton, Austria, February 19–24, several awards recognized the work of both young and seasoned atomic spectroscopists.

The International Centre for Diffraction Data has selected the recipients for the Ludo Frevel Crystallography Scholarship.

Spectroscopy magazine is pleased to announce the addition of Matthew Baker to its editorial advisory board.

Samuel W. Coleman, who is the owner of Colespec Solutions, has won the 2016 Award for Outstanding Achievements in Near-Infrared Spectroscopy from the Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS).

Gary Martin, who is a Senior Principal Scientist at Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey, has received the 2016 Award for Outstanding Achievements in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy from the Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS).

James G. Fujimoto, who is the Elihu Thomson Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), has received the 2016 EAS New York Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy Gold Medal Award.

At SciX 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy sponsored the special session “Analytical Chemists Easing World Poverty.” This session was founded in 2011 by SAS Past-President Diane Parry to highlight unmet measurement needs in developing nations. With the support of sponsors like the SAS, Spectroscopy magazine, and ChromAfrica, it has evolved into a popular session that examines a variety of topics ranging from technical solutions to instrumentation problems to cultural challenges of Westerners working in developing nations.

In the United States, a lack of qualified candidates for jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) underscores an urgent need for educators to find ways to draw students into these areas of study.

The 2016 annual meeting of the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC), taking place September 18–21 in Dallas, Texas, will include scientific sessions discussing the use of spectroscopy and mass spectrometry techniques in the analysis of food, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals.