Although near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is not a particularly sensitive technique, it can be implemented with little or no sample preparation and thus is well suited to applications such as process monitoring, materials science, and medical uses. We asked a panel of experts to comment on important current applications of NIR, as well as emerging new areas of application and the challenges involved in those newer applications.

The analysis of hair samples is gaining increasing interest in forensic science because of several advantages. Hair samples are easy to collect and store. The keratin protein in hair is also quite stable, and the amino acid composition of human hair keratin may vary significantly between individuals. Glen Jackson of West Virginia University has been developing various mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods for forensic analysis of hair samples, and he recently spoke to us about this work.

As a fast, quasi-nondestructive analytical technique, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy is useful for a wide range of applications. To get a sense of the current breadth of XRF’s use and its potential growth in new areas, we asked a panel of experts to comment on the most important application areas for XRF, including the challenges involved and how XRF competes with other techniques.

The speciation of trace elements has become much more common in recent years, and in some cases is now required by certain regulatory bodies - such as for the analysis of hexavalent chromium in drinking water. At the same time, speciation methods are becoming sophisticated as researchers try to address more complex questions about how different metal species are transported and interact with the environment and specifically with plants, animals, and humans, often forming complexes with other compounds that are more complicated to analyze. Prof.

AOAC International is seeking nominations for the Harvey W. Wiley Award and for recognition as a Fellow of AOAC International.

Nominations are being sought for the 2015 Gold Medal Award of the New York Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.

Spectroscopy magazine is pleased to announce the addition of Ellen V. Miseo to its editorial advisory board.

The 2014 Eastern Analytical Symposium and Exposition (EAS), taking place November 17?19 in Somerset, New Jersey, promises attendees a comprehensive program of educational and networking opportunities for analytical scientists.

The 11th Confocal Raman Imaging Symposium, hosted by WITec, will include a talk by Albert Zink from the EURAC-Institute for Mummies and the Iceman about Raman investigations of the Tyrolean Iceman.

Spectro Scientific (Chelmsford, Massachusetts), a developer and manufacturer of analytical tools and software for fluid and machine condition monitoring, has earned a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award of $750,000 for its work in reevaluating the Joint Oil Analysis Program (JOAP) that consolidates and coordinates the oil analysis programs of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Renishaw (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), a global engineering technologies company, has received the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2014 in the Innovations category for its inVia Raman microscope.

Agilent Technologies (Santa Clara, California) has awarded an Agilent Thought Leader Award to John A. McLean, who is a Stevenson Professor of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee).

Horiba Scientific?s second annual RamanFest conference was held June 12-13, 2014, in Boston, Massachusetts, in conjunction with Harvard University. The conference took place on the Harvard campus in the Pfizer auditorium. The event chairs were Professor Sunny Xie of Harvard University, Dr. Dan Fu of Harvard University, and Dr. Andrew Whitley of Horiba Scientific. The international, two-day conference featured 16 talks from many well-known scientists as well as 13 posters that were on display both days.