Spectroscopy Interviews

At SciX 2026, Siddhartha Das explains how graphene can be used to show how atom-level interactions between ions and water decide what passes through a membrane and what stays behind.

At SciX 2026, Marc Porter explained why surface-enhanced Raman scattering can outperform fluorescence assays. He also described how a protein-denaturing step rescued his team’s tuberculosis test from a major loss in sensitivity.

At SciX 2026, Alessandro De Giacomo explains why laser–matter interaction deserves more attention and how nanoparticle size forces a trade-off between sensitivity and practical tagging.

The inaugural Peter Griffiths Award winner discusses deep low-frequency Raman measurements through wax and what remains before clinical breast-imaging use.

The 2026 Lester W. Strock Award recipient discusses how single-particle ICP-MS can distinguish engineered and natural nanoparticles and track metalloid pollution downwind of industrial sites.

The recipient of the ACS Award in Spectrochemical Analysis discusses how surface-enhanced Raman scattering became a practical diagnostic readout and how close it is to clinical use.

The 2026 AES Mid-Career Award recipient explains how molecular-scale simulations of polyelectrolyte brush-grafted nanochannels are revealing unexpected flow behavior.

The 2026 Ellis R. Lippincott Award recipient discusses the barriers to clinical adoption of photonic diagnostics and his vision for personalized optical digital twins.

The University of Utah researcher discusses surface-area-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, lipid membrane studies, and his move into PFAS testing.

Honored with a dedicated Spectrochimica Acta Part B award session at SciX 2026, De Giacomo explains why larger nanoparticles produce stronger LIBS signals and what that means for sensing design.

As part of our coverage of the SciX 2026 Conference, Nancy Pleshko and Petra Baylin of Temple University sat down with Spectroscopy to talk about their recent study, explaining how Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) imaging of ultra-high weight molecular polyethylene (UHMWPE) implants permits oxidation evaluation throughout the sample yielding insight into failure.

SpecAcademy is set to expand. Which courses should be added to the catalog? Five SpecAcademy instructors give their perspective.

How has spectroscopy education evolved over the years?

In this panel discussion, five SpecAcademy instructors examined why spectroscopy expertise has declined and how SpecAcademy aims to rebuild it through curated, fundamentals-based education suited to increasingly complex analytical work.

Panelists from the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, the Coblentz Society, Syensqo, Specac, and the University of Georgia discuss how a mismatch between academic curricula and industry practice leaves many analysts unsure when, and how, to use infrared and Raman spectroscopy.

In this panel discussion, five SpecAcademy instructors sit down to talk about the main reasons SpecAcademy was started and the current state of spectroscopy education.

At the upcoming 2026 SciX Conference, Ji-Xin Cheng at Boston University will be recognized with the Charles Mann Award for Applied Raman Spectroscopy. Leading up to the conference, Cheng sat down with Spectroscopy to talk about the advancements being made in confocal Raman microscopy.

Raman microspectroscopy can be used to characterize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Pavi Sundararajan, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Ames Research Center, explains how.

In the final part of our conversation with Brandon Boor of Purdue University, he explains the respiratory deposition model his team used to analyze indoor particle exposure.

In the second part of our interview with Brandon Boor of Purdue University, he discusses how his team controls experimental variables during cleaning experiments in order to obtain interpretable data.

In the first part of a multi-part Q&A, Brandon Boor, the Dr. Margery E. Hoffman Associate Professor in the Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Purdue University, describes the instrumentation and methodology behind measuring nanoparticle size distributions at the nanocluster scale (1–3 nm) and outlines the technical challenges of acquiring reliable, real-time data at these dimensions.

In this “Tutorial Tuesday” clip, we explore one of the spectroscopic techniques that are used to characterize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

What are the main risks of leaving a corporate job and going into business for yourself?

What steps should one take if one wants to pursue a career studying the molecular makeup of celestial bodies?

Trust and understanding are the two key principles to keep in mind when advising trade commissions in the food science industry.