Spectroscopy Interviews

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Lucy Semerjian is the Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Science at the University of Sharjah in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Photo Credit: Lucy Semerjian
The Role of ICP-OES in Analyzing the Metal Content in Pet Food

June 19th 2025

Because the United Arab Emirates is seeing an increase in pet ownership, the quality of both dry and wet pet food is undergoing greater scrutiny to ensure its safety and efficacy. Lucy Semerjian, who works as a Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Science at the University of Sharjah in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, recently explored this topic in a recent paper

Lucy Semerjian is the Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Science at the University of Sharjah in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Photo Credit: Lucy Semerjian
Pet Food in the United Arab Emirates: An Interview with Lucy Semerjian

June 18th 2025

Celebrating 40 Years of Spectroscopy with “IR Spectral Interpretation Workshop” Columnist Brian Smith
Celebrating 40 Years of Spectroscopy with “IR Spectral Interpretation Workshop” Columnist Brian Smith

June 5th 2025

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Recording the Raman Spectrum of a Single Molecule

Recording the Raman Spectrum of a Single Molecule

September 2nd 2021

Analytical chemists are continually striving to advance techniques to make it possible to observe and measure matter and processes at smaller and smaller scales. Professor Vartkess Ara Apkarian and his team at the University of California, Irvine have made a significant breakthrough in this quest: They have recorded the Raman spectrum of a single azobenzene thiol molecule. The approach, which breaks common tenets about surface-enhanced Raman scattering/spectroscopy (SERS) and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), involved imaging an isolated azobenzene thiol molecule on an atomically flat gold surface, then picking it up and recording its Raman spectrum using an electrochemically etched silver tip, in an ultrahigh vacuum cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope. For the resulting paper detailing the effort [1], Apkarian and his associates are the 2021 recipients of the William F. Meggers Award, given annually by the Society for Applied Spectroscopy to the authors of the outstanding paper appearing in the journal Applied Spectroscopy. We spoke to Apkarian about this research, and what being awarded this honor means to him and his team. This interview is part of an ongoing series with the winners of awards that are presented at the annual SciX conference. The award will be presented to Apkarian at this fall’s event, which will be held in person in Providence, Rhode Island, September 28–October 1.