Spectroscopy Interviews

Experts comment on the biggest trends in spectroscopy heading into 2026, and what this means for science and technology.

A recent study provides a detailed introduction to uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) for analyzing LA-ICP-TOF-MS data. By converting high-dimensional MSI data into two-dimensional spaces, UMAP facilitates automated visualization to identify spectral clusters. Spectroscopy spoke to the paper’s lead author, Katharina Kronenberg of the University of Graz, about her group’s work.

In this edition of “Inside the Laboratory,” Maryam Shakiba and Santiago Marin of the University of Colorado Boulder discuss the findings of their latest paper, which provides a predictive framework for understanding and forecasting long-term thermo-oxidative degradation in polyimides.

Jorge Caceres, a professor at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, sat down with Spectroscopy to discuss how LIBS works as a fast, simple, cost-effective, and analytically conclusive technique for confidently re-associating human bone remains.

Spectroscopy sat down with Sergei Kazarian and Bernadette Byrne to talk about their latest research collaboration, which offers insights into why FT-IR spectroscopic imaging is advantageous in biomedical and pharmaceutical analysis.

In this interview segment with Rohith Reddy, he discusses how mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging (MIRSI) can be used to help detect numerous disease types.

In this edition of “Inside the Laboratory,” we profile the Schultz Laboratory at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, speaking with Zac Schultz, Spencer Witte, Nishadi Nadeeshani, and Renee Romano about their work.

In this final interview segment with Lingyan Shi, she discusses the challenges of developing multimodal metabolic nanoscopy systems, and where these systems could be applied in the future.

In the second part of a three-part interview, Lingyan Shi recaps the award technical session that she chaired at the SciX Conference, highlighting the speakers she invited and what they discussed.

In this interview segment, Shi recaps her talk that she delivered at the SciX Conference and the four major technologies that she and her team developed over the past few years at the University of California, San Diego.

In this video segment, Fay Nicolson discusses her career trajectory, from her time in graduate school to her time as a postdoctoral candidate to her time as an independent researcher.

In this interview segment, Karl Booksh dives deeper into a new technique called conformal prediction, and how his group has been applying it in their research.

In the second and final part of our interview with Rob Lascola, he addresses the main challenges in achieving accurate acidity measurements using Raman spectroscopy in complex, highly absorptive systems, as well as explains what he has learned about dissolution mechanisms, and how these insights can influence future nuclear processing strategies.

In this interview segment, Reddy discusses how O-PTIR combined with mid-infrared frequency comb technologies enhances both resolution and throughput in tissue analysis and how this integration address the limitations of conventional MIRSI approaches in clinical settings.

In this interview segment, Rafael Davalos discusses contactless dielectrophoresis, highlighting the utility of this technique not just in cancer research, but other application areas as well.

In this interview segment, Rob Lascola discusses how Raman spectroscopy complements other techniques in fuel dissolution and solvent extraction and what Raman can detect in off-gas streams.

In this video segment, Karl Booksh of the University of Delaware explains how his study highlighted a major improvement in classification accuracy using stacked models for differentiating exotic hardwood species.

In this segment, Bell addresses the key barriers that are preventing SERS from being more widely adopted in complex environments.

In this interview, Yingchan Guo of the University of Florida discusses high-throughput IMS and identifying fatty acyl chains of lipids using mass spectrometry, particularly in matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) imaging.

In this interview segment, Prashant Jain, who is a G. L. Clark Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), discusses the implications of his study’s findings, highlighting how they advance our understanding of light-driven hydrocarbon formation pathways and plasmonic catalytic events.

Spectroscopy sat down with Renee Romano, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, to discuss the broader implications of her findings, including how they demonstrate the potential of Raman spectroscopy for in situ, real-time monitoring of plant–microbe interactions without destructive sampling.

In this exclusive interview, Nishadi Nadeeshani Moragoda Liyanage, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, outlines how the results of her study help advance our understanding of plasmon-induced electron transfer and its applications in nanoscale optoelectronic and catalytic systems.

As part of our coverage of the SciX Conference, Spectroscopy sat down with Witte, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, to talk about how machine learning (ML) algorithms can differentiate between spectral features associated with radiation dose and those reflecting temporal changes post-exposure, as well as the benefits of using Raman spectroscopy to detect and quantify radiation-induced molecular changes.

At SciX, Zac Schultz of The Ohio State University sat down with Spectroscopy to discuss his work characterizing molecular interactions with localization microscopy techniques, as well as give his thoughts about how spectrally resolved surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) imaging will impact in vitro cell imaging and other application areas.

In this interview segment, Prashant Jain of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discusses the unique reaction pathways observed in light-driven chemistry on nanoparticles, particularly in CO2 reduction, and the insights gained into the quantum mechanical mechanisms of these reactions.