Best of the Week: Spectroscopy in Business, Exploring Nontraditional Scientific Careers

This week on Spectroscopy, we continue our conversation with Mercedes Bertotto, the Founder of Vibralytics, as part of our “Pathways in Spectroscopy” video series. Our conversation with Bertotto gets to the heart of how spectroscopic knowledge can be converted into a marketable and profitable business plan. You won’t want to miss these episodes. Also, Alexis Weber reflects on her career journey, discussing how television shows like NCIS and Bones inspired her forensic-science ambitions.

This is the Best of the Week.

The Surprising Realities Spectroscopists Face in Business

A recent episode of “Pathways in Spectroscopy,” explores how to take your scientific and spectroscopic knowledge and convert it into a marketable business plan. However, like any business plan, it does not always go smoothly, and there are some realities that you need to face head-on. Mercedes Bertotto, who is the Founder of Vibralytics, discusses what these realities are and how she faced them when starting her own business.¹

When Career Plans Change: Finding My Place in Analytical Science

There are many paths analytical scientists can take from a career perspective. In this blog post, Alexis Weber, a Field Applications Scientist at PerkinElmer, addresses this topic. She reflects on how her early forensic-science ambitions were inspired by television shows NCIS and Bones. Ultimately, this interest in forensic science dictated her education path, which started at the University of Central Florida and progressed to the University of New Haven and finally the University at Albany, SUNY.² Weber discusses her education allowed her to pursue a PhD-level spectroscopy career and ultimately a dynamic Field Applications Scientist role at PerkinElmer, highlighting the value of exploring nontraditional science careers.²

What Strategic Decisions Have the Greatest Long-Term Impact on Businesses?

In this episode of “Pathways in Spectroscopy,” Mercedes Bertotto, founder of Vibralytics, discusses key considerations for building a sustainable spectroscopy-based start-up. She emphasizes the importance of clearly defining a business model early, including target markets, service scope, and customer relationships. Bertotto explains that aligning technical capabilities with financial and strategic choices helps entrepreneurs focus resources and communicate value effectively.³ Her insights highlight how spectroscopists transitioning from research to entrepreneurship must balance scientific depth with market needs to ensure long-term business success.³

Characterization of Gaseous UF6 LIBS Plasma Near the U I 646.498 nm Emission Line for Nuclear Safeguards Applications

In this interview, George Chan of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discusses a collaborative study with the University of Michigan on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for measuring uranium enrichment in gaseous UF₆. The work addresses limitations of current destructive methods like COMPUCEA by exploring LIBS as a rapid, minimal-preparation alternative for nuclear safeguards.⁴ Researchers characterized UF₆ plasma under varying laser pulse widths and wavelengths, determining temperature and electron density.⁴ To reduce self-absorption bias seen in the U II 424.437 nm line, the team evaluated the U I 646.498 nm line, improving prospects for accurate, field-deployable enrichment measurements.⁴

David Clases Reacts to Receiving the JAAS Prize and the Nu Emerging Pioneer Award

At the Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, David Clases of the University of Graz reflects on receiving the JAAS Prize and Nu Emerging Pioneer Award, emphasizing his team’s collective contributions and the milestone for emerging scientists. He highlights key trends shaping spectroscopy, including hyphenated and multimodal techniques, growing interdisciplinary collaboration, and expanded use of ICP-MS to address complex scientific challenges in 2026 and beyond.⁵

And that will do it for the Best of the Week. We’ll see you next Friday.

References

1. Bertotto, M.; Wetzel, W. The Surprising Realities Spectroscopists Face in Business. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-surprising-realities-spectroscopists-face-in-business (accessed 2026-02-26).
2. Weber, A. When Career Plans Change: Finding My Place in Analytical Science. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/when-career-plans-change-finding-my-place-in-analytical-science (accessed 2026-02-26).
3. Bertotto, M.; Wetzel, W. What Strategic Decisions Have the Greatest Long-Term Impact on Businesses? Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/what-strategic-decisions-have-the-greatest-long-term-impact-on-businesses- (accessed 2026-02-26).
4. Chan, G.; Chasse, J. Characterization of Gaseous UF6 LIBS Plasma Near the U I 646.498 nm Emission Line for Nuclear Safeguards Applications. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/characterization-of-gaseous-uf6-libs-plasma-near-the-u-i-646-498-nm-emission-line-for-nuclear-safeguards-applications (accessed 2026-02-26).
5. Clases, D.; Wetzel, W. David Clases Reacts to Receiving the JAAS Prize and the Nu Emerging Pioneer Award. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/david-clases-reacts-to-receiving-the-jaas-prize-and-the-nu-emerging-pioneer-award (accessed 2026-02-26).