Best of the Week: Upcoming Pathways in Spectroscopy Episodes, The Role of Spectroscopy in Modern Agriculture

John Margeson, who is a Product Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific in their Tewkesbury headquarters, recently sat down with Spectroscopy to talk careers. His insights into product management provide a roadmap to success in this position. Also, spectroscopy is playing an increased role in agriculture, but what techniques have been the most beneficial? We spotlight them here. And finally, we preview a couple of upcoming episodes on “Pathways in Spectroscopy.”

This is the Best of the Week.

Pathways in Spectroscopy: How to Be A Successful Product Manager

In this episode of “Pathways in Spectroscopy,” John Margeson outlines the skills needed for success in instrument product management. He emphasizes that product management is fundamentally a marketing function, focused on upstream activities such as identifying customer pain points, analyzing segmented markets, and predicting industry trends, including developments in handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF).¹ Margeson highlights the importance of cross-functional collaboration within large organizations and understanding internal stakeholders’ challenges. With a background in industrial engineering, he describes product management as a dynamic, growing field offering broad organizational insight and strategic impact.¹

The Role of Spectroscopy in Modern Agriculture

This overview examines how spectroscopy is transforming modern agriculture from soil analysis to food authentication. As global demand rises, techniques such as near- and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy, XRF, and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) enable rapid, non-destructive assessment of soil nutrients, contaminants, and crop health.² Hyperspectral imaging and tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy support high-vigor seed selection, while Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) aid stress detection and trace residue analysis. Spectroscopy also combats food fraud using portable Fourier transform IR (FT-IR) and ICP-MS.² Future trends include AI-driven analytics, smartphone integration, and standardized spectral databases.²

Pathways in Spectroscopy Preview: What it Takes to be an Analytical Laboratory Manager

“Pathways in Spectroscopy” highlights diverse career paths for spectroscopists, focusing on professional development, technical and soft skills, and transitions between academia and industry. In an upcoming multipart interview, we sit down with Saikat Banerjee, who is an Analytical Lab Manager at DuPont. Our conversation with Banerjee will reveal insights on laboratory leadership and the soft and technical skills that are required to succeed in his role.³ Banerjee previously worked at Northwestern University and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota before transitioning to industry.³

The Critical Frameworks of Analytical Instrument Qualification and Computerized System Validation

This overview examines Analytical Instrument Qualification (AIQ) and Computerized System Validation (CSV), focusing on current standards and proposed updates to United States Pharmacopeia> <1058>. The draft revision would rename AIQ to Analytical Instrument and System Qualification (AISQ), emphasizing a lifecycle approach integrating hardware qualification and software validation.⁴ It outlines risk-based instrument classification, the legacy 4Qs model, and a proposed three-phase framework: specification, qualification/validation, and ongoing performance verification.⁴ The article also addresses the debate between CSV and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Computer Software Assurance (CSA) guidance, concluding that risk-based validation, data integrity, and clear intended use remain central to compliance.⁴

Pathways in Spectroscopy Preview: Transitioning from Chemical Engineering to Analytical Chemistry

The “Pathways in Spectroscopy” video series highlights career development topics for emerging spectroscopists, including career transitions, entrepreneurship, and product management. In an upcoming episode, we will sit down with Ayush Agarwal, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), in Berlin, Germany. Our conversation with Agarwal will focus on his career transition from chemical engineering to analytical chemistry and his work developing inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)–based methods during his Ph.D.⁵

References

1. Margeson, J.; Wetzel, W. Pathways in Spectroscopy: How to Be A Successful Product Manager. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/pathways-in-spectroscopy-how-to-be-a-successful-product-manager (accessed 2026-03-03).
2. Wetzel, W. The Role of Spectroscopy in Modern Agriculture. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-role-of-spectroscopy-in-modern-agriculture (accessed 2026-03-05).
3. Wetzel, W. Pathways in Spectroscopy Preview: What it Takes to be an Analytical Laboratory Manager. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/pathways-in-spectroscopy-preview-what-it-takes-to-be-an-analytical-laboratory-manager (accessed 2026-03-05).
4. Wetzel, W. The Critical Frameworks of Analytical Instrument Qualification and Computerized System Validation. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/the-critical-frameworks-of-analytical-instrument-qualification-and-computerized-system-validation (accessed 2026-03-03).
5. Wetzel, W. Pathways in Spectroscopy Preview: Transitioning from Chemical Engineering to Analytical Chemistry. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/pathways-in-spectroscopy-preview-transitioning-from-chemical-engineering-to-analytical-chemistry (accessed 2026-03-04).