Developing a Miniaturized Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge Source for Atomic Spectroscopy and and Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry

An interview with Ken Marcus, a finalist for the 2012 FACSS-SciX Innovation Award.

Part of the 2013 podcast series presented in collaboration with the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), in connection with SciX 2013, the federation’s North American conference.

For more podcasts in this series from 2013 and 2012, visit

Ken Marcus is a professor of analytical chemistry at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.

He was a finalist for the 2012 FACSS Innovation Award, for the paper:

“Desorption Ionization with a Liquid Sampling-Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge Microplasma” (R. Kenneth Marcus, Carolyn Q. Burdette, Benjamin T. Manard, and Lynn X. Zhang).

A major focus of Professor Marcus’s research interests is the development and application of new plasma techniques for the atomic spectroscopic analysis of diverse materials. Included in this work is the design of atomic emission and mass spectrometry instrumentation employing glow discharge (GD) sources. His group has developed plasma sources for the analysis of electronic grade materials, polymers, and a variety of layered systems. Instrumentation developed in the Marcus laboratory is now commercially available from a number of manufacturers.

About the FACSS Innovation Award

The FACSS Innovation Award showcases the newest and most creative science debuted orally at a FACSS-organized conference.

More about the SciX conference:

The traditional North American meeting of FACSS is now SciX - The Great Scientific Exchange. SciX covers the whole of analytical chemistry with an emphasis on emerging technologies. SciX carries on the FACSS tradition of a strong technical program (over 100 symposia), many prestigious awards, exhibits, a variety of workshops, an employment bureau and multiple social networking opportunities.

SciX is the National Meeting of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) and the North American Society for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (NASLIBS).

For more information about the SciX 2013 conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 29 to October 4, 2013, visit scixconference.org

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