Ep. 36: A Day in the Life of a NIST Scientist
Welcome to “Analytically Speaking,” the podcast from LCGC International and Spectroscopy.
In this episode, podcast co-hosts Dr. Dwight Stoll and Dr. James Grinias talk with Dr. Alix Rodowa, Research Chemist within the Organic Chemical Metrology Group at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. At NIST, she is the Environmental Sector Task Lead for the Organic Analysis Working Group for the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance: Metrology in Chemistry and Biology (or CCQM).
After discussing some of the events that sparked Dr. Rodowa’s interest in science, and analytical chemistry in particular, we discuss her path to a career as a NIST scientist, including cold-emailing potential research advisors, and an experience as a National Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral fellow. We then discuss her work on polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including the development of the PFAS Interference List - affectionately known as the “PIL” - and the development of a Standard Reference Material (SRM) for that research area. We also touch on emerging uses of machine learning in workflows for analytical target and suspect screening. Finally, Alix provides some insight into a day in the life of a NIST scientist, why she enjoys working in a government laboratory, and how aspiring scientists can explore this environment as a potential career option.
Literature Discussed:
Rodowa, A. E.; Knappe, D. R. U.; Chiang, S.-Y. D.; Pohlmann, D.; Varley, C.; Bodour, A.; Field, J. A. Pilot Scale Removal of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Precursors from AFFF-Impacted Groundwater by Granular Activated Carbon. Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. 2020, 6 (4), 1083–1094.https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EW00936A.
Bangma, J.; Barry, K. M.; Fisher, C. M.; Genualdi, S.; Guillette, T. C.; Huset, C. A.; McCord, J.; Ng, B.; Place, B. J.; Reiner, J. L.; Robuck, A.; Rodowa, A. E. PFAS Ghosts: How to Identify, Evaluate, and Exorcise New and Existing Analytical Interference. Anal Bioanal Chem 2024, 416 (8), 1777–1785.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05125-y.
Rodowa, A. E.; Reiner, J. L. Utilization of a NIST SRM: A Case Study for per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in NIST SRM 1957 Organic Contaminants in Non-Fortified Human Serum. Anal Bioanal Chem 2021, 413 (9), 2295–2301.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03241-7.
Joseph, N. T.; Schwichtenberg, T.; Cao, D.; Jones, G. D.; Rodowa, A. E.; Barlaz, M. A.; Charbonnet, J. A.; Higgins, C. P.; Field, J. A.; Helbling, D. E. Target and Suspect Screening Integrated with Machine Learning to Discover Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Source Fingerprints. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2023, 57 (38), 14351–14362.https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c03770.
More about our hosts:
Dwight Stoll, PhD:
Dwight R. Stoll is a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota, under Professor Peter Carr, working on the development of fast, comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC). Stoll’s current primary research focus is on the development of 2D-LC for both targeted and untargeted analyses. Active research projects in his laboratory touch on most aspects of multidimensional separation methodologies, including optimization strategies, characterization of selectivity in reversed-phase LC, instrument development, and applications in biopharmaceutical analysis. Stoll is the author or co-author of more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and six book chapters and has instructed numerous short courses in 2D-LC. In 2011 he was the recipient of LCGC’s Emerging Leader in Chromatography Award. In 2017 he received the Georges Guiochon Faculty Fellowship, and was recognized with an Agilent Technologies Thought Leader Award. He is also a member of LCGC’s editorial advisory board and is the editor of the “LC Troubleshooting” column in LCGC.
Jerome Workman, Jr., PhD:
Jerome (Jerry) J. Workman, Jr. is the Executive Editor for LCGC and Spectroscopy. He has held positions as CTO, executive VP, senior research fellow, director, and senior scientist at companies of all sizes, from start-ups to world-leading corporations. He has been an adjunct faculty member of four universities and advised multiple graduate students. He has more than 75 U.S. and international patent applications and 30 issued U.S. and international patents and multiple trade secrets, as well as 500+ technical publications, and 20 reference book volumes on a broad range of spectroscopy and data processing techniques. He has received multiple awards from scientific societies, and has taught annual courses in spectroscopy, chemometrics, and statistics for the AOAC, ACS, ISA, FACSS, and at several universities and corporations. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists (FAIC), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK (FRSC, CChem, CSci). Jerry holds B.A and M.A degrees from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and a PhD degree from Columbia Pacific University working in near-infrared spectroscopy. He is an alumnus of both Columbia University Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management.
About the Analytically Speaking Podcast:
Analytically Speaking, the podcast from LCGC and Spectroscopy, addresses important issues in separation science and analytical spectroscopy. Topics include new analytical techniques, methods, and approaches; the latest trends; advances in instrument and software technology; practical solutions for specific applications; recent papers in the scientific literature and their applicability; challenges and solutions for data analysis and interpretation; analytical chemistry theory and fundamentals (from advanced research to tutorials and troubleshooting); and more. Our regular hosts are Dwight Stoll, PhD, a professor of chemistry at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and Jerry Workman, PhD, a spectroscopist, noted author, and currently the Senior Technical Editor of Spectroscopy and LCGC. Dwight covers separation science and Jerry addresses spectroscopy related topics.
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