How has spectroscopy training changed? A recent panel discussion explored this topic, discussing how SpecAcademy can widen access without losing the value of hands-on instruction.
News|Articles|August 11, 2026
Evaluating Digestion Workflows for Elemental Analysis (Aug 2026)
Author(s)Milestone
As trace-level elemental analysis becomes routine, sample preparation has become the primary bottleneck in the analytical workflow. Although ICP-OES and ICP-MS generate results in seconds, digestion remains time-intensive, and incomplete digestion or contamination can compromise data quality. This executive summary examines key considerations for selecting a microwave digestion workflow, comparing rotor-based and single reaction chamber systems across matrix complexity, throughput, contamination control, reagent use, and staffing requirements. It also highlights the application support and digital resources that help laboratories adopt new workflows while maintaining validated methods.
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How has spectroscopy education evolved over the years?
FT-IR spectroscopy, long treated as a mature bench technique for confirming a carbonyl stretch or fingerprinting a polymer, has quietly become one of chemistry’s most versatile discovery engines: it now infers molecular structure straight from a spectrum without a reference library, resolves chemistry tens of nanometers wide, and screens a fingerstick of blood for disease in minutes. The last five years of published research show FT-IR moving from a confirmatory tool into a predictive, autonomous, and field-ready analytical platform.
In this panel discussion, five SpecAcademy instructors examined why spectroscopy expertise has declined and how SpecAcademy aims to rebuild it through curated, fundamentals-based education suited to increasingly complex analytical work.
A recent roundtable discussion with the SpecAcademy instructors explored why spectroscopy expertise has eroded and how SpecAcademy aims to rebuild it.
The agreement gives North American customers a stocked, domestic source for InGaAs PIN photodiodes and avalanche photodiodes from the Scottish manufacturer.
The gap between classroom training and industry practice is pushing analysts toward familiar techniques instead of the most appropriate ones.
Panelists from the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, the Coblentz Society, Syensqo, Specac, and the University of Georgia discuss how a mismatch between academic curricula and industry practice leaves many analysts unsure when, and how, to use infrared and Raman spectroscopy.
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