Jacob Shelley
The 2021 Eastern Analytical Symposium (EAS) Young Investigator Award will be presented to Jacob Shelley at the EAS Symposium taking place November 15–17, 2021, in Plainsboro, New Jersey. The annual EAS awards honor analytical chemists who have distinguished career achievements and who have advanced their fields by superior work in developing theory, techniques, or instrumentation.
Shelley is the Alan Paul Schulz Career Development professor of chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He received his BS in Chemistry from Northern Arizona University, where his research under Prof. Diane Stearns focused on examining metal-DNA adducts with inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). He worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for four summers on a wide range of projects including metallomics with X-ray fluorescence detection, developing nanoporous silica substrates for matrix-free MALDI, and method development for detecting a wide range of radioactive materials. He received his PhD from Indiana University where, working with Prof. Gary Hieftje, his research focused on the development, characterization, and application of novel plasma ionization sources for ambient, molecular mass spectrometry with particular attention on the flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) source.
In 2011, Shelley started his postdoctoral research with Prof. R. Graham Cooks at Purdue University, where he developed portable mass spectrometers capable of in situ analyses. He was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Post-Doctoral Fellowship to work with Profs. Uwe Karst and Carsten Engelhard at the University of Münster in Germany, in 2012. In 2014, Shelley began his independent academic career as an assistant professor at Kent State University.
Shelley’s current research interests are in the development of new hardware and software tools for mass spectrometry that enable rapid and sensitive detection and identification of analytes in complex matrices. His research group uses high-energy species produced by electrical plasmas to perform unique gas-phase synthesis. Both of these research areas converge in trying to understand the chemical origins of life on Earth as part of the Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education (RARE) Center, where he was named the associate director.
Shelley has been recognized for his research accomplishments with the Bunsen-Kirchoff Award by the German Working Group for Analytical Spectroscopy in the German Chemical Society (2017), Spectroscopy’s 2020 Emerging Leader in Atomic Spectroscopy Award, RPI’s School of Science Outstanding Research Award. He has authored 42 published journal articles, four issued United States patents, a book chapter, and has given more than 50 invited presentations at national and international venues.
Get essential updates on the latest spectroscopy technologies, regulatory standards, and best practices—subscribe today to Spectroscopy.
Rapid Sweetener Detection Achieved Through Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning
July 10th 2025Researchers at Heilongjiang University have developed a rapid and accurate method for detecting sweeteners in food using Raman spectroscopy combined with a Random Forest machine learning algorithm, offering a powerful tool for improving food safety.
PNNL and BaySpec Launch Compact Mass Spectrometry System for Rapid Narcotics Detection
July 8th 2025The U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) VaporID, which is a newly developed portable air sampling system incorporating a miniaturized mass spectrometer (MS), can detect trace levels of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and even explosives like TNT with great accuracy.
How Spectroscopy Drones Are Detecting Hidden Crop Threats in China’s Soybean Fields
July 8th 2025Researchers in Northeast China have demonstrated a new approach using drone-mounted multispectral imaging to monitor and predict soybean bacterial blight disease, offering a promising tool for early detection and yield protection.