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

In our “Pathways in Spectroscopy” series thus far, we have explored several important topics that would appeal to young, emerging spectroscopists seeking to grow their careers and professional development.

“Pathways in Spectroscopy” is a short-form, vertical video series that offers practical career insights and advice for spectroscopists. This series addresses some of the most pressing issues and important topics as they relate to careers in spectroscopy. This video series is designed to offers an inside look at the career paths spectroscopists can take with their skillset and expertise. Some of the topics that we have covered so far on this series include career transitions, how to start your own business as a spectroscopist, and what it means to be a product manager.¹

In February, our guest was Mercedes Bertotto, who is the Founder of Vibralytics, a start-up vibrational spectroscopy company based in the Netherlands. Over the course of this four-part video series, Bertotto discussed the challenges she faced when starting her own business and how to craft a marketable business plan that played to her strengths as a spectroscopist.

In March, we are excited to introduce one of our upcoming guests, Ayush Agarwal. Agarwal is a Postdoc at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) in Berlin. He previously completed his PhD in Energy at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, where his work focused on analytical method development.

Agarwal’s doctoral research, titled “Hyphenated elemental analysis methods for characterizing trace gas compounds and nano-objects for energy and environmental applications,” centered on inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)-based techniques. He came to analytical chemistry from a chemical engineering background and only transitioned fully into the field during my PhD. His guiding principle is: “We cannot improve something we cannot measure.”

Agarwal made the transition from engineering to analytical chemistry during his Ph.D., and we are excited to welcome him onto the show and share his insights into what the transition was like, and how his chemical engineering background prepared him for a career in analytical chemistry.

We are looking forward to sharing our conversation with Agarwal with you soon.

Reference

1. Wetzel, W. Pathways in Spectroscopy, Episode 1: Sarah Theiner on Transitioning from Research to Sales. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/pathways-in-spectroscopy-episode-1-sarah-theiner-on-transitioning-from-research-to-sales (accessed 2026-02-06).