Sabine Becker Wins the 2012 Winter Conference Award in Plasma Spectrochemistry

J. Sabine Becker, the head of trace and ultratrace Analysis in the Central Division of Analytical Chemistry at the Research Center Juelich, in Juelich, Germany, has won the 2012 Winter Conference Award in Plasma Spectrochemistry, sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific (San Jose, California). Thermo Fisher will present the award and a check for $5,000 to Becker during the 2012 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, to be held in Tucson, Arizona, January 9–14, 2012.

Becker’s career in analytical chemistry has focused on long-lived radionuclides, ultratrace and high-purity materials analysis, isotope ratio measurements, and micro- and nanolocal elemental and trace analyses. Recently she established BrainMet, an Analytical Center of Excellence at the Research Centre Juelich for brain research imaging. Based on laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), BrainMet has introduced novel imaging techniques for metals, metalloids and nonmetals in biological tissues. The approach provides quantitative mapping of essential and toxic elements in thin sections of diseased and healthy medical and biological tissue sections.

The Winter Conference Award in Plasma Spectrochemistry, established in 2009, recognizes scientists who have made noteworthy contributions over time or through a single, significant breakthrough. The award acknowledges achievements in the conceptualization and development of novel instrumentation as well as the elucidation of fundamental events or processes involved in plasma spectrochemistry. Winners include authors of significant research papers or books that influence new advancements or pioneers of outstanding new applications that benefit the field of plasma spectrochemistry.