Spectroscopy on Screen: Expert Insights and Hot Topics of 2025

Over the course of 2025, Spectroscopy conducted multiple video interviews with several key experts in the field. These interviews covered a wide range of application areas from food analysis to environmental analysis to forensics, and many others.

In this recap video, we highlight some of our most popular interviews from the past year. This curated selection spotlights the year’s most talked-about topics, emerging techniques, and breakthrough applications in the field.

We start with an inside look at microplastics, where we check in with Susanne Brander, an associate professor at Oregon State University, who highlighted how microplastics are impacting marine ecosystems (1).

We also covered the Photonics West Conference this year, which took place in San Francisco, California. As part of our coverage, we sat down with Juergen Popp, who is the scientific director at the Leibniz Institute for Photonics Technology, to talk about multimodal spectroscopic approaches and why they are ideal for tumor classification (2).

Continuing our conference coverage, Spectroscopy covered the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) for the first time this year, sitting down with Claire Glynn of the University of New Haven and Tom Metz of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Our conversation with Glynn focused on the state of forensic genealogy and how forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) has been a major advancement in this space, especially when analyzing human remains (3). Meanwhile, Metz highlighted some of the challenges molecular measurement scientists face today using mass spectrometry (MS) (3,4).

One growing trend in spectroscopy is battery analysis. As part of our “Inside the Laboratory” series, we sat down with Johanna Nelson Weker of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to talk about her group’s work in battery analysis, and how X-ray techniques are improving nutrient recovery systems (5).

Over the summer, we covered another application area that is using spectroscopy extensively–geology. Pooja Sheevam, a Ph.D. student at the University of Nevada–Reno, analyzed the Hawaiian PTA-2 Drill Core. By using longwave infrared (LWIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) in her work, she not only learned more about Hawaiian geology, but she also saved money at the same (6).

AAFS 2025 was not the only conference we introduced this year in our coverage. We also introduced new coverage of the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy (ISMS), which took place at the University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign. As part of or coverage of this conference, we sat down with Brett McGuire of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who discussed the work his laboratory is doing building microwave spectroscopy instruments (7).

Later this year, we also explored the role that spectroscopy is playing in drug detection and narcotics. At the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) conference, BaySpec scientist Krisztian Torma presented field test results from the VaporID system, which successfully detected trace levels of fentanyl and other drugs at the U.S.–Mexico border without needing surface contact (8). The VaporID device was developed under Robert Ewing, a senior research chemist at the PNNL (8). Ewing sat down with Spectroscopy to explain the technology behind the VaporID system.

Finally, we sat down with numerous experts at the annual SciX Conference, which took place in Covington, Kentucky this year. Zac Schultz, a professor and vice chair of Graduate Studies at The Ohio State University, discussed how the integration of spatial and spectral data helps characterize molecular interactions (9).

This year was a landmark one for spectroscopy. Researchers increasingly integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into their workflows, while new instrumentation enabled faster and more precise analyses. With these technological advances and the evolving needs of the industry, 2026 is shaping up to be an even more exciting year for spectroscopy—full of innovation, discovery, and transformative developments.

References

1. Wetzel, W. Quantifying Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Marine and Aquatic Environments. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/quantifying-microplastics-and-anthropogenic-particles-in-marine-and-aquatic-environments (accessed 2025-12-01).
2. Wetzel, W. Enhancing Tumor Classification with AI and Raman: A Conversation with Juergen Popp. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/enhancing-tumor-classification-with-ai-and-raman-a-conversation-with-juergen-popp (accessed 2025-12-01).
3. Wetzel, W. Claire Glynn Talks About Forensic Genealogy. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/claire-glynn-talks-about-forensic-genealogy (accessed 2025-12-01).
4. Wetzel, W. AAFS 2025: Tom Metz Talks About Current Challenges in Molecular Measurement Science. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/aafs-2025-tom-metz-talks-about-current-challenges-in-molecular-measurement-science (accessed 2025-12-01).
5. Wetzel, W. Inside the Laboratory: The Weker Group at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Part II. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/inside-the-laboratory-the-weker-group-at-slac-national-accelerator-laboratory-part-ii (accessed 2025-12-01).
6. Wetzel, W. Analyzing Hawaii’s PTA-2 Drill Core With LWIR and SWIR Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/analyzing-hawaii-s-pta-2-drill-core-with-lwir-and-swir-spectroscopy (accessed 2025-12-01).
7. Wetzel, W. Inside the Laboratory: The McGuire Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/inside-the-laboratory-the-mcguire-group-at-the-massachusetts-institute-of-technology (accessed 2025-12-01).
8. Wetzel, W. Noncontact Detection of Narcotics and Illicit Substances. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/noncontact-detection-of-narcotics-and-illicit-substances (accessed 2025-12-01).
9. Wetzel, W. Advancements in Spectrally Resolved SERS Imaging. Spectroscopy. Available at: https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/advancements-in-spectrally-resolved-sers-imaging (accessed 2025-12-01).