The Peter Griffiths Award

The Peter Griffiths Award is named in honor of legendary spectroscopist and Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) member, Peter R. Griffiths. This new annual award is presented to the authors of the best paper published annually in Applied Spectroscopy Practica, the international peer-reviewed open-access journal published by SAS as a sister journal to Applied Spectroscopy. The launch of this award was made possible through the generous financial support of the Shimadzu Corporation, Peter Griffiths, and others, ensuring the award’s longevity within the suite of impactful SAS awards for many years to come. The award consists of a plaque, an honorarium, and one-year membership in SAS.

Considering Peter’s many years of dedicated service to SAS including serving as its President (1994) and his 30+ years as Applied Spectroscopy Associate Editor (1981-2009), Editor-in-Chief (2009-2012), and Editor (2012-2018), there was no one more deserving of an award named in their honor. Peter’s broad research themes from forensics to food analysis and much of that work’s emphasis on more practical and often industry-focused applications made for an easy choice and helps reinforce Practica’s emphasis on solving real-world problems through spectroscopy. For a more detailed description of Peter Griffith’s career and achievements, refer to the February 2024 Icons of Spectroscopy feature article.^1,2

All papers published in Practica in a calendar year are considered for the Peter Griffith Award. The award selection committee consists of the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Editors, and other select member(s). Review criteria include alignment with the journal’s aims and scope, scientific rigor, scientific novelty, and potential impact. The first recipients of the award, announced earlier this year, were Dr Sara Fraser-Miller, Flinders University, Australia, and co-authors Mitchell C. Chalmers, Teemu Tomberg, and Keith Gordon for their paper “Discriminating Model Microcalcifications Immersed and Under Varying Depths of Wax Using Deep Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy”.³ The award will be presented to Dr Fraser-Miller at SciX 2026, October 4-9 in Sparks, Nevada. The winner for papers published in 2025 is currently being reviewed and will be announced later this year.

To learn more about Applied Spectroscopy Practica, consult the journal website or the journal page on the Society for Applied Spectroscopy website. All papers submitted in 2026 will be considered for the third Peter Griffiths Award.

References

(1) Workman, J. Peter Griffiths: Icons of Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy, 2024, 39(2), 32-25. Available at https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/peter-griffiths-icon-of-infrared-spectroscopy (accessed September 9, 2026).

(2) Workman, J., Jr. Peter R. Griffiths (1942–2026): A Life Devoted to Infrared and Vibrational Spectroscopy. Spectroscopy, 2026, 41, August 31. https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/peter-r-griffiths-1942-2026-a-life-devoted-to-infrared-and-vibrational-spectroscopy (accessed September 9, 2026).

(3) Chalmers, M.C.; Tomberg, T.; Gordon, K.C.; Fraser-Miller, S.J. Discriminating Model Microcalcifications Immersed and Under Varying Depths of Wax Using Deep Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy. Applied Spectroscopy Practica, 2024, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/27551857241302079.