Analytical Mass Spectrometry: How Did We Get Here, Where are We Going?

Thursday, March 11, 2021: 8:40 AM - 9:15 AM

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Description

One can hardly name a significant advancement in science that was not made possible by the development of a tool to see something or measure something, and that includes everything from litmus paper to telescopes to mass spectrometers. When I was a graduate student in the 1970s, mass spectrometers were large clunky instruments that were not computerized, and were typically used to explore fundamentals in physics and physical chemistry, not for analytical chemistry. But today, mass spectrometry has become the gold standard, the flagship of analytical chemistry, solving problems in an enormous range of applications, from drug discovery to environmental research to testing Olympians to screening newborns for inherited diseases. How did mass spectrometry make this amazing transition, and where is it going next? That will be the theme for this lecture. I am humbled to receive the Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award and to have the opportunity to lead off a symposium where we can explore how mass spectrometry is “pushing the envelope” in technology and applications. This is a remarkable opportunity to celebrate the tools that advance science.

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Additional Info

Keywords: Please select up to 4 keywords ONLY:
General Interest,History of Chemistry,Instrumentation,Mass Analyzers