Addressing Big Challenges in Environmental Analytical Chemistry

This morning symposium, organized by the International Association of Environmental Analytical Chemistry (IAEAC), focuses on analytical solutions to address imminent and global grand challenges facing the environment. The session will be held at 8:30 in room W181A.

Abraham Stroock of Cornell University will open up the session with a talk on measuring “the pulse of plants” with a microfluidic sensor that borrows design principles from the vascular structure of plants. This work has implications for improved understanding of the biology and increased efficiency in the management of water in agriculture.

Next, Kristie Ebi of the University of Washington will discuss how and where the effects of climate change will require solutions by analytical chemists, and how proactive adaptation on multiple scales can increase preparedness to manage risks.

Dirk Haller of the Institute for Food and Health at the Technical University of Munich will then address analytical strategies to understand the microbiome and its effect on human health To extract relevant information from microbiome changes in human populations, combined analytical information, including multi “omics data,” needs to be integrated at a mechanistic level; Haller will discuss the challenges in doing so.

After the recess, Mickey Urdea of Hateres Associates will present the results of a study of 28 diagnostics companies aimed to understand why some of these companies fail to create a sustainable market for their sensor technologies. The 28 companies were assessed based on five phases of growth and the key objectives required to be successful in each phase.

Francis Moussy of the World Health Organization will close the session with a talk on analytical tools needed to combat antimicrobial resistance and the WHO’s vision and activities for addressing this challenge.