Data Science Tools For the Prediction of VUV Spectra: An HPLC 2025 Video Interview with Kevin Schug

In this video interview, LCGC International spoke with Kevin Schug, a long-standing and active member of the LCGC International Editorial Advisory Board. Schug is professor and the Shimadzu distinguished professor of analytical chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), in Texas, USA.

In part one of the interview, Schug discusses the application and benefits of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detection in gas chromatography (GC) and how advanced modern machine learning approaches can be implemented. Schug's work emphasizes the development and deployment of predictive tools, including the use of random forest regression models, to simulate VUV absorption spectra with a high degree of chemical relevance and efficiency that can improve upon traditional computational methods in specific contexts.

The discussion also explores novel molecular descriptors, such as ABOCH features, developed to more effectively represent spectral-relevant characteristics like aromaticity and halogenation. By combining chemical insight with advanced algorithms, these efforts aim to streamline compound identification and method development in analytical workflows.

Schug spoke to LCGC International at HPLC 2025 to answer the following questions:

• Your talk at HPLC focused on data science tools for advanced method development and prediction in analytical measurements. Part of your talk discussed GC–VUV/UV methods. Firstly, can you describe the benefits of GC–VUV/UV generally?
• How does the use of machine learning (ML), particularly random forest regression, enhance the prediction of VUV/UV absorption spectra compared to traditional quantum chemical methods like time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT)?
• You discussed ABOCH features. Can you define what these are? What are the advantages of the newly introduced ABOCH molecular features for capturing spectral-relevant characteristics such as pi-bonding, aromaticity, and halogenation?
• In what ways can accurate, ML-based prediction of gas-phase VUV/UV spectra improve workflows or expand capabilities in chromatographic applications such as unknown compound identification or method development?
• How does this machine learning approach handle a diverse range of volatile and semivolatile compounds, and what are its limitations or requirements regarding the chemical structure input data?
• What are the next steps for VUV/UV spectral prediction?

Kevin A. Schug is a professor and the Shimadzu distinguished professor of analytical chemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Texas, USA. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry in 1998 from the College of William and Mary and his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech in 2002. From 2003–2005, he performed postdoctoral research at the University of Vienna in Austria. Since joining UTA in 2005, his research has been focused on the theory and application of separation science and mass spectrometry for solving a variety of analytical and physical chemistry problems in the fields of forensic, environmental, pharmaceutical, biological, and energy research. He has over 220 peer-reviewed publications and over 700 presentations, posters, and invited talks to his group’s credit. He has been the primary mentor and research advisor to more than 40 graduate and 80 undergraduate students. Schug has received several research awards, including the 2009 Emerging Leader Award in Chromatography by LCGC Magazine and the 2013 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Young Investigator in Separation Science Award. In 2024, he received the Silver Jubilee Medal from The Chromatographic Society (ChromSoc) (UK). For his teaching, he received the 2014 University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, and in 2017, he was awarded the J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Analytical Chemistry Education by the American Chemical Society. He is a fellow of both the University of Texas System and the U.T. Arlington’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He is also a fellow of U.T. Arlington’s Distinguished Service Leaders.