Who are the Pittcon 2010 award winners?

Pittcon has announced who will be receiving ten prestigious awards during the convention between 28 February and 5 March 2010. This year’s awardees represent diverse scientific disciplines including bioanalytical science, biomedical, chromatography, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry and separations science. Each award is presented during a symposium honouring the achievements of the recipient.

The 2010 Pittcon Heritage Award will be presented to Professor Walter Jennings, who is Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis, USA and cofounder of J&W Scientific. This award recognizes outstanding individuals whose entrepreneurial careers shaped the instrumentation and laboratory supplies community, inspired achievement, promoted public understanding of the modern instrumentation sciences and highlighted the role of analytical chemistry in world economies. Dr Walter Jennings has pursued successful careers in both academia and industry. He constructed his first gas chromatograph in 1954 and has authored a number of books on chromatography. He has also served as editor for several multi-authored books and published some 300 scientific papers. He discussed his career in an article for LC•GC North America, which is available on-line here.

The Analytical Chemistry Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science will be awarded to Christy L. Haynes, assistant professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, USA. This award recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the field of separation science by a chemist or chemical engineer within ten years of their degree. Haynes has expertise in the areas of nanoscale materials chemistry and surface laser spectroscopy. Her NIH-funded postdoctoral research exploited carbon-fibre microelectrochemistry to study exocytosis from individual biological cells.

The Bomem-Michelson Award is dedicated to the memory of Professor A.E. Michelson, developer of the Michelson interferometer and honours scientists who have advanced the techniques of vibrational, molecular, Raman or electronic spectroscopy. This year it will be awarded to Professor Richard P. Van Duyne, Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, who is widely known for the 1977 discovery of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Most recently Van Duyne developed the isotopologue proof of single molecule SERS that has put this field on a more sound scientific footing.

The Charles N. Reilley Award honours significant contributions to electroanalytical chemistry. It will be awarded to Richard M. Crooks, Robert A. Welch Chair in Materials Chemistry, University of Texas, Austin, USA. The Crooks group has broad interests in electrochemistry, biological and chemical microsensors, as well as nanomaterials and is presently focused on synthesis, characterization and testing of highly selective nanocomposite catalysts, in addition to the design and fabrication of a new family of sensors based on micro- and nanofluidic devices.

The Chromatography Forum of Delaware Valley Dal Nogare Award is to be presented to Lane C. Sander, leader of the Organic Chemical Metrology Group within the Analytical Chemistry Division, NIST. The recipient of the Dal Nogare award is chosen on the basis of his or her contributions to the understanding of the chromatographic process. Dr Sander developed the first column tailored for the analysis of carotenoid isomers, using a polymeric C30 stationary phase. His research interests include the improvement of chemical metrology in environmental, clinical and food science disciplines.

The Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award will be presented, in recognition of significant contributions to the field of analytical chemistry, to Lloyd M. Smith, W.L. Hubbell professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, USA. His primary area of research is in the development of new technologies for the analysis and manipulation of biomolecules.

The Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award: Development and Application of Novel Technologies for Large-Scale Protein Sequence Analysis will be awarded to Joshua J. Coon, assistant professor of Chemistry and Biomolecular Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. The award is presented to recognize individuals for outstanding achievements in the fields of analytical chemistry and/or applied spectroscopy. With emphasis on ion chemistry and instrumentation, Joshua Coon’s group develops and applies new enabling MS-based proteomic technologies.

The Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award: Frontiers of Vibrational Spectroscopy of Biosystems and Energy Conversion (SSP) will go to Robin M. Hochstrasser, University of Pennsylvania, USA. The Award honours an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of spectroscopy. According to the organizers, Robin Hochstrasser’s work has defined a new role for ultrafast methods in chemistry, materials and biology by unifying previous nonlinear spectroscopies.

The Ralph N. Adams Award recognizes significant contributions to the field of bioanalytical chemistry. It will be awarded to Catherine Fenselau, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, USA. Independently and in collaborations she has published significantly in pharmacology, glycobiology and microbiology and, according to the organizers, was a thought-leader as mass spectrometry moved towards analyses of heavier biopolymers.

The Williams-Wright Award is presented annually to an industrial spectroscopist who has made significant contributions to vibrational spectroscopy while working in industry. This year it will be presented to Patrick J. Treado, Founder and chief technology officer, ChemImage Corporation, whose research interests involve the development of IR, Raman and fluorescence chemical imaging and its application to materials analysis, clinical diagnostics, process monitoring and threat detection.

A complete listing and description for all award symposia can be found at www.pittcon.org