€1 million Dutch spectroscopy investment

The NOW (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) has awarded €1 million as part of its “Investment Subsidy NOW Medium” programme to four projects. This programme covers subsidies for the acquisition of equipment costing between €110,000 and €900,000.

Dr B. de Bruin (University of Amsterdam and Radboud University Nijmegen) will acquire a new EPR spectrometer which will be used to study novel materials and catalytic processes.

Professor W.J. Buma (University of Amsterdam and FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen) will continue work on the dynamic structure of molecules exposed by infrared light. The “Free Electron Laser for Infrared eXperiments (FELIX) at the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen has shown that vibrational spectroscopy in the gas phase can be an extremely powerful tool for determining molecular structures. The current project is a significant expansion of the FELIX research facility.

Professor J.C. Schouten (Eindhoven University of Technology) will receive funding to improve considerably the analytical part of his research into the reaction mechanism of the production of gasoline from synthetic gas.

Professor E.W. Meijer (Eindhoven University of Technology) will create a new facility with which researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology will be able to unravel the aggregation mechanisms of synthetic and natural molecules. The facility will contain various spectroscopic techniques in which the formation of aggregates of chiral molecules can be studied with the help of circular polarised light.

New MALDI methods for polymer database

NIST has added 150 new methods to a database already containing 255 procedures for analysing specific synthetic polymers using MALDI MS. The “recipes” have been collected from peer-review literature and are freely available at www.nist.gov/maldi

Spectroscopy to help preserve Seville’s fine arts

Scientists at the University of Seville and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) are collaborating in an ambitious project on the application of non-destructive techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, XRF, PIXE and synchrotron radiation, for the analysis and preservation of the objects in Seville’s Fine Arts Museum. The research, classified as “a project of excellence” by the Andalusian Ministry of Innovation, Science and Enterprise, has a budget of €156,000 and the participation of the Spanish National Accelerator Centre (CNA).

Most of the work will be carried out at the museum with portable equipment, with those works needing special analysis being taken to the CNA. A database will be created with the data from the project and this will be spread amongst other European groups working in this area. www.andaluciainvestiga.com

Gordon F. Kirkbright Bursary 2007

This prestigious award enables a promising student/non-tenured young scientist of any nation to attend a recognised scientific meeting or visit a place of learning.

The fund for this bursary was established in 1985 as a memorial to Professor Gordon Kirkbright in recognition of his contributions to analytical spectroscopy and to science in general. The fund is administered by the Association of British Spectroscopists (ABS) Trust.

Applications are invited for the 2007 Gordon Kirkbright Bursary. The award is not restricted to spectroscopists. For further information contact: John Chalmers, VS Consulting, 14 Croft Hills, Tame Bridge Stokesley, UK. Fax: +44 (0)1642 714306; vibspecconsult@aol.com. The closing date for entries is 31 January 2007.

Austrian award for LC/MS method

The Christian Doppler Laboratory for mycotoxin research at the Department for Agrobiotechnology Tulln of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, has won the Dr Wolfgang Houska Award, the second highest Austrian research prize, for its work on screening for mycotoxins in wheat crops. The group developed a novel LC/MS method which allows simultaneous quantification of multitoxins, some of which require negative ionisation and some positive ionisation. “The LC/MS method also allows high selectivity and confirmation of the identity of the compunds, which is a major benefit” according to Professor Rudi Krska, Head of the Centre for Analytical Chemistry.

Proteomics reference materials

NIST and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) have begun a programme to develop measurement assessment materials needed to evaluate and assess advanced proteomic technologies, such as mass spectrometry, that will play a large role in the discovery and validation of cancer-related proteins found in readily accessible body fluids. The shortage of rigorous measurement quality assurance tools for proteomics to ensure reliable and reproducible results has started a $104million, five-year programme by NCI (the Clinical Proteomic Technology Initiative for Cancer, proteomics.cancer.gov) to refine and standardise proteomic technologies, reagents and methods to establish the measurement technology needed to validate protein discoveries and move these technologies into a clinical setting.

NIST will develop a measurement assessment material composed of proteins mimicking the complexity and dynamic range of the human plasma proteome. NIST will also assist in the overall study design and, as research progresses, develop more advanced proteomic reference materials. www.nist.gov, www.cancer.gov

Tomas Hirschfeld Award

The 2006 Tomas Hirschfeld Award has been given to Dr Roumiana Tsenkova from Kobe University, Japan. The Hirschfeld Award is presented for outstanding achievements in the field of NIR spectroscopy. It is administered by the International Council for Near Infrared Spectroscopy and sponsored by Büchi.

Dr Tsenkova started her career in NIR in her native Bulgaria, developing a sensor for disease diagnosis (mastitis in cows). In 1990, after becoming associate professor at the Faculty of Electronics, TU Rousse in Bulgaria, she was awarded the Japanese Monbusho scholarship for a post doctoral study on sensors for robotic milking at Obihiro University, Japan. Later on, in 1992, she moved to Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, as research fellow working on NIR spectroscopy for biomonitoring. Since 1996, she is a tenure professor at Kobe University in Japan, where her research has been in the area of using NIR and multivariate analysis for non-invasive bio-diagnosis and bio-monitoring, and for functional studies in life science. For the first time, she applied NIR for non-invasive diagnosis of disease and its understanding. Recently, she presented perturbation NIR spectroscopy to study water spectral properties in a living object and how they are related to biological functions.

Gerald S. Birth Award

Professor Yukihiro Ozaki of the Department of Chemistry of Kwansei Gakuin University, Sanda, Japan, has been chosen to receive the Gerald S. Birth Award for outstanding work in the field of NIR spectroscopy. The award is made by the Council for Near Infrared Spectroscopy and will be presented at the International Diffuse Reflectance Conference, Chambersburg, PA, USA, in August.

Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific to merge

Thermo Electron Corporation and Fisher Scientific International Inc. have announced the merger of the two companies to form a new organisation, which will be called Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. This will be a huge company with revenues in 2007 expected to exceed $9 billion and cash flow in 2007 of $1 billion. Marijn Dekkers, president and chief executive officer of Thermo Electron and of the new company, said “…Our customers will benefit from a partnership that can provide integrated, end-to-end application solutions to reduce their costs and increase efficiency.” The merger is subject to approval by both companies’ shareholders and regulatory approval. It is expected to complete in the last quarter of 2006. www.thermo.com, www.fisherscientific.com