Transforming Analytical Science from Unexplored to Routine to Next Generation

Research is its own reward. It is not just the end result that can be exciting and gratifying, but often the quest itself in terms of student and colleague interactions, the different often unexpected directions taken and new knowledge acquired. While complete success is never guaranteed, substantial progress should be expected. Our investigations have involved separations, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, biochemistry and microbiology among other areas. Early work on peptide analysis eventually became routine and then reversed in difficulty due to stereoisomeric aberrations. Macrocycles like cyclodextrins and glycopeptides revolutionized chiral separations, drug delivery, etc. and eventually become routine, but now have been varied for new applications. Ultra-fast analyses preceded the “green” chemistry moniker but made it possible. Interestingly, there may be a connection between this and extraterrestrial research. Signal processing is unfamiliar and often unknown to the typical analyst but it plays essential roles in most analytical methodologies. Microfluidic analysis of microorganisms started 2 ½ decades ago and now is attracting ever greater interest.