Graham Cooks Wins 2013 Dreyfus Prize

Graham Cooks of Purdue University has been awarded the 2013 Dreyfus Prize for advances in instrumentation. The award, which will be presented at a ceremony in the fall at which Cooks will give a lecture, is accompanied by a medal, a citation and a prize of US$250,000.

It has been given in recognition of the development of miniature mass spectrometers based on the desorption electrospray ionisation (DESI) technique which Cooks developed. DESI has found commercial use in the pharmaceutical research and drug manufacturing but its miniaturisation opens up a whole new realm of possibilities, like homeland security and consumer protection.

"We are trying to take powerful and sophisticated instruments out of the lab and into the real environment where, for example, they could monitor fresh produce all along the supply chain, from production to the consumers. This technology has the capability of testing for bacteria in only a matter of minutes as opposed to hours or even days for standard laboratory tests," explained Cooks.

His ultimate aim is for the general public to be in charge of these portable instruments, declaring “I would like everybody to have a little miniature mass spectrometer for themselves.”