FACSS and SAS announce Professor Ralph Sturgeon as the recipient of the New England Section of the 2012 Lester W. Strock Award

Sante Fe, NM. June 29, 2012.

The Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) and the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS) are pleased to announce that Professor Ralph Sturgeon, National Research Council, Canada, has been selected as the recipient of the New England Section of the SAS’s 2012 Strock Award. .

This award has been established by the New England Section and is given annually to an author or authors in recognition of a selected publication of substantive research in/or application of analytical atomic spectrochemistry in the fields of earth science, life sciences, or stellar and cosmic sciences. The selection committee give particular attention to the scientific interests of Lester W. Strock in the geological and life sciences, as exemplified by his publications when making a selection. Nomination for the award may be made by any member of the Society. The award comprises a medal.

Ralph E. Sturgeon received his BSc (1973) and PhD (1977) in analytical chemistry from Carleton University, Ottawa Canada. Following graduation he immediately accepted a position as Research Associate in the Analytical Chemistry Group, Division of Chemistry at the National Research Council, Ottawa. Although primarily tasked with the development of Certified Reference Materials, he was given the latitude to pursue interest in fundamental studies in analytical spectroscopy. In1998 he became a Principal Research Officer and in 2000 was appointed Group Leader for Chemical Metrology in the Institute for National Measurement Standards, NRC, a position he held until 2010. His interests lie in inorganic analytical chemistry, comprising trace element analysis, vapor generation, instrument development, organometallic speciation and production of Certified Reference Materials with a focus on atomic and mass spectrometric detection. He currently serves on the advisory boards of a number of international analytical chemistry journals and holds an Adjunct Research professor position with the Department of Chemistry, Carleton University. Since 2000, he has represented Canada on the Comité consultatif pour la quantité de matière (CCQM) under the auspices of the International Committee of Weights and Measures, participating in the working groups for both Inorganic Analysis as well as the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine.

Sturgeon’s ongoing research activities are in the areas of vapor generation for sample introduction, mass bias fractionation in inorganic mass spectrometry and traceability of chemical measurements. His contributions to analytical atomic spectroscopy have been recognized through a number of awards, including Fellowship in the Chemical Institute of Canada (1990), the Barringer (1986) and Herzberg (2002) awards of the Spectroscopy Society of Canada, the McBryde Medal (1990) and Maxxam Award (2007) from the Chemical Institute of Canada, the Ioannes Marcus Marci award (1998) of the Czech Spectroscopic Society and an NRC Outstanding Achievement Award for 2009. The award will be formally presented by SAS president Mary Kate Donais during the SAS’s Wine and Cheese Awards Reception on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at the national meeting of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, SciX - The Great Scientific Exchange, presented by FACSS which will be held in Kansas City, MO. The reception and awards ceremony begin at 7:30 p.m.

Professor Sturgeon will present the Strock Award Plenary Lecture entitled “Vapor Generation - Make It Your Second Thought for Sample Introduction” on Thursday October 4th and a separate half-day award symposium of five invited presentations will be held following his lecture at the SciX conference

About The Society for Applied Spectroscopy

The objective of this Society is to advance and disseminate knowledge and information concerning the art and science of spectroscopy and other allied sciences.

Founded in 1958, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS) is the only professional society dedicated to those interested in all phases of spectroscopy: the science and art of absorption, emission, Raman, mass, and related forms of spectral study for determining the composition and structure of matter. Related primarily to physics, chemistry and other allied sciences, SAS provides many membership benefits including educational programs, conferences, and a monthly journal subscription to Applied Spectroscopy. http://s-a-s.org/journal/. 

About FACSS

The Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS) was established in 1973 as a federation with a initial aims of combining many small meetings previously organized by individual member societies (organizations) into one joint internationally-recognized conference that covers the whole field of Analytical Chemistry and supporting meetings and activities consistent with the federation’s mission. Member organizations have representatives that sit on the Governing Board of the Federation. Member organizations include both United States-based and international societies. Current FACSS consists of 10 member organization including the AES Electrophoresis Society, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Analytical Division, the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), the Association of Analytical Chemists (ANACHEM), the Coblentz Society, the International Society for Automation (ISA) – Analysis Division, the North American Society for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (NASLIBS), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Analytical Division, the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS), and the Spectroscopical Society of Japan (SpSJ). Additional information is available at www.facss.org. 

Future North American conferences presented by FACSS will carry the name SciX – the Great Scientific eXchange. Additional information on SciX and the 2012 SciX conference is available at www.scixconference.org.