Editorial

New faces, old friends

These are times of important change for JAAS. Many were mentioned in an editorial by Claire Darby in the January, 2005, issue; however, some deserve being highlighted.

As with most institutions, the most important milestones have to do with people. In the case of JAAS, several important changes have occurred. Perhaps most significantly, Claire Darby has assumed the position of Managing Editor of JAAS, a post held by Sarah Day for the past 5 years. Claire brings to JAAS a strong background in publishing, new ideas, and infectious enthusiasm. The journal should continue to grow stronger under her direction.

Of course, JAAS is already strong, made so largely because of the efforts of Sarah Day. Under her, the journal grew in stature, indicated in part by its citation index, a figure that reached 4.25 in 2003. Sarah also became deeply involved in the community of atomic spectrometrists, routinely attending important conferences and cultivating authors of scientific papers. She also helped keep the editorial board in line during our semi-annual meetings.

Sarah Day has spent roughly 11 years with the RSC, beginning as an Assistant Editor in January, 1994, becoming a Deputy Editor in 1995, and assuming the responsibilities of Managing Editor of both JAAS and The Analyst in January, 1999. Since October, 2004, she has been involved with membership recruitment in the RSC. She and her husband Jason have also embarked on their own expansion program and are expecting their first child later this Spring. We wish them both our best and will hope to see them at forthcoming conferences.

Another critical change is that Joe Caruso stepped down as Chairman of the JAAS Editorial Board (JEB) after serving the rules-limited term of four years. Joe was the first North American to serve in this position. Everyone knows of Joe’s scientific achievements, of course, and many of us have marveled at how his research continued to grow stronger even as he assumed ever more responsible administrative positions at the University of Cincinnati. It will surprise no one that he headed the JEB with efficiency, common sense, excellent judgment, and great good humor. Under his guidance, the JEB became a truly international body. His shoes will not be possible to fill. Upon Joe’s mandated retirement from the JEB, he was immediately and unanimously elected to the JAAS International Advisory Board. Joe served earlier on the IAB as well, from 1996 to 1998, at which time he joined the JEB. A fellow of the RSC, he is known affectionately in the community as “Don Giuseppe”.

Joe’s position on the JEB will be filled by Detlef Günther, of the ETH in Zürich, Switzerland. Detlef has become internationally recognized for his contributions to both the fundamental and practical aspects of laser ablation, especially as applied to ICP mass spectrometry. Detlef was recognized at the 2003 European Winter Conference in Plasma Spectrochemistry by receiving its prestigious Award in Plasma Spectrochemistry. Detlef is active in many different areas outside atomic spectrometry, including rock climbing, hiking, skiing, and collecting semi-precious stones. He is also semi-skilled at bobsled racing, his team falling second in 2003 only to “Team America”, headed by R. Kenneth Marcus.

The final change in the JAAS Editorial Board is the replacement of Steve Hill by Andrew Taylor. Steve served on the JEB for a total of 10 years, first as a regular member and then later as a “co-opted” member of the JEB because of his position as Chairman of the editorial board of Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASU), one of the most important features in JAAS. Steve is also General Editor of the ASU reviews. He has developed ASUs to cover emerging areas and implemented new procedures to produce ASUs in a more timely fashion. He himself has authored 10 ASU reviews. He is also a committee member on the Atomic Spectroscopy Group of the Analytical Division of the RSC and is a fellow of the RSC. Along with Joe Caruso, Steve organized the first special issue of JAAS, in December, 1996, on the subject of Elemental Speciation, now one of the journal’s most important topics.

Andrew Taylor, who replaces Steve as a co-opted member, is a member of the Executive Committee of ASU. He is Director of the Guildford Supra-Regional Assay Service Trace Elements Centre at the University of Surrey. His experience in the measurement of trace elements in biological and environmental specimens covers almost thirty years. We will look forward to working with him.

Gary M. Hieftje

New editorial board members

Plate1

Detlef Günther studied Chemistry at the Martin-Luther-University Halle Wittenberg, Germany (1982–1987), where he finished his PhD in 1990 under the supervision of Professor L. Moenke. After two postdoctoral positions at the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and at Memorial University, Canada, he moved to ETH Zurich, where he became a research assistant at the Institute of Isotope Geology. In 1998 he became assistant professor at the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry, and in 2003 he was appointed as associate professor for Analytical Chemistry. His research group “Trace Element Micro Analysis” has been and is interested in fundamental aspects of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for liquids and the direct analysis of solids, which includes research on various sample introduction systems, the ablation process, aerosol transport and excitation processes within the ICP. Method developments and their applications (e.g., gemstone fingerprinting, inclusions analysis, glass and ceramic analysis and insect labeling using stable isotopes) demonstrate his interest in interdisciplinary collaborations and their challenging analytical tasks.¹ His current research team consists of 12 researchers at different levels and he and his co-workers contributed approximately 120 original papers, a book chapter, 11 general articles, 70 invited lectures and approximately 170 other presentations at national and international conferences. His research was awarded the Ruzicka prize (2002) and the 2003 European Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry.

Plate2

Andrew Taylor is a Clinical Biochemist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital and Honorary Reader in the School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences of the University of Surrey, in Guildford, United Kingdom. He is Director of a Trace Element Reference Laboratory which analyses clinical and environmental specimens received from hospitals and other institutions within the UK and other countries. In addition to the supervision of the analytical work of the laboratory, much time is given to consultation and the provision of advice of a clinical and technical nature to other laboratories, physicians and to members of the public. He has been involved with many topics in this field, including work with mercury, gold, aluminium and lead. Current research interests include the possible protective effects of magnesium and selenium in aluminium toxicity and the influence of diet on the iron, zinc, and copper status of infants. He has worked on method developments for the measurement of trace elements in clinical and biological samples, using atomic absorption techniques and, more recently, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. He founded and is Director of an international quality assessment scheme for the measurement of trace elements in biological fluids, and is coordinator of a group of organisers for such schemes in Europe and North America. He is a contributor to the Atomic Spectrometry Updates on Clinical and Biological Materials, Foods and Beverages.²

References

1. (a) S. E. Jackson and D. Guenther, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2003, 18, 205–212; (b) B. Hattendorf and D. Guenther, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2004, 19, 600–606; (c) H.-R. Kuhn and D. Guenther, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2004, 19, 1158–1164; (d) L. Halicz and D. Guenther, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2004, 19, 1539–1545.
2. (a) A. Taylor, S. Branch, D. Halls, M. Patriarca and M. White, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2004, 19, 505–556; (b) A. Taylor, S. Branch, D. Halls, M. Patriarca and M. White, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2003, 18, 385–427.

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