Atomic spectrometry updates

Steve Hill is Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Plymouth, UK. He is currently General Editor and immediate past Chairman of ASU after first joining the ASU Board in 1986. His earliest paper in JAAS appeared in 1987, and he was on the JAAS Editorial Board between 1993 and 2005. In 1996 he produced his first Editorial for JAAS to introduce the first of the series of Special Issues using Guest Editors. His own research interests are varied and include the development and application of coupled techniques (especially HPLC-ICP-MS) for trace metal speciation as part of a broader interest in environmental analysis, novel approaches to sample extraction/preparation and, more recently, the application of chemometrics to atomic spectrometry.The Atomic Spectrometry Updates (ASU) have been an integral part of JAAS since the first issue in 1986. However, the history of the Updates goes back to the late 1960s. At that time, the newly formed Atomic Spectroscopy Group of the then Society for Analytical Chemistry, SAC (now the Analytical Division of the RSC), joined with the Institute of Physics and the Physics Society to organise the International Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy Conference in Sheffield in 1969. The success and enthusiasm generated by the conference encouraged the Atomic Spectroscopy Group to initiate an annual publication to review progress in the field. The project was supported by the Council of SAC and the first volume of the “Annual Reports on Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy (ARAAS)” was published in the summer of 1972, reporting developments during 1971. The book was well received.

In 1984 the RSC were considering launching a new international journal for the publication of original papers relating to the development and application of atomic spectrometric techniques. The original concept was conceived by the late John Ottaway, a Board member of ARAAS and Chair of the Analytical Editorial Board, and Barry Sharp, who was at the time Chair of the ARAAS Board. The new journal was to be called the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (JAAS). At that time, the publication of ARAAS in paperback book format was becoming difficult to sustain, given the inherent costs of production, and so it was agreed that the subject matter published in ARAAS would be divided into approximately six equal sections and incorporated into JAAS. One section, covering a defined topic, was to be published in each issue and would review material for the 12 months ending 6 months prior to the publication date of the JAAS issue. The first of these newly named “Atomic Spectrometry Updates” covering ‘Environmental Analysis’ was published in the first issue of JAAS.

Of the original members of the ARAAS Board, five were still serving when it disbanded and they transferred to the ASU Board. The new Board consisted of 43 members, of which 36 transferred from the ARAAS board, including Malcolm Cresser, who became the first Chair of the ASU Board. The original ASU Board also had 20 members from outside the UK. Since that time the composition of the Board has changed and it is now more dynamic in terms of membership: indeed over 130 analytical scientists have served on the Board since 1986. ASU has had five Chairs since Malcolm Cresser in 1986 (Doug Miles, 1989; Andy Ellis, 1995; John Marshall, 1998; Steve Hill, 2001; and currently, Phil Potts, 2005) and now has 35 members, although it still values the input from the overseas members, currently 11 in total. W. John Price is the only remaining Board member from the original ARAAS Editorial Board and has now served for nearly 34 years!

The changing Board membership of ASU reflects the gradual evolution of the reviews and subject matters themselves. There has been a move away from the manual preparation and collection of abstracts to a fully computerised system which now handles in excess of 6000 abstracts each year. Interestingly, an attempt in the early 1990s (prior to the availability of robust search engines) to make ASU abstracts available to scientists in an electronic form was discontinued after a few years when it became clear that user demand was limited! Of perhaps more importance to current reviews are the gradual changes that have been made to the content and style of the reviews. Over the years new sections devoted to “X-ray Fluorescence” and to “Atomic Mass Spectrometry” have been added and previous sections amalgamated, e.g., “Instrumentation” was merged into “Advances in Atomic Emission, Absorption and Fluorescence Spectrometry and Related Techniques” and “Minerals and Refractories” merged into “Industrial Analysis, Metals, Chemicals and Advanced Materials”. More recently, the changes have been more on the style of the reviews as the focus moves away from an attempt at comprehensive coverage to more selective reviews highlighting significant advances and identifying trends.

ASU and JAAS have both evolved greatly since 1986. ASU is now far more autonomous than in the early days of JAAS. However, the association between them remains strong. This perhaps reflects something of the community they serve. The formation of ARAAS and then ASU (and indeed JAAS) were direct results of energy and enthusiasm engendered by individuals working in an exciting area of science. Today, the ASU Board continues to reflect that same enthusiasm and commitment to producing something of value to the user community (www.asureviews.org).

Steve Hill

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