This year, we invited entrants to the Power List 2025 – Leading Voices Edition – to respond to one of three crucial questions for the field, including: What is the point of analytical science? Here, we share the 10 most compelling suggestions – selected blind by our expert panel.
Click here to explore the full essays and be inspired by the voices shaping the future of the field.
“Understand, adapt, and invent new tools”
Scott A. McLuckey: “In order to address the ‘point of analytical science,’ we must understand our tools, adapt them to novel scenarios, invent new tools as needed, and clearly communicate the information forthcoming from the measurements. As the measurement challenges are varied and evolving, we are challenged to find new and better ways to address them. While there is a common set of figures-of-merit associated with most measurements (e.g., sensitivity, specificity, dynamic range, etc.) and common statistical approaches to interpreting our data, the principles underlying our tools vary greatly (e.g., those of NMR versus those of mass spectrometry) as do the measurement challenges. Hence, as none of us can know or do it all, we need a community. As the community improves current approaches and invents new ones, old questions can be better addressed and new questions will be enabled. As this is a continuing process without a final destination, we are assured that analytical science will never be pointless.” Read more
“The only way to advance many important facets of society”
Katelynn Perrault Uptmor: “Back in 1972, the National Bureau of Standards released proceedings on ‘Analytical Chemistry: Key to Progress on National Problems’ that addressed the integral importance of analytical chemistry towards progress on electronics, clinical medicine, agricultural science, air pollution, water pollution, and more. And now, over 50 years later, we find ourselves still having to justify the point of analytical science? It is important, now more than ever, that we advocate for the importance of analytical chemistry as a discipline. It is the only way by which we can synthesize high quality information to advance many important facets of society.” Read more
“Uncover data that enables a better understanding of nature and better informed decisions”
Peter T. Kissinger: “The point of analytical science is to uncover data that enables a better understanding of nature and better informed decisions for industry, medicine, and government. The former objective often uncovers new measurement principles that later enable the more goal oriented tasks yet to come. With respect to the latter, we often apply the ‘technology’ label. Goals must be set with respect to the use of the data, how good it must be, who will collect it and where. Analytical chemists understand the requirements for precision, accuracy, speed, and cost. The art requires tradeoffs among these objectives. The perfect will undermine the good enough. The term ‘analytical chemist’ covers a wide range of responsibilities. Often we are in the middle, between defining a problem and handing off a result to others. Regardless of our position, we respect the process. Those in the middle should understand the objectives. Those at the end should understand the methodology. All should be transparent so that trust can be achieved. Lives and money can depend on data. Trust but validate.” Read more
“A foundational and integrative role”
Tao Chen: “In the pharmaceutical industry, analytical science plays a foundational and integrative role across every stage of the drug development pipeline – from early molecule discovery to market-ready therapies. During active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development, it provides crucial data to elucidate reaction mechanisms, monitor impurity profiles, and optimize synthetic routes. In drug product development, it offers critical insights to guide the selection of excipients and delivery systems, evaluate formulation stability, and determine final dosage forms. These data and insights are essential for process and formulation development as well as manufacturing robustness.” Read more
“Analytical chemistry and chemical analysis are different”
Victoria Samanidou: “It is of utmost importance that analytical scientists redefine themselves by deeply understanding the fact that analytical chemistry and chemical analysis are different and cannot be interchangeably used. The point of analytical science is to be the cornerstone of a solid foundation, where all steps of chemical analysis have been properly executed based on deep knowledge of the core chemistry (properties, interactions, mechanisms, reactions etc) behind sample collection, preservation, storage, sample preparation, measurement, and finally, the correct data handling. In this way, valid, precise and accurate results will be further used for interpretation and reporting in other scientific fields.” Read more
“Our guiding principle is trust”
Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto: “As analytical scientists, our guiding principle is trust. Regardless of the approach or technique, the cornerstone of our field is trust in the data we generate – trust in its accuracy, reliability, and significance. That, ultimately, is the point of analytical science: to ensure trust in the results. This pursuit of trust is a core value of our discipline. It’s the driving force behind innovation. Analytical methods are becoming greener, faster, and more efficient – but never at the expense of robustness. We do not compromise on the integrity of our results. It is this unwavering commitment to quality and reliability that makes analytical science essential to scientific discovery. Entire research domains depend on analytical scientists to deliver accurate data on which reliable conclusions can be built. The vast universe of -omics fields, for example, rests on the innovations and rigor of analytical science.” Read more
“Industry-driven, connected demands”
Chiara Cordero: “In my experience – particularly in food quality and authenticity – the most meaningful analytical advancements have stemmed from industry-driven demands: practical challenges, the need for rapid prediction, and a constant push for competitive advantage. Without these pressures and a clear willingness to innovate, even the most promising technologies risk remaining confined to academic labs or instrument brochures, disconnected from everyday application.” Read more
“Essential to the success of virtually every field of scientific inquiry”
Jessica Prenni: “Analytical scientists often work behind the scenes – we are not typically the stars of the show - yet we are essential to the success of virtually every field of scientific inquiry. Our methods and insights connect disciplines, translating complex phenomena into measurable, meaningful information. This integrative role positions us to respond to shifting research priorities. Indeed, adaptability has long been a hallmark of analytical science. Whether addressing new regulatory demands, emerging contaminants, or technological frontiers, we continually evolve – developing new methodologies, advancing instrumentation, and improving data interpretation. But at our core, we remain united by a shared ethos: a commitment to precision, transparency, and the rigorous validation of results.” Read more
“Truth represented by mass, abundance, and identity”
Perdita Barran: “In an age of alternative facts, fake news and a world of image and identity manipulation or hallucination coupled with ever increasing availability of data there is a clear need for a multidisciplinary understanding and definition of what is real. No matter which way you determine the truth, it has to be the same on each and every occasion; thus in chemical analysis, truth is represented by mass, abundance, and identity. It is fundamental to analytical science to retain truth in data as it is translated from initial measurement to applied knowledge. This relies on the integrity of analytical measurement scientists documenting how raw data is inevitably manipulated and altered as it is translated to useful knowledge.” Read more
“Make the invisible visible”
James Hallam: “Analytical science exists to make the invisible visible. It is the discipline that transforms uncertainty into clarity, complexity into comprehension, and trace into truth. In a world increasingly defined by its unseen threats – chemical, biological, and environmental – analytical science is not just a tool; it is a compass guiding us toward informed decisions, safer products, and a healthier planet.” Read more
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