Luigi Mondello
Full Professor of Analytical Chemistry; Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences Department, University of Messina, Italy
Attracting talent…Broadly speaking, more opportunities should be put in place, for researchers to progress in their careers and to benefit from funding. But analytical science should be promoted as one of the most technologically advanced and interdisciplinary branches of chemistry, offering effective tools to face global challenges in security, nutrition, and human well-being. Finally, the numerous careers in the field should be spread in terms of their variety, characteristics, and opportunities.
Most exciting development or trend?? Miniaturization, speed, and automation have been at the core of instrumental development, recently. I believe that more and more effort will be put in the design of instruments that are simpler to operate and maintain, as well as portable devices capable of addressing tasks of environmental concern. Quality and consistency of analytical results will be improved, with less demand in terms of skilled personnel and better allocation of human resources.
Biggest challenge facing the field? The ever-increasing levels of regulation across all sectors of analytical science have resulted in the need for increased sample throughput and laboratory productivity. In the search for smaller environmental footprints, instrumental configurations shaving off the solvent and energy consumption of traditional analytical methods will shape the future of separation science – hopefully!
