Meet Christopher Rüger

Christopher uses high-resolution mass spectrometry to unravel complex mixtures relevant to energy-transition and environmental research. He develops new ionization, hyphenation, and data-processing approaches for materials including pyrolysis oils, recycling streams, polymers, and carbonaceous aerosols.

“Seeing a new technology come to life is what excites me most,” he says. One particularly memorable moment came after Christopher, his PhD student, and industry collaborators modified an Orbitrap mass analyzer to incorporate vacuum laser-based photoionization. Following the final adjustment of its optics, the prototype produced its first spectrum – of the otherwise unremarkable standard toluene. For Christopher, that simple result represented the realization of an entirely new analytical setup.

AI could transform instrument design, experimental planning, operation, and data interpretation. Christopher imagines instruments that recognize unusual features as they emerge and adapt the measurement accordingly. Yet his enthusiasm comes with reservations. “Intelligent automation that starts taking away the enjoyable moments of trial and error, or even the process of thinking about the next experimental step, is not what I would want,” he says. “I hope AI will remain a tool that expands our curiosity rather than replacing it.”

Modern instruments can produce terabytes of data within weeks, but “detecting tens of thousands of signals does not automatically mean that we understand the chemistry behind them.” Christopher argues that new analytical dimensions should deliver additional chemical knowledge, not merely larger datasets. “A very convincing interpretation is still useless if the analytical evidence behind it is not sound.”

A rejected postdoctoral proposal unexpectedly redirected Christopher toward Pierre Giusti at TotalEnergies and Carlos Afonso at the University of Rouen Normandy. That connection led to work with FT-ICR mass spectrometry, ion mobility prototypes, and the iC2MC network. “What started with a rejected proposal ultimately opened a much broader scientific path than I had originally imagined,” he says.

Watching his daughters explore the world now offers a daily reminder of what drives that path: “From time to time, I think we should allow ourselves to be curious like children again and simply perform an experiment to see where it takes us.”