Models and modelling, I was never a big fan. I always thought that you could make models say whatever you want them to say. But, many years later, I have changed my tune, particularly for statistical models. Used right, models can provide convincing lines of evidence that you have the correct answer to your scientific...
Knowing vs. Knowledge
GI Joe was wrong!Knowing is nothalf the battle (in environmental work)!It is barely a tenth of the battle, at best.There is a lot of confusion in the environmental industry, maybe even misrepresentation of what a company or person is capable of doing and what they are actually qualified to do.Especially nowadays...
Want to find errors in your data? Start analyzing it.
It may be counter intuitive to start statistical analysis on a dataset that hasn’t been fully vetted, but that is exactly what can be done for environmental contaminant datasets. If you can QA-QC them, great. If not, dive right in and start analyzing them.
Three reasons why GCxGC should be used for arson investigations
This month, our team at Chemistry Matters Inc. were able to share some of our knowledge through a peer reviewed publication that was published in a scientific journal called Forensics International. The paper describes the use of comprehensive two-dimensional chromatography (GCxGC) for fire debris samples....
MDC Workshop 2020 Summary
Well, that's a wrap. The 11th multidimensional chromatography workshop held at Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii is over. Another year, another MDCW in the books. The conference was niche and almost all the talks focused on two dimensional gas chromatography.
PITTCON 2019 Conference Summary
What happens when 14,000 people gather in one place, most of which are chemists? PITTCON happens. I am sure the city of Philadelphia cringed when they heard that that many nerds were gathering in one place and if they did not realize it before, they certainly do now. With jokes about Heisenberg or that alcohol is...
Kid in a candy store = Analytical chemist at PITTCON
Next week, I will be traveling to Philadelphia for the PITTCON Conference. I will be meeting another Chemistry Matters colleague, Michelle Misselwitz there as well. It is not so far to travel for Michelle as she is a resident of Pennsylvania but I will be spending some ever important focus time on a couple of plane...
Receptor Modelling in Environmental Forensics
Environmental forensics investigations sometimes require the determination of which contaminants came from where and how much is from each of the sources present on the site. This is called source apportionment and is a rapidly growing field in environmental litigation and environmental forensics. It is a field...
Why is our conference attendance important for you?
It is not the Belgium beer or chocolate that is taking us to Europe in January. Chemistry Matters Inc. (CMI) scientists are heading off to Belgium in January for the 10th Annual Multidimensional Chromatography Workshop being hosted by the University of Liège. Dr. Kates and I will both be presenting on the use of GCxGC...
Compounding Conservatism in Risk Assessment and Air Travel
I was flying back from a conference near Hartford a couple of weeks ago and realized that I had become a victim to compounding conservatism. How is compounding conservatism in risk assessment related to air travel? Well, let me tell you a story.