Ramon Barnes

Meet Ramon Barnes

Why analytical science?
My first interest in chemistry was inspired in a high school chemistry class and its instructor – Harley Reifsnyder. My original curiosity in analytical science was motivated by a college course in quantitatively analysis taught by Harry Freund at Oregon State University, who later encouraged me to undertake a senior research project. Howard V. Malmstadt at the University of Illinois unlocked a deep, lasting interest in analytical and measurement sciences during my PhD research.

Biggest surprise
Feeling the excitement of making a research discovery surprised me.

What makes spectroscopy so exciting?
Spectroscopy is among the fundamental frontiers of science, and its applications in plasma spectrochemistry achieve ever-new solutions to problems in fields from earth sciences (geochemistry, high-resolution isotopic analysis) to medicine (metal speciation, mass cytometry).