Harm Moes is technical support engineer at SGS in the Netherlands. Mr. Moes has 13 years of experience in analytical instrumentation and held several technical positions with an analytical instrument supplier before joining SGS. At SGS, he provides technical support to the SGS oil, gas, and chemical labs in the Netherlands. That includes implementation and validation of new instrumentation, techniques, and methods, and instruction and training of laboratory personnel.

Dr. Nathaniel Hentz is assistant director of the analytical lab at the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC), where he develops bioanalytical assays in support of the various biomanufacturing processes taught at BTEC. Since 2008, Dr. Hentz has been responsible for developing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, industry short courses, and government (FDA and BARDA) training courses, with a focus on assay development and validation, quality control, and liquid-handling performance.

Karyn M. Usher is an analytical chemist in the Department of Natural Sciences at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, MN. At Metro State, her research has focused on sample preparation for the determination of analytes in complex matrices by high performance liquid chromatography.

Dr. Guido Verbeck discusses recent developments in mass spectrometry with contributing writer Tanuja Koppal, PhD

Sample preparation can be a labor-intensive and expensive process. What are the factors that should be considered when evaluating the possible transition from manual to semi-automated or fully automated systems? How do they impact your return on investment?

Big data is the current hot buzzword in data analysis. Laboratory managers helming such a project don’t necessarily require the expertise to directly implement a big data project, but it is advisable that they have a general understanding of the process to be able to set realistic goals and timetables.

Now that we have your attention, we have to dash your hopes. This is not a column about Vegas and “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” kind of fun. It is going to provide vital safety information on one of the most widely used laboratory solvents. The title is derived from what is probably the best-known common use of the term outside laboratories— i.e., a chemical stripper or stripping agent.

Dr. Anne Carpenter leads the Imaging Platform at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT—a team of biologists and computer scientists who develop image analysis and data mining methods and software that are freely available to the public through the open-source CellProfiler project.

Dr. Arvind Rao has been an assistant professor in the Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center since 2011.

Greg Martin is president of Complectors Consulting (www.complectors.com), based in Pottstown, PA, which provides consulting and training in the area of pharmaceutical analytical chemistry. Mr. Martin has over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and was director of pharmaceutical analytical chemistry (R&D) for a major PhRMA company for a number of years. In addition, he has volunteered for the U.S. Pharmacopeia for over 10 years, and currently serves as vice chair of the General Chapters—Physical Analysis Expert Committee and also serves on expert panels on Validation and Verification; Weights and Balances’ Residual Solvents; and Use of Enzymes for Dissolution Testing of Gelatin Capsules.