2015 Alexander Goetz Instrument Support Program to use spectroscopy for new research projects

BOULDER, Colo. - Feb. 3, 2015 - PRLog -- BOULDER, Colo. – Feb.3, 2015 – ASD Inc., a PANalytical company and a global leader in high-performance NIR analytical instrumentation and materials analysis solutions, announced today the Alexander Goetz Instrument Support Program award recipients for 2015.

Nine projects were selected from a pool of applicants that reflect the scientific diversity and innovation the Goetz Program has fostered since its inception. Through the program students are granted access to ASD’s spectrometer and spectroradiometer product lines, including the FieldSpec^® 4, the HandHeld 2, and the company’s newest full-range contact spectrometer, the QualitySpec^® Trek.

“Encouraging students to think outside the box and experiment with innovative applications has been the cornerstone of the program’s success for over nine years.” said Brian Curtiss, CTO-NIR of ASD Inc. “This year’s recipients continue to push the application boundaries of remote sensing and NIR spectroscopy.”

The 2015 awardees are conducting NIR research around the world that will increase understanding of climate dynamics, forest ecosystems, forensic science, plant physiology, and dietary ecology of penguin colonies.

Recipients of the 2015 Goetz Instrument Support Program award and their research topics include:

Tavvs M. Alves,Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, USA

Proposal Title: ‘Spectral Plant Response to Main Soybean Pests of North Central United States’

Omar Vergara Diaz,Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Plant Biology, University of Barcelona, Spain

Proposal Title: ‘High Throughput Precision Phenotyping (HTPP) in Durum Wheat: Physiological Basis and Tools for Selection’

Kamlesh Golhani Ph.D. Candidate,Department of Agrotechnology, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Proposal Title: ‘Evaluation of Neural Network Classifier with VNIR Spectroscopy for Early Detection of CCCVd in Oil Palm’

Marcin Kawka, Ph.D. Candidate, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

Proposal Title: ‘Ground Validation of Multispectral Satellite Remote Sensing of Eutrophic Reservoir’

Trina Merrick, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, USA

Proposal Title: ‘Establishment of Spectral Libraries to Characterize Snow and Ice at SUMMIT Camp, Greenland’

Dan Pittenger, M.Sc. Candidate, Department of Geological Sciences, Central Washington University, USA

Proposal Title: ‘Changes in Snow Albedo Post-Wildfire from Disposition of Black Carbon from Charred Trees’

Nicola J. Potts, dual Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom and Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands

Proposal Title:‘Reflectance Spectroscopy of Hydrated Sulfate Salts: Mars Versus Earth’

Klemens Weisleitner, Ph.D. Candidate, Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Austria

Proposal Title: ‘Spectral Characterization of Microbial Benthic Mats in Lake Untersee and Supraglacial Material from a Nearby Glacier’

Casey Youngflesh, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, USA

Proposal Title: ‘Linking Physical Forcing to Dietary Shifts in Pygoscelis Penguins Using Field Spectroscopy and Multispectral Remote Sensors’

To complement the field work and encourage publication, recipients are eligible to receive up to USD 500 for approved journal publication charges and/or travel cost reimbursement regarding an accepted abstract for an oral or poster presentation at a relevant scientific conference.

The award is named for ASD Inc. co-founder Dr. Alexander Goetz, who is recognized as a pioneer in the fields of remote sensing and imaging spectrometry and developed some of the first field portable instruments.