DAC tries a new format

Abstract

The European Analytical Column has a somewhat different format this time. From now on, it is our ambition to invite guest columnists to give their views on various matters related to analytical chemistry in Europe. This year, we have invited Professor Hendrik Emons at the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) to give his view of the prospects for analytical chemistry with input obtained from colleagues at the same institute. We also report on recent activities of Division of Analytical Chemistry (DAC) (Fig. 1) and changes in its governance. Analytical chemistry in Europe has many facets and DAC is discussing a broad range of them. I would like to focus my introduction of this European Analytical Column to one question: ‘‘Do we need analytical chemists with high-quality education?’’ More than every second chemist working outside the educational system in the world is an analytical chemist. This circumstance is neglected in most European countries. If Europe wants to be competitive with respect to its industrial activities based on chemistry, then a comprehen-