Optimization of Legume Processing Based on Food Chemical Engineering Analysis

Analytical chemistry and biomedical engineering may seem unrelated scientific fields, but they share significant intersections. Analytical chemistry focuses on the development of methods and protocols for chemical analysis of real-world samples, aiming for the detection and determination of analytes of general interest (environmental, medicinal, food, etc). On the other hand, biomedical engineering is focused on the development of medical devices, diagnostic tools, biomaterials or/ and tissue engineering, aiming to improve healthcare. Both fields share the goal of advancing diagnostics to promote early disease detection and personalized treatment.The swift customization of intricate and highly tailored printouts has led to the widespread adoption of 3D printing technology in both analytical chemistry and biomedical engineering, through the development of portable analytical devices (sensors, microfluidics and more)[1–3] and the fabrication of prosthetics and orthotics[4–6], respectively. While the benefits of 3D printing in each field have their own distinct advantages, there is immense potential for cross-disciplinary innovation.In that context, we present an innovative approach to merge analytical chemistry with biomedical engineering, through a fully-3D printed device that serves as a medical tool and an electrochemical sensor at the same time, namely Lab-on-a-Scalpel. This multifunctional tool aims to promote chemical analysis in the operating theater while minimizing the number of instruments required during surgery. It is a compact and disposable fully 3D printed electrochemical cell that enables the drop-volume analysis which is coveted and concurrently elusive function in cases where sample volume is limited. The Lab-on-a-Scalpel device was successfully applied in the electroanalytical determination of epinephrine through various electrochemical techniques (Cyclic Voltammetry, Amperometry, Differential Pulse Voltammetry) and different setups (stirring, drop-volume analysis, polarization potentials, etc). Results showed attractive analytical figures of merit, excellent stability and exceptional accuracy that render it a reliable sensing device that shows potential for the implementation for a wide range of biochemical analytes.All in all, Lab-on-a-Scalpel is able to provide healthcare professionals with near-patient diagnostics, eliminating the long waiting times behind test ordering and receiving lab reports. This way they can coordinate care by making faster and more informed decisions and engage in improved treatment plans that lead to an overall better patient post-surgical recovery.[1] A. Abdalla, B.A. Patel, 3D Printed Electrochemical Sensors, Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry. 14 (2021) 47–63.[2] A. Ambrosi, A. Bonanni, How 3D printing can boost advances in analytical and bioanalytical chemistry, Microchimica Acta. 188 (2021) 265.[3] F. Li, M.R. Ceballos, S.K. Balavandy, J. Fan, M.M. Khataei, Y. Yamini, F. Maya, 3D Printing in analytical sample preparation, J Sep Sci. 43 (2020) 1854–1866.[4] F. Ali, S.N. Kalva, M. Koc, Advancements in 3D printing techniques for biomedical applications: a comprehensive review of materials consideration, post processing, applications, and challenges, Discov Mater. 4 (2024) 53.[5] A. Manero, P. Smith, J. Sparkman, M. Dombrowski, D. Courbin, A. Kester, I. Womack, A. Chi, Implementation of 3D printing technology in the field of prosthetics: Past, present, and future, Int J Environ Res Public Health. 16 (2019).[6] R. Mendaza-DeCal, S. Peso-Fernandez, J. Rodriguez-Quiros, Orthotics and prosthetics by 3D-printing: Accelerating its fabrication flow, Res Vet Sci. 162 (2023). Figure 1

Everyone is becoming more environmentally conscious and therefore, chemical processes are being developed with their environmental burden in mind. This also means that more traditional chemical methods are being replaced with new innovations and this includes new solvents. Solvents are everywhere, but how necessary are they? They are used in most areas including synthetic chemistry, analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical production and processing, the food and flavour industry and the materials and coatings sectors. However, the principles of green chemistry guide us to use less of them, or to use safer, more environmentally friendly solvents if they are essential. Therefore, we should always ask ourselves, do we really need a solvent? Green chemistry, as a relatively new sub-discipline, is a rapidly growing field of research. Alternative solvents - including supercritical fluids and room temperature ionic liquids - form a significant portion of research in green chemistry. This is in part due to the hazards of many conventional solvents (e.g. toxicity and flammability) and the significant contribution that solvents make to the waste generated in many chemical processes. Solvents are important in analytical chemistry, product purification, extraction and separation technologies, and also in the modification of materials. Therefore, in order to make chemistry more sustainable in these fields, a knowledge of alternative, greener solvents is important. This book, which is part of a green chemistry series, uses examples that tie in with the 12 principles of green chemistry e.g. atom efficient reactions in benign solvents and processing of renewable chemicals/materials in green solvents. Readers get an overview of the many different kinds of solvents, written in such a way to make the book appropriate to newcomers to the field and prepare them for the 'green choices' available. The book also removes some of the mystique associated with 'alternative solvent' choices and includes information on solvents in different fields of chemistry such as analytical and materials chemistry in addition to catalysis and synthesis. The latest research developments, not covered elsewhere, are included such as switchable solvents and biosolvents. Also, some important areas that are often overlooked are described such as naturally sourced solvents (including ethanol and ethyl lactate) and liquid polymers (including poly(ethyleneglycol) and poly(dimethylsiloxane)). As well as these additional alternative solvents being included, the book takes a more general approach to solvents, not just focusing on the use of solvents in synthetic chemistry. Applications of solvents in areas such as analysis are overviewed in addition to the more widely recognised uses of alternative solvents in organic synthesis. Unfortunately, as the book shows, there is no universal green solvent and readers must ascertain their best options based on prior chemistry, cost, environmental benefits and other factors. It is important to try and minimize the number of solvent changes in a chemical process and therefore, the importance of solvents in product purification, extraction and separation technologies are highlighted. The book is aimed at newcomers to the field whether research students beginning investigations towards their thesis or industrial researchers curious to find out if an alternative solvent would be suitable in their work.

Everyone is becoming more environmentally conscious and therefore, chemical processes are being developed with their environmental burden in mind. This also means that more traditional chemical methods are being replaced with new innovations and this includes new solvents. Solvents are everywhere, but how necessary are they? They are used in most areas including synthetic chemistry, analytical chemistry, pharmaceutical production and processing, the food and flavour industry and the materials and coatings sectors. However, the principles of green chemistry guide us to use less of them, or to use safer, more environmentally friendly solvents if they are essential. Therefore, we should always ask ourselves, do we really need a solvent? Green chemistry, as a relatively new sub-discipline, is a rapidly growing field of research. Alternative solvents - including supercritical fluids and room temperature ionic liquids - form a significant portion of research in green chemistry. This is in part due to the hazards of many conventional solvents (e.g. toxicity and flammability) and the significant contribution that solvents make to the waste generated in many chemical processes. Solvents are important in analytical chemistry, product purification, extraction and separation technologies, and also in the modification of materials. Therefore, in order to make chemistry more sustainable in these fields, a knowledge of alternative, greener solvents is important. This book, which is part of a green chemistry series, uses examples that tie in with the 12 principles of green chemistry e.g. atom efficient reactions in benign solvents and processing of renewable chemicals/materials in green solvents. Readers get an overview of the many different kinds of solvents, written in such a way to make the book appropriate to newcomers to the field and prepare them for the 'green choices' available. The book also removes some of the mystique associated with 'alternative solvent' choices and includes information on solvents in different fields of chemistry such as analytical and materials chemistry in addition to catalysis and synthesis. The latest research developments, not covered elsewhere, are included such as switchable solvents and biosolvents. Also, some important areas that are often overlooked are described such as naturally sourced solvents (including ethanol and ethyl lactate) and liquid polymers (including poly(ethyleneglycol) and poly(dimethylsiloxane)). As well as these additional alternative solvents being included, the book takes a more general approach to solvents, not just focusing on the use of solvents in synthetic chemistry. Applications of solvents in areas such as analysis are overviewed in addition to the more widely recognised uses of alternative solvents in organic synthesis. Unfortunately, as the book shows, there is no universal green solvent and readers must ascertain their best options based on prior chemistry, cost, environmental benefits and other factors. It is important to try and minimize the number of solvent changes in a chemical process and therefore, the importance of solvents in product purification, extraction and separation technologies are highlighted. The book is aimed at newcomers to the field whether research students beginning investigations towards their thesis or industrial researchers curious to find out if an alternative solvent would be suitable in their work.

The bulk of this chapter is concerned with analytical chemistry during and for the first decade after World War II. At this time analytical chemistry underwent a radical change, which can most easily be characterized as a shift from wet chemistry to instrumental methods (Baird, 1993). Although this transformation of analytical chemistry may interest readers of this volume for a variety of reasons, I focus here on a shift in the concept and practice of a kind of objectivity. Objectivity is one of those concepts with generally positive connotations, but whose exact characterization proves elusive. A dictionary tells us that, as an adjective, objective applies to that which has “actual existence or reality.” Objective observation is “based on observable phenomena” and “uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices” (American Heritage Dictionary, 1993, p. 940). Objectivity, it would seem, either sits next to truth or defines the right route to truth. What emerges here, however, is a more complicated concept—a concept with a history that serves various agendas through suitable shades of meaning and marriages of convenience with other concepts. The development of instrumental methods in analytical chemistry made possible fast, precise, and accurate analyses of a wide variety of important substances. Instrumental methods changed forever the metals industries, medical diagnosis, oil analysis, and forensic analytical chemistry, to mention a few highlights. In a very real sense, these developments in analytical chemistry made contemporary science and technology possible by opening up vast new continents of information about the world, which could be gained relatively easily and applied toward technological and/or scientific ends. I argue here that these developments in analytical chemistry established a paradigm for one kind of concept of objectivity. Ralph Müller, who will play a central role in this discussion, wrote in the January 1947 issue of the Analytical Edition of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (the journal that subsequently became Analytical Chemistry): . . .The true instrumental method of analysis requires no reduction of data to normal pressure and temperature, no corrections or computations, no reference to correction factors nor interpolation on nomographic charts. . . .

The article aims to summarise the English teaching experience of the lecturers of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design in inorganic and analytical chemistry during 2019-2023 for Chinese first-year undergraduate students of the Kyiv College of the Qilu University of Technology (China). About 800 students of different years enrolled in two specialities - biotechnology and chemical technology and engineering - took part in the experiment. Changes in learning were analysed in the context of gradual changes in English language proficiency over the years of intake and changes in the learning environment associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The preferred learning styles of student groups using the Felder-Soloman method were studied as a function of the years of intake and compared to the profiles of Ukrainian students of similar specialities. Ukrainian students are always characterised by the dominance of one learning profile (90% of respondents), while several profiles are characteristic of Chinese students. At the beginning of the experiment, the programs and teaching methods for 2019/20 were based on multimedia lecture courses at Kyiv University, i.e. they were developed for teaching mono-profile groups. Given several educational preferences among Chinese students, the learning environment affected by COVID-19, and the increased cognitive load when using a foreign language, the original teaching materials became nonoptimal and needed changes. The work results showed that a prospective way for such changes is considering the recommendations of the cognitive load theory and providing better conditions for forming conceptual structures of chemical knowledge. Over the years of intake, with unchanged educational programs, presentation materials have been modernised following the identified problems and preferred students' learning profiles.

With the proliferation of distributed energy resources and advanced metering, modern electric power distribution systems require more simulation and engineering analysis to ensure that the planning and operation of the evolving feeders are efficient and reliable. Although distribution analytical and operational tools are widely available, their usage by utility engineers has been particularly difficult because of the huge effort required in massaging the data available from their enterprise systems into the unique database requirements for each analytical tool. This paper presents a data modelling and application usage framework for utilities that utilizes the Common Information Model (CIM) to standardize and integrate data directly available from the utility enterprise database. The paper describes this framework’s approach in standardizing a utility’s distribution data and storing it in a large database of high fidelity CIM models which can then be used as input to any analytical tool that can accept data in a CIM structure. This is demonstrated by using this CIM-based integration framework for Avista Corporation to translate data in the CIM structure into a distribution model of GridLAB-D, which is an open source distribution system simulator. The results from GridLAB-D are presented to show that many proprietary distribution analytical and operational tools can be made inter-operable if the utilities adopt such a CIM based data platform as a standard for distribution data.

Strategic planning tools for the analytical manager

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsR. W. MoirR. W. Moir (ScD, nuclear engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1967) joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1968. He has specialized in magnet design (yin-yang magnet concept), development of direct conversion of fusion plasma energy to electrical energy, and power plant design. He is currently project leader for the HYLIFE-II inertial fusion energy production project.Ikuji TakagiIkuji Takagi is an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at Kyoto University (KU), Japan. He is interested in thermal behaviors of hydrogen isotopes in and on metals.Kouta KodamaKouta Kodama (M. Eng., KU, 1993) is a graduate student in nuclear engineering and a researcher in the Toyota Motor Corporation Component and System Development Center Metallic Material Department. He is currently working on surface modification technology.Kazuo ShinKazuo Shin (BS, MS, and PhD, nuclear engineering, KU) is an associate professor of nuclear engineering at KU. His main fields of research include nuclear materials and radiation shielding. He is interested in radiation physics, radiation effects on materials, and radiation transport.Kunio HigashiKunio Higashi (Dr. Eng., KU, 1967) is a professor of nuclear engineering at KU. His current interests are plasma-facing materials and tritium technology.Hideki ZushiHideki Zushi is a member of the KU Plasma Physics Laboratory (KUPPL) research staff. He has done experimental work on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities.Tohru MizuuchiTohru Mizuuchi (D. Eng., electrical engineering, KU, 1983) is a member of the KUPPL research staff. He is currently working on edge plasma physics in helical systems.Tohru SenjyuTohru Senjyu is a mechanical engineer at KUPPL. His interests are in high-vacuum technology and mechanical design.Masahiro WakataniMasahiro Wakatani has worked in MHD theory, diamagnetic drift effects, and applications to stellarators and heliotrons.Tokuhiro ObikiTokuhiro Obiki (Dr. Eng., KU, 1973) is director of the KUPPL. He is involved in the heliotron program and in neutral beam injection heating, divertor physics, and design studies for the Large Helical Device.Cheng ZhangCheng Zhang (Graduate, physics, Peking University, China, 1968) is an associate research professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her current research interests are plasma physics theory and computer simulation.Francesco RomanelliFrancesco Romanelli (Graduate, physics, Universita’ di Firenze, Italy, 1980) is a researcher in the Comitato Nazionale per l’Energia Nucleare e Alternativa Fusion Department. His research interests are in linear theory of small-scale electrostatic instabilities, theory of ideal and resistive magnetohydrodynamic instabilities in the presence of energetic particles, and anomalous transport modeling.S. ChaturvediS. Chaturvedi (B. Tech., chemical engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, India, 1985; PhD, chemical engineering, Princeton University, 1989) is currently working at the Institute for Plasma Research in Gandhinagar, India. His current research interests include tokamak system studies, numerical modeling of breakdowns and disruptions in tokamaks, and radiation hydrodynamics simulations for inertial confinement fusion.R. G. MillsR. G. Mills A biography and photograph of R. G. Mills were not available.J. D. GalambosJ. D. Galambos (PhD, nuclear engineering, University of Illinois, 1983) is a member of the Computing Applications Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and works at the Fusion Engineering Design Center. His interests include systems analysis of tokamaks, plasma edge modeling, and advanced fuel fusion.L. John PerkinsL. John Perkins (BS, physics, 1974; MS, nuclear engineering, 1975; and PhD, physics, 1978, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom) is a physicist in the Magnetic Fusion Energy Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His primary interests include plasma engineering, fusion reactor design, advanced fusion energy conversion concepts, advanced tokamak fueling methods, and physics and engineering scoping studies of tokamak engineering test reactors.Norman R. SchulzeNorman R. Schulze (BS, physics, University of Chicago, 1958) works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He performed propulsion research at the NASA Langley Research Center, and he was one of the early staff members at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, where he was responsible for the management of the Gemini spacecraft’s propulsion system. He has performed systems analysis on many of NASA’s advanced spacecraft programs, including the space shuttle. A current interest is the development of fusion energy for space missions and the application of advanced technologies to enhance space mission capabilities including safety and mission success.Rainer W. KühneRainer W. Kühne (no photograph available) studied astronomy at the University of Bonn.Jiefu YangJiefu Yang studied at Hunan Normal University; Qing Hua University, Peking; and Beijing University, Peking from 1953 to 1963. His areas of interest are theoretical, experimental, nuclear, engineering, and particle physics.Patrick M. GrantPatrick M. Grant (PhD, nuclear and radiochemistry, University of California-Irvine, 1973) is the deputy director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Forensic Science Center. His current activities entail analytic work in counterterrorism, the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and criminalistics. Research interests include forensic science, applications of nuclear science, and analytical chemistry.Richard E. WhippleRichard E. Whipple (BA, biology, Willamette University, 1972) is an analytical chemist and explosives specialist in the LLNL Forensic Science Center. His current activities focus on explosives analyses and characterization. His research interests are pre- and post-blast explosives investigations, nuclear medicine, and radiochemistry.Armando AlcarazArmando Alcaraz (MS, chemistry, San Jose State University, 1984) is an analytical chemist in the LLNL Forensic Science Center. His current activities involve instrumentation design and methods development in the areas of nonproliferation, drug analysis, and criminalistics. His primary research interests are gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the detection of trace organic compounds.Jeffrey S. HaasJeffrey S. Haas (MS, chemistry, San Jose State University, 1991) is an analytical chemist in the LLNL Forensic Science Center. His current activities include chemical separations and methods development in the nonproliferation, counternarcotic, and criminalistics regimes. His primary research interest is general forensic science, particularly the analysis of trace organic, biologic, and inorganic evidence by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.Brian D. AndresenBrian D. Andresen (PhD, organic chemistry and mass spectrometry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1974) is the director of the LLNL Forensic Science Center. His current work involves national law enforcement and international forensic science aimed at arms control and nonproliferation, analytical instrumentation development for on-site measurements of chemical and biological warfare agents, and new ultratrace techniques for target compound identification. His research interests are portable mass spectrometers, field DNA analyses, and general forensic science.

Likely, many text on MATLAB, C++, FORTRAN and Python programming languages exist in chemical engineering libraries, discussing their applications for chemical engineering numerical analysis. R programming language, which has been in existence for more than 40 years is just evolving as a language of choice for data analytics in science and engineering. Here, it is shown that, numerical analysis with equations of state (EOS), especially the Peng-Robinson EOS, typically taught in undergraduate chemical engineering introductory courses can be solved with a developed or existing R source codes. Out of several other mathematical methods, including Fixed-point iteration, Regula-Falsi, Bisection and their modified/hybrid methods recently developed, only Secant and Newton’s method algorithm were followed to solve a sample problem by writing an R program. Although sufficient, in-depth study of the R language using some recommended manuals in this work can be a guide in implementing a solution with R for other numerical methods, for the same problem, as well as several other existing analytical and statistical chemical engineering problems out there.

Authors

Teaching of analytical chemistry in the U.S.

This review provides an updated discussion on the recent developments and applications of supercritical fluid technology in analytical chemistry. Supercritical mediums are usually used for extraction and separation of various analytes in analytical science. Although, this technology is used for chromatographic aims in the analysis of various samples the main application domain of supercritical fluids is in extraction process. SFE is suitable for recovery of various analytes, especially non-polar organic compounds, from different matrices. However, via some modifications or by the aid of modifiers or a chelating agent, this technique could be successfully applied in the extraction of polar or even ionic analytes. The range of analytes extracted via SFE is wide and mostly includes food and pharmaceutical samples, pollutants extraction and metal cation extraction. The aim of this paper is to review, from analytical chemistry standpoint, recent advances in the use of SC-CO2 for the extraction and separation of analytes. At the same time, a critical assessment will be made of the advantages of SCF technology in comparison with traditional methods. Special emphasis will be given to online coupling of SFE method with chromatographic techniques and FT-IR spectroscopy that make possible the extraction and separation of various analytes from different matrices in order to produce novel analytical techniques. The potentials, advantages, shortcomings, and prospects in employment of supercritical fluids for separation and extraction of various analytes are also considered. The efficiencies of SFE for the extraction of various analytes from solid and aqueous samples are compared to traditional methods such as Soxhlet extraction. Supercritical fluid extraction due to various reasons such as its greenness, rapidity and high efficiency are widely used an alternative to conventional solvent-based extraction methods. Also, SFE can be as an automated and miniaturized extraction technique, since it reduces the amounts of required samples considerably. SFE avoids multi-steps of conventional methods (such as partitioning, clean-up, evaporation) and hence it can reduce the uncertainty in the results. Furthermore, SFE reduces analysis times and is less laborintensive. Keywords: Supercritical fluids, chromatographic methods, cleanup, extraction, food analysis, pollutants.

The Low-Cost Solar Array (LSA) Project is directed toward effective cost reduction in the production of silicon for solar cells. Results are presented for process system properties, chemical engineering and economic analyses of the new technologies and processes being developed for the production of lower cost silicon for solar cells. Major physical, thermodynamic and transport property data are reported for the following silicon source and processing chemical materials: silane, silicon tetrachloride, trichlorosilane, dichlorosilane, silicon tetrafluoride, and silicon. The property data are reported for critical temperature, critical pressure, critical volume, vapor pressure, heat of vaporization, heat capacity, density, surface tension, viscosity, thermal conductivity, heat of formation and Gibb's free energy of formation. Chemical engineering analyses involving the preliminary process design of a plant (1000 MT/yr capacity) to produce silicon via the technology under consideration were accomplished for the following processes: UCC silane process for silicon, BCL process for silicon, conventional polysilicon process (Siemens technology), SiI/sub 4/ decomposition process, and DCS process (dichlorosilane).Major activities in chemical engineering analyses include base case conditions, reaction chemistry, process flowsheet, material balance, energy balance, property data, equipment design, major equipment list, production labor and forward for economic analysis. The process design package provides detailed data for raw materials, utilities, major process equipment and production labor requirements necessary for polysilicon production in each process. Using detailed data from the process design package, economic analyses for a 1000 MT/yr silicon plant were accomplished. Primary results from the economic analyses included plant capital investment and product cost. Results are presented and discussed. (WHK)

RETURN TO ISSUEPREVAdvertisementNEXT"Two of the best reasons to advertise are... Chemical & Engineering News and Analytical Chemistry."Cite this: Chem. Eng. News 1974, 52, 45, 24Publication Date (Print):November 11, 1974Publication History Published online7 November 2010Published inissue 11 November 1974https://doi.org/10.1021/cen-v052n045.p024Copyright © 1974 AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETYArticle Views58Altmetric-Citations-LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (148 KB) SUBJECTS:Analytical chemistry,Chemical engineering and industrial chemistry Get e-Alerts

Let us celebrate the outstanding researcher and teacher of inorganic and analytical chemistry and the developer and user of the thermoanalytical methods and, last but not least, the member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (JTAC). Prof. Lauri Niinisto graduated in chemical engineering and received the doctor degree at the Helsinki University of Technology and after his PhD, he spent 1 year at the University of Stockholm. He became full professor and the Head of the Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry in 1977, and held that position until 2007. He was the Dean of the Technical University of Helsinki, Department of Process Engineering and Materials Science from 1987 until 1989. He worked at the University of Florida (1985–1986), at the Technical University of Vienna (1993) and at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (2000) as well. At the beginning, he dealt with the synthesis and the structure of inorganic compounds, first of all, with the measurements based on X-ray diffraction and thermoanalytical techniques. He obtained outstanding results on catalysts, supraconduction and precursors of rare earth compounds. Beyond the topics mentioned before, he became interested in the chemistry and technology of thin solid films. In the latter field, Prof. Niinisto and his colleagues worked out new materials and processes for the preparation of electronic devices and catalysts with atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) being a novel gas phase deposition technique at the time—which has become an industrial scale manufacturing process since. Binary and ternary oxides and other substances developed in Prof. Niinisto’s laboratory—often in industrial and international research cooperation—are applied in electroluminescent displays, gas sensors, as well as optical, conducting and buffer layers and coatings. In his research, Lauri Niinisto used an integrated approach, addressing the problems ranging from precursor synthesis, through preparation of films for the characterization of their structure, properties and applicability. A substantial part of his results consists of new solutions for the analysis and characterization of the prepared materials, based on modern methods (such as SIMS, XPS and ion beam techniques). The advanced materials synthesized and characterized include (among others) cerium activated strontium sulphide, yttrium stabilized zirconia, tin(IV) oxide coated porous silicon, perovskite type oxides and high temperature superconductors. Lauri Niinisto contributed substantially to the development of ALD into a widely accepted and applied procedure in the manufacture of microeletronic devices. On the above mentioned territories Prof. Niinisto published hundreds of papers, many books, chapters as an author and co-author. In addition, he was an inventor of new technological processes. He has often read lectures on the history of chemistry. His activity was outstanding in the organization of international scientific life. He has been the member of famous chemical journals and journals dealing with material sciences. He organized many conferences. He was the leader and member of many international scientific organizations such as the President of European Rare Earth G. Liptay G. Pokol (&) Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Szt. Gellert ter 4, Budapest 1111, Hungary e-mail: pokol@mail.bme.hu