908 Devices, a pioneer of analytical devices for chemical and biomolecular analysis, is delighted to announce that their CTO and Co-Founder, Dr. Christopher D. Brown, is this year’s recipient of the Coblentz Society’s Williams-Wright Award for achievements in spectroscopy in industry.

The award is presented annually to a spectroscopist working in industry who has made significant contributions to the advancement of vibrational spectroscopy. The Coblentz Society presented the award to Dr. Brown at the 2020 Pittsburgh conference (Pittcon) in recognition of his work in the development of smart, high-performance miniature analytical systems across a range of industries and applications.

Dr. Brown has always been driven by a desire to put analytical technologies to work outside of the mainstream laboratory workflow, and often outside the laboratory entirely. This challenge demands a holistic approach to analytical system design, incorporating not only clever analytical technology, but also hardware, electronics, automated system control, user-facing software, and the statistically rigorous conversion of analytical data to answers. After he co-founded 908 Devices in 2012, the company launched the world’s first self-contained handheld mass spectrometer in 2015 (4 lb) and has since released a range of microscale MS and separation products in the field forensics and life-science arenas.

“Chris has driven innovations in optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry tools that have had industry-wide impact. His personal contributions and technical leadership have resulted in on-board analytics in handheld tools that are now considered the market standard,” said Dr. Kevin J. Knopp, CEO and Co-Founder of 908 Devices. “The Williams-Wright award is the most prestigious in our industry, and I can’t begin to describe how proud we are to see him honored with it.”