PNNL

PNNL scientists Richard (Dick) Smith and Ljiljana (Lili) Paša-Tolić are recognized by The Analytical Scientist in its 2019 Power List as two of 2019’s top 100 minds in analytical science.

The Analytical Scientist is a magazine that covers the people, technologies, and innovations at the forefront of analytical science. The publication uses stories to feature and disseminate groundbreaking ideas and material, working to infuse research communities with the latest insights and deliver invigorating content to readers.

The Power List brings together who The Analytical Scientist considers to be the year’s 100 most influential analytical scientists from around the world under two different categories—the top 20 and the top 21–100. While the list’s theme and categorical breakdown has morphed each year since its inception in 2013, its celebration of the best of the best in analytical science hasn’t.

Nominations are received from around the world, and the magazine’s staff discusses potential listees with a judging panel as well as with the candidates themselves. This year’s list contains repeat honorees as well as many talented up-and-coming researchers.

Smith, a Battelle Fellow and chief scientist at PNNL, comes in at #5 in the 2019 Power List’s Top 20 category. His research is focused on developing new and advanced methods and instrumentation for biological and chemical study. He also works on applying these methods and instruments to such areas as proteomics and metabolomics. One of his recent projects has been helming the development of a form of ion optics known as SLIM (structures for lossless ion manipulations) with the goal of enabling better mass-spectrometry-based measurements. He has authored or co-authored over 1100 peer-reviewed journal articles, as well as received 65 patents and 11 R&D 100 Awards.

Paša-Tolić is a Laboratory Fellow and Deputy of Technology for EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy user facility located at PNNL. She is recognized in the list’s Top 21–100 category. Her research centers on developing and applying sophisticated analytical methods for studying changes across time and space in protein (metabolite) abundance, identity, and activity. Paša-Tolić has published over 230 peer-reviewed journal articles and built an international reputation for developing breakthrough instrumentation and innovative strategies for proteomics and metabolomics. Most recently, she led the development of EMSL’s 21 Tesla Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer and established the mass spectrometry imaging capability at EMSL.