Dr Edwards of Process NMR Associates recently joined the American Chemical Society (ACS) speaker service which provides a clearing house for speakers who lecture on chemistry topics at local ACS Section Meetings that are typically held once a month during the academic year. Dr Edwards’ talk abstract and bio are provided below. Feel free to contact Dr Edwards if you are interested in hosting his talk at your meeting.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. John C. Edwards
Dr Edwards is currently a partner in Process NMR Associates, LLC where he is responsible for commercial analytical NMR services as well as development of on-line and at-line applications of NMR technology. He received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Durham University in the UK (1986), and then received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of South Carolina in 1990. His doctoral studies involved solid-state NMR of catalyst materials. He was responsible for all NMR services with Texaco Inc from 1990-97 where he developed his particular expertise in petroleum and petrochemical NMR. In 1997 began Process NMR Associates which is involved in application of high resolution NMR spectroscopy for on-line process control as well as providing commercial analytical NMR service to over 250 industrial and academic customers around the world. Over the past 20 years Dr Edwards has developed an expertise in many types of non-traditional NMR equipment and applications.
The Wonderful World of Non-Traditional NMR Spectroscopy
Over the past 60 years NMR has developed into a premier spectroscopic tool in the academic and industrial world. Superconducting spectrometers with fields ranging from 7 to 23 Tesla are considered as typical NMR equipment and NMR “cold probes”, operating at near liquid Helium temperatures, are now hot items to improve sensitivity and throughput. NMR technology has also found other application areas to exploit and these areas are a far cry from a laboratory environment. Permanent magnet based NMR systems are currently used to map the underground hydrocarbon-water makeup of oil drilling wells and to control huge production units in refineries and chemical plants based on observed proton chemistry. Portable NMR systems are taken into the field for on the spot analysis of agricultural products, antarctic ice, elastomer performance, concrete and wood moisture analysis. Single-sided NMR probe/magnet sensors are being used to study degradation of antique books, frescoes, and paintings. The non-traditional NMR technology and applications will be described and the economic benefits of the applications will be discussed. The future of NMR will include small, affordable, automated systems that will make NMR a much less exotic technique reserved only for large budget industrial or academic facilities.
Contact : John Edwards, (203) 744-5905 E-Mail: john@process-nmr.com