Tag: Education

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Educational textbook Analytical Separation Science launched by Pirok and Schoenmakers

Bookframe

At the renowned HPLC2025 conference, a milestone in the field of separation science was celebrated with the official launch of Analytical Separation Science, a comprehensive new textbook authored by Dr. Bob Pirok and Prof. Peter Schoenmakers. The launch event, held on June 16 at the Historium Bruges and organized by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), brought together leading scientists and educators in the field.

The first official copy was presented to Prof. Govert Somsen of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, a long-time colleague and co-educator in analytical chemistry.

Structured around Basic, Master, and Advanced modules, the book serves both as a teaching tool and as a professional reference. It introduces fundamental concepts, offers in-depth treatments for graduate-level study, and explores cutting-edge developments in chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques.

“This book reflects our shared commitment to educating the next generation of analytical scientists,” said Prof. Peter Schoenmakers. “By combining foundational theory with real-world case studies and emerging methods, we aim to make separation science engaging and relevant across career stages.”

Figure 1. Cover of the book.

An interactive companion website (https://ass-ets.org) extends the book’s reach. It offers additional resources including a literature repository, academic lectures with interactive figures, and exercises based on decades of teaching experience at the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

The website is a community based effort with universities to be supporting their expertise to complete the analytical portfolio as much as possible.

Figure 2. Prof. Wolfgang Lindner (University of Vienna) and Prof. Peter Schoenmakers (University of Amsterdam) draw the winners of the book competition.

“Our goal was to make learning separation science both accessible and inspiring,” added Dr. Bob Pirok. “This project combines our classroom experience with insights from industry collaborations, bridging education and practice.”

Figure 3. Photograph from the launch event.

Conference participants were able to win a copy of the book by solving a series of puzzles and Prof. Wolfgang Lindner (University of Vienna) and Prof. Schoenmakers (University of Amsterdam) drew the five winners from the entries.

The book is now available at the Royal Society of Chemistry or any other book vendor.

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Conferences

Short Course on AI in Chromatography

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Machine learning is considered increasingly important in analytical separation science because of its potential to enable faster and more accurate interpretation of complex, high-dimensional data from techniques like chromatography and mass spectrometry.  Additionally, machine learning accelerates method development and improves reproducibility, leading to more efficient and reliable analytical workflows.

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

To help both newcomers and experienced practitioners in the field, Bob Pirok and Tijmen Bos were invited to give a short course entitled Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Chromatography at the 54th International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques (HPLC2025) in Bruges, Belgium.

The course, designed for both academic and industry scientists, was structured in four parts. It began with a clear introduction to the foundations of artificial intelligence, including the historical context and core concepts such as regression, optimization, and pattern recognition. In the second part, the presenters expanded into modern machine learning techniques — from support vector machines to neural networks and reinforcement learning approaches such as Q-learning and Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO).

The third part showcased real-world applications in chromatography, including predictive modeling for retention time, peak detection using neural networks, and data-driven optimization of method parameters. The session concluded with hands-on exercises, challenging participants to apply what they had learned to realistic chromatographic problems.

“AI is not a replacement for analytical expertise, it’s an extension of it,” said Dr. Pirok. “With the right understanding, these tools can help us interpret complex data faster and develop better methods with fewer experiments.”

Our goal is to demystify AI for chromatographers. These technologies are no longer futuristic — they’re ready to be applied, provided we know how to ask the right questions.

Dr. Tijmen Bos

Dr. Bos added, “Our goal is to demystify AI for chromatographers. These technologies are no longer futuristic — they’re ready to be applied, provided we know how to ask the right questions.”

The short course also served as a platform to emphasize responsible and informed application of machine learning in laboratory settings. The presenters stressed the importance of data quality, domain knowledge, and understanding the assumptions behind different models.