- Email: [email protected]
An appreciation
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 330–332 (2012) 2–3
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijms
Editorial
An appreciation
One of the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry editorial board’s missions is to promote special issues that present a collection of papers that either focus on a specific topic of interest to the journal’s readership or that recognize and honor a member of the mass spectrometry and ion chemistry communities the journal serves. As a member of the IJMS editorial board, I (MTR) have had the pleasure of serving as a guest editor for three such honor issues in the past. Although a significant amount of work, I found these experiences extremely enjoyable, as they provided the opportunity to organize community recognition of three individuals who mentored my scientific and professional development. The first of these special issues, IJMS 222, 1–509 (2003), included 34 manuscripts dedicated to Jesse (Jack) L. Beauchamp on the occasion of his 60th birthday (co-edited with Mike Bowers and Peter Armentrout). The second of these special issues, IJMS 241, 89–330 (2005), included 21 manuscripts dedicated to William L. Hase in honor of his 60th birthday (co-edited with Mike Bowers). The third, IJMS 283, 1–228 (2009), included 28 manuscripts dedicated to Michael T. Bowers on the occasion of his 70th birthday (co-edited with Peter Armentrout). All three special issues were a great success as a result of the support and contributions of many friends, colleagues, collaborators, and former students of these honored individuals, and I feel this issue will be as well. All three mentioned above have been very supportive, however, it should not surprise anyone that guest editing this special issue of IJMS in honor of Peter B. Armentrout has been the most personally rewarding of all. Peter has played the most significant role in my scientific and professional development, having been my biggest supporter and toughest critic throughout my professional career. I approached Mike Bowers at the 2011 IJMS editorial board meeting held at the ASMS Conference in Denver, Colorado for permission to initiate a special issue of IJMS in honor of Peter B. Armentrout on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Mike enthusiastically agreed to the special issue with only two questions. “Who else will help you guest edit this issue?” and “What is your plan for presentation of the special issue to Peter?” I suggested that David Clemmer, also a member of the editorial board and former Ph.D. student of Peter’s, would be ideal for the role, and as expected, Dave enthusiastically accepted. It also seemed appropriate to present the special issue to Peter at the 2013 Lake Arrowhead Conference on Ion Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry, January 18–20, 2013 just a few months shy of Peter’s 60th birthday, March 13, 2013. Peter has been a regular participant at this conference and its precursor ever since he was a graduate student.
1387-3806/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2012.11.003
I (DEC) first met Peter when he attended a new graduate student orientation picnic at a park in Salt Lake City. As an undergraduate, I spent two summers at Utah working with Stan Pons and later Ted Eyring. Prior to the start of graduate classes, there was a buzz among the graduate students about the new guy from Berkeley; but I had not yet met him. Another student who had met Peter said she that would point Peter out to me if she saw him. As we stood eating and talking with other students, a dispute broke out on the softball field near second base. Apparently, the hitter, a young, thickly-bearded gentleman, was attempting to complete a double and may have been thrown out. All I heard was the very loud exclamation, “IT’S NOT YOUR CALL!”. As everyone in the park stopped to see how this dispute would be resolved, the more senior student leaned over to me and said, “That’s him.” I was impressed. I learned early on that Peter is very passionate about everything he does. If you’re in his field (scientific or softball), you’d better get your calls right! There is no way for me to adequately describe the impact that Peter has had on my career. I know others from his group feel similarly. Peter is a remarkable teacher. During my time with him, I was transformed. He taught us students how to break complex problems down by considering simpler systems. Many problems can be solved by understanding the simplest molecule – hydrogen! He is amazingly quick and often put this on display in group meetings by rearranging our slides and giving the talk we were preparing back to us. We all learned about organizing a lecture by watching Peter reorganize other group member’s practice seminars. Often he could see several ways to present and explain the same data. This ability had a profound impact on my style later as a mentor. Having mentioned this, what I valued most about Peter was the chance to work on a paper with him. The final versions of papers were produced sitting side-by-side at a keyboard, something I’m told that Peter learned from his Ph.D. advisor, Jack Beauchamp. In these intense writing sessions, every word was scrutinized. It was remarkable to compare the final versions of manuscripts to their starting points. I was unfortunately ill for several months during graduate school and needed daily therapy at the UU medical school. The only enjoyment that I had during this time was a book chapter that we wrote for the NATO-ASI series. Thank you, Peter. I cannot begin to explain what this time writing meant to me. My impression is that my story is not unique. Peter’s ability to find what each student needed and give it to them is rare. Through the years, many other students have shared with me how he too met their needs.
Editorial / International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 330–332 (2012) 2–3
I (MTR) first met Peter at the 1993 Lake Arrowhead Conference on Ion Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry when I was a postdoctoral fellow in Jack Beauchamp’s group at Caltech. For weeks before the meeting, my colleagues Elaine Marzluff and Sherrie Campbell filled my head with stories of the brutal questions that would be lashed upon me after my presentation by the dynamic trio, Jack, Mike and Peter. From their stories, I began to expect that the meeting would be worse than a Ph.D. candidacy exam. My oral presentation was on Friday evening, during the very first oral session. Virtually all of the faculty were sitting in the front row and thus, that is where my attention was focused. In contrast to my fears, I found the atmosphere to be very stimulating because most of the faculty showed genuine interest in my work and asked me several questions each after my presentation. However, as a person new to the meeting, I did not know Peter by sight and had not noticed that he was in the back. After I had allowed several faculty to ask multiple questions, Peter loudly said “HEY! HOW COME HE GETS TO ASK A THIRD QUESTION (referring to Mike Bowers) AND I HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO ASK ONE YET?” I immediately came back with “Sorry! I didn’t notice you back there; all the important people are in the front.” This immediately received a hearty laugh from the entire audience, and marked the beginning of our friendship. It was only a few months later at the 2nd Winter Gordon Research Conference on Gaseous Ions: Structures, Energetics & Reactions held in Ventura, CA, March 1–5, 1993 that our paths crossed again. Peter showed a genuine interest in my work as well as that of many of the graduate students and postdocs during the poster sessions. Many of us stayed up late every night discussing science into the wee hours of the morning, and enjoyed celebrating the end of a great scientific meeting dancing after the conference dinner. Peter played a prominent role in these discussions, found it very easy to challenge us students and postdocs, and clearly enjoyed the dancing as well. These first few interactions with Peter made it clear that he was an excellent scientist and mentor, someone that I thought I could work well with, and someone that might become a good friend. At the 1994 Lake Arrowhead Conference, I approached Peter about pursuing a second postdoctoral fellowship in his group. He met this suggestion with great enthusiasm, but did not actually offer me a position until he had a letter
3
of recommendation from Jack. I went to Peter’s group the following July and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow with him for nearly three years. During that time we advanced the statistical analysis of collision-induced dissociation (CID) thresholds with the development of the phase space limit transition state model for the dissociation of noncovalent complexes as well as the treatment of competition in CID reactions, and measured a good deal of accurate thermochemistry along the way. In my independent career, Peter has continued to be an excellent scientific mentor, colleague and collaborator. We have always been able to challenge each other, provide continuous constructive criticism, which has helped to make each of us better scientists and mentors, and great friends. We as guest editors, former students, and friends are pleased that Peter’s 60th birthday has given us with an opportunity to recognize and thank him for the many contributions he has made to gas-phase ion chemistry and mass spectrometry, our scientific development, and our personal lives. Peter’s zest for science and life is as strong as ever, for which we can all be thankful. Peter, we hope that your coming years continue to be filled with great chemical insight, achievement, recognition, and enjoyment. Happy birthday, Peter! Mary T. Rodgers ∗ Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA David E. Clemmer Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA ∗ Corresponding
author. Tel.: +1 313 577 2431; fax: +1 313 577 8822. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.T. Rodgers)
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
International Journal of Mass Spectrometry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijms
Editorial
An appreciation
One of the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry editorial board’s missions is to promote special issues that present a collection of papers that either focus on a specific topic of interest to the journal’s readership or that recognize and honor a member of the mass spectrometry and ion chemistry communities the journal serves. As a member of the IJMS editorial board, I (MTR) have had the pleasure of serving as a guest editor for three such honor issues in the past. Although a significant amount of work, I found these experiences extremely enjoyable, as they provided the opportunity to organize community recognition of three individuals who mentored my scientific and professional development. The first of these special issues, IJMS 222, 1–509 (2003), included 34 manuscripts dedicated to Jesse (Jack) L. Beauchamp on the occasion of his 60th birthday (co-edited with Mike Bowers and Peter Armentrout). The second of these special issues, IJMS 241, 89–330 (2005), included 21 manuscripts dedicated to William L. Hase in honor of his 60th birthday (co-edited with Mike Bowers). The third, IJMS 283, 1–228 (2009), included 28 manuscripts dedicated to Michael T. Bowers on the occasion of his 70th birthday (co-edited with Peter Armentrout). All three special issues were a great success as a result of the support and contributions of many friends, colleagues, collaborators, and former students of these honored individuals, and I feel this issue will be as well. All three mentioned above have been very supportive, however, it should not surprise anyone that guest editing this special issue of IJMS in honor of Peter B. Armentrout has been the most personally rewarding of all. Peter has played the most significant role in my scientific and professional development, having been my biggest supporter and toughest critic throughout my professional career. I approached Mike Bowers at the 2011 IJMS editorial board meeting held at the ASMS Conference in Denver, Colorado for permission to initiate a special issue of IJMS in honor of Peter B. Armentrout on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Mike enthusiastically agreed to the special issue with only two questions. “Who else will help you guest edit this issue?” and “What is your plan for presentation of the special issue to Peter?” I suggested that David Clemmer, also a member of the editorial board and former Ph.D. student of Peter’s, would be ideal for the role, and as expected, Dave enthusiastically accepted. It also seemed appropriate to present the special issue to Peter at the 2013 Lake Arrowhead Conference on Ion Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry, January 18–20, 2013 just a few months shy of Peter’s 60th birthday, March 13, 2013. Peter has been a regular participant at this conference and its precursor ever since he was a graduate student.
1387-3806/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijms.2012.11.003
I (DEC) first met Peter when he attended a new graduate student orientation picnic at a park in Salt Lake City. As an undergraduate, I spent two summers at Utah working with Stan Pons and later Ted Eyring. Prior to the start of graduate classes, there was a buzz among the graduate students about the new guy from Berkeley; but I had not yet met him. Another student who had met Peter said she that would point Peter out to me if she saw him. As we stood eating and talking with other students, a dispute broke out on the softball field near second base. Apparently, the hitter, a young, thickly-bearded gentleman, was attempting to complete a double and may have been thrown out. All I heard was the very loud exclamation, “IT’S NOT YOUR CALL!”. As everyone in the park stopped to see how this dispute would be resolved, the more senior student leaned over to me and said, “That’s him.” I was impressed. I learned early on that Peter is very passionate about everything he does. If you’re in his field (scientific or softball), you’d better get your calls right! There is no way for me to adequately describe the impact that Peter has had on my career. I know others from his group feel similarly. Peter is a remarkable teacher. During my time with him, I was transformed. He taught us students how to break complex problems down by considering simpler systems. Many problems can be solved by understanding the simplest molecule – hydrogen! He is amazingly quick and often put this on display in group meetings by rearranging our slides and giving the talk we were preparing back to us. We all learned about organizing a lecture by watching Peter reorganize other group member’s practice seminars. Often he could see several ways to present and explain the same data. This ability had a profound impact on my style later as a mentor. Having mentioned this, what I valued most about Peter was the chance to work on a paper with him. The final versions of papers were produced sitting side-by-side at a keyboard, something I’m told that Peter learned from his Ph.D. advisor, Jack Beauchamp. In these intense writing sessions, every word was scrutinized. It was remarkable to compare the final versions of manuscripts to their starting points. I was unfortunately ill for several months during graduate school and needed daily therapy at the UU medical school. The only enjoyment that I had during this time was a book chapter that we wrote for the NATO-ASI series. Thank you, Peter. I cannot begin to explain what this time writing meant to me. My impression is that my story is not unique. Peter’s ability to find what each student needed and give it to them is rare. Through the years, many other students have shared with me how he too met their needs.
Editorial / International Journal of Mass Spectrometry 330–332 (2012) 2–3
I (MTR) first met Peter at the 1993 Lake Arrowhead Conference on Ion Chemistry and Mass Spectrometry when I was a postdoctoral fellow in Jack Beauchamp’s group at Caltech. For weeks before the meeting, my colleagues Elaine Marzluff and Sherrie Campbell filled my head with stories of the brutal questions that would be lashed upon me after my presentation by the dynamic trio, Jack, Mike and Peter. From their stories, I began to expect that the meeting would be worse than a Ph.D. candidacy exam. My oral presentation was on Friday evening, during the very first oral session. Virtually all of the faculty were sitting in the front row and thus, that is where my attention was focused. In contrast to my fears, I found the atmosphere to be very stimulating because most of the faculty showed genuine interest in my work and asked me several questions each after my presentation. However, as a person new to the meeting, I did not know Peter by sight and had not noticed that he was in the back. After I had allowed several faculty to ask multiple questions, Peter loudly said “HEY! HOW COME HE GETS TO ASK A THIRD QUESTION (referring to Mike Bowers) AND I HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO ASK ONE YET?” I immediately came back with “Sorry! I didn’t notice you back there; all the important people are in the front.” This immediately received a hearty laugh from the entire audience, and marked the beginning of our friendship. It was only a few months later at the 2nd Winter Gordon Research Conference on Gaseous Ions: Structures, Energetics & Reactions held in Ventura, CA, March 1–5, 1993 that our paths crossed again. Peter showed a genuine interest in my work as well as that of many of the graduate students and postdocs during the poster sessions. Many of us stayed up late every night discussing science into the wee hours of the morning, and enjoyed celebrating the end of a great scientific meeting dancing after the conference dinner. Peter played a prominent role in these discussions, found it very easy to challenge us students and postdocs, and clearly enjoyed the dancing as well. These first few interactions with Peter made it clear that he was an excellent scientist and mentor, someone that I thought I could work well with, and someone that might become a good friend. At the 1994 Lake Arrowhead Conference, I approached Peter about pursuing a second postdoctoral fellowship in his group. He met this suggestion with great enthusiasm, but did not actually offer me a position until he had a letter
3
of recommendation from Jack. I went to Peter’s group the following July and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow with him for nearly three years. During that time we advanced the statistical analysis of collision-induced dissociation (CID) thresholds with the development of the phase space limit transition state model for the dissociation of noncovalent complexes as well as the treatment of competition in CID reactions, and measured a good deal of accurate thermochemistry along the way. In my independent career, Peter has continued to be an excellent scientific mentor, colleague and collaborator. We have always been able to challenge each other, provide continuous constructive criticism, which has helped to make each of us better scientists and mentors, and great friends. We as guest editors, former students, and friends are pleased that Peter’s 60th birthday has given us with an opportunity to recognize and thank him for the many contributions he has made to gas-phase ion chemistry and mass spectrometry, our scientific development, and our personal lives. Peter’s zest for science and life is as strong as ever, for which we can all be thankful. Peter, we hope that your coming years continue to be filled with great chemical insight, achievement, recognition, and enjoyment. Happy birthday, Peter! Mary T. Rodgers ∗ Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA David E. Clemmer Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA ∗ Corresponding
author. Tel.: +1 313 577 2431; fax: +1 313 577 8822. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.T. Rodgers)