Robert W. Vaughan Memorial Lecture Professor Alex Pines Presents First Memorial Lecture at Caltech

The first Robert W. Vaughan Memor- ial Lecture at California Institute of Technology on 5 March 1981, was ap- propriately presented by Professor Alexander Pines (University of Califor- nia), also a pioneer of new techniques in NMR. Probably Robert Vaughan is best remembered for his visionary work on pulse techniques and high re- solution NMR studies of surface

molecules. The Memorial Lectures were set up in tribute to him following his untimely death in the Chicago aeroplane crash of 1978. Nearly one hundred attendees heard a very infor- mative presentation from Alex Pines who was able to explain in refreshingly down-to-earth terms the various phenomena which his pulse sequences work and similar research had re- vealed. On this basis, future Robert W. Vaughan Lectures will be worth the trip from further afield than its home state of California. Professor Alexander Pines

Conference Report Industrial NMR Users Meeting, Am- sterdam, Netherlands, December 1980

Over thirty NMR spectroscopists from industrial laboratories and eleven rep- resentatives of the major NMR instru- ment manufacturers met at the Shell Research Laboratory in Amsterdam on 10 December 1980 to discuss the pres- ent and future needs in NMR in the industrial environment. The idea of such a meeting was conceived during the Ismar-Ampere conference at Delft last summer. Despite the fact that over half of all NMR instruments are sold to industry it is apparent that instrumental development has been biased towards university requirements, such as still higher field spectrometers. Such instru- ments could be considered academi- cally as prestige items but, although probably useful, they are relatively less important in industry where far more emphasis is placed on reliability and minimum down time.

The purpose of this meeting, there- fore, was to identify needs in NMR instrumentation, with the emphasis very heavily biased towards the re- quirements in industrial laboratories. For this reason, only industrial userr were invited to participate. A friendly, lively atmosphere prevailed throughout the day (and an even friendlier atmos- phere during the evening!), with the only ground rule being that there should be no direct criticism of specific manufacturers.

The proceedings were organized such that all users had the opportunity to mention their own requirements,

within the context of their own laboratories. At the end of the after- noon session the manufacturers then had their opportunity to respond to the points raised. Encouragingly, there was a certain amount of repetition during the day, highlighting the common in- strumental problems experienced by industrial scientists. The specific needs of the industrial user, and also their universal nature, should provide a firm basis from which manufacturers can as- sess the pattern of future developments in instrumentation.

The areas of interest fell roughly into two types. First, the area where im- mediate action was possible to improve the situation; displays were judged to be too small, baselines were seldom completely flat and phase setting should be automatic. The whole area of quantitative NMR was felt to be un- satisfactory and the analytical potential could be greatly increased, for exam- ple, if integrals could be accurate to 0.1% relative. The plotting of spectra and integrals could be speeded up with interactive software and rapid plot routines; there was a general feeling that NMR is lagging behind other techniques, such as mass spectrometry and FT infrared, in software and data handling. In addition, many present ag- reed they would be prepared to pay a higher rate for more rapid servicing; this was adjudged to be a lesser evil than the inconvenience of down-time.

The second main area was for fea- tures not yet routinely available but for which a large potential exists. Heading this list was the need for automatic shimming and sample changing, and

close behind was the need for coupling with separatory techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography; NMR could also play an important on- line role for process control. The need for a solid state probe, with easy sam- ple insertion and self starting ability for magic angle spinning, followed the growing importance of NMR in the solid field, and high-pressure and - temperature probes were desirable. Less urgent, but still of great interest, were multiple pulse sequences leading to enhanced sensitivity of nuclei with low receptivity, two-dimensional tech- niques and spin imaging. The use of NMR spectra to provide specification standards in, for example, pharmaceut- icals and agricultural chemicals, suggested that low cost FTNMR will grow in importance, but it was realized that a universally accepted magnetic field will first have to be chosen. Many of the points were left unresolved due to lack of time. It was agreed that there are several topics worthy of further discussion, and it was proposed that another meeting be held in one or two years. The response of the manufactur- ers to the points raised in the meeting can then be discussed and evaluated - it is hoped that they will rise to the challenge.

A complete report has been written on this meeting and sent to all particip- ants. Anyone who wishes to receive a copy, and who might wish to be in- volved in future activities, should con- tact Dr Derek Clague, Nick Rol or Gary Hays at the Shell Research Laboratory in Amsterdam.

@ Heyden & Son Ltd, 1981