Robert L. Stevenson, Ph.D.

Automated Assays and More at SLAS 2013 and HCA 2013
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
The second annual meeting of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS 2013), held January 12–16, attracted 3800 scientists and engineers to the Gaylord Hotel in Orlando, FL for an ... read more
High-Content Analysis (HCA 2013): 3-D Reduces the Gap Between In Vitro and In Vivo
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
The 10th High-Content Analysis meeting attracted about 300 scientists to San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel (January 8–11, 2013). A Venn diagram of attendees would certainly include overlapping circles ... read more
Connecting the Dots Between Methane and Gas Leaks
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The spotlight is certainly on hydraulic fracking to expand production of petroleum and natural gas (NG). Reporting in Nature (vol. 493; Jan. 3, 2013; p. 12), Jeff Tollefson describes how leaks from ... read more
Location, Location, Location
Friday, January 18, 2013
For the last two years, I’ve been intrigued with the question of the environmental impact of the web. Could it be infinitesimal? When will the web’s footprint become a significant environmental factor... read more
Second-Generation Expanded Bed Adsorption Scales from Lab to Plant
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Expanded bed adsorption (EBA) was introduced in 1999 with adsorbents that were used for pressure-driven packed beds. These had densities in the range of 1.1–1.5 g/mL, which was not much higher than ... read more
2012 in Retrospect: A Great Year for Scientific Software
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Information technology (IT) has become an inegral part of chemical and biochemical research. IT is not uniformly applied, however. In 2012, significant needs were recognized and fulfilled. read more
The Time has Come for a Forensic Laboratory Improvement Act
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Forensic laboratories are relied upon to provide science-based evidence for a variety of purposes and stakeholders. Since people’s lives are involved, the reports generated need to be based on the ... read more
Rational Design of an Oral Enzyme Therapeutic: A Novel Approach for Celiac Disease
Monday, December 31, 2012
Rational design of proteins seeks to develop enzymes with particular function by engineering the protein’s structure. This is an exceedingly difficult task since the tools are often indirect. read more
Mitigating Problems With Hydraulic Fracking in the Marcellus Shale
Monday, December 31, 2012
I’ve been bothered by the adverse reports on hydraulic fracking to stimulate hydrocarbon production, including pollution of water (surface and subterranean) and air and radon contamination. read more
World Genome Data Analysis Summit 2012: Big Data, Big Problems, and Thoughtful Solutions
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The World Genome Data Analysis Summit attracted about 70 scientists and engineers to the Monaco Hotel in San Francisco, CA, November 27–29 to talk shop on DNA data. read more
Technical Innovations In Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Innovation is a respected attribute that many companies claim as a core business strategy. The pace of innovation spurred by technology such as smartphones, tablet PCs, and high-speed internet has ... read more
Improving Tools for Structured Query Language (SQL)
Monday, December 10, 2012
Since structured query language (SQL) was introduced 40 years ago, it has evolved and mutated to become the most popular tool for managing tabular databases. read more
Bioassays and Bioanalytical Method Development 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
The 8th Annual Bioassays and Bioanalytical Method Development conference, organized by the Institute for International Research (IIR) in Sarasota, FL, attracted more than 100 scientists to the classic... read more
Chemicals are Back!
Friday, December 07, 2012
The tsunami on the business horizon is the resurrection of the American chemicals industry. read more
2012 Light Scattering Colloquium: Advances in Nanotechnology, Protein Structures, and Biomedical Research
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Light scattering provides the most effective technology to characterize large molecules and subvisible particles. read more