Preconference Courses
MORNING COURSES – 31st August 2025, 9h-12h
Hyperspectral / Chemical Imaging (HCI) is revolutionising how we analyse complex samples by combining spectral and spatial information to uncover chemical distributions in various fields. This course, organized under the umbrella of Euroanalysis, provides a comprehensive introduction to HCI, covering the fundamentals, instrumentation, data processing methodologies, and real-world applications.
The first course, Hyperspectral Imaging. Modalities and hardware, begins with an overview of hyperspectral imaging and the hardware used to acquire chemical images. It then dives deep into MS imaging, mass spectrometry-based approaches that expand the capabilities of chemical mapping. A live demonstration with a multispectral camera will showcase the practical aspects of image acquisition.
| Session 1 (1 h 15 minutes) |
What's hyperspectral and how to get those wonderful Chemical Images. Hardware. Teacher: José Manuel Amigo |
| Break of around 15 minutes | |
| Session 2 (1 h) |
MS imaging – another dimension for correlative data generation. Teacher: Martina Marchetti Deschmann |
| Session 3 (30 minutes) |
A demonstration with a Multispectral Camera. Teacher: José Manuel Amigo |
This course is ideal for researchers and professionals seeking a solid foundation in Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging and its diverse analytical applications.
TEACHERS
Jose Manuel Amigo obtained his PhD (Cum Laude) in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He was employed as a post-doctoral student (2007 – 2009) and an Associate Professor (2010 – 2019) at the Department of Food Science of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2017, he was at the same time a guest Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. His current position is Research Professor at IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Sciences in Bilbao and a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Basque Country, Spain. His current research interests include hyperspectral and digital image analysis and the application of Chemometrics (i.e., Machine and Deep Learning). He has authored over 190 publications (180+ peer-reviewed papers, books, book chapters, proceedings, etc.) and has given over 80 conferences and courses at international meetings. Jose has supervised or is currently supervising several MSc, PhD and Post Docs, and he is an editorial board member of four scientific journals within chemometrics. Moreover, he received the “2014 Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems Award” for his achievements in the field of Chemometrics and the “2019 Tomas Hirschfeld Award” for his achievements in the field of Near Infrared.
Martina Marchetti Deschmann
TU Wien, Institut für Chemische Technologien und Analytik (CTA)
Martina Marchetti-Deschmann is a Full Professor for Mass Spectrometric Methods and the head of the Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics at TU Wien. She obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Vienna and has over 25 years of experience in Analytical Chemistry. Her research focuses on mass spectrometry and hyphenated techniques, with a particular emphasis on mass spectrometry imaging. Martina is recognized internationally for her innovations in correlative, untargeted, multimodal imaging. She has published over 153 peer-reviewed articles, holds four patents, and has received several prestigious awards for her work in mass spectrometry.
The course will provide an introduction to the basic of chemometrics, with particular focus on bilinear modeling. After exploring the different data structures commonly encountered in chemical problems, the presentation will cover Exploratory Analysis using projection methods, with particular focus on Principal component analysis (PCA) and Principal Coordinate Analysis. Successively, predictive modeling for qualitative (classification) and quantitative (regression) responses will be introduced, and Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) techniques will be presented. Aspects connected to data preprocessing and model validation will also be discussed.
For all topics, frontal teaching will be coupled to worked examples in Matlab. scripts in R, to work at home, will be given as well.
TEACHERS
Prof. Marini is full professor of Analytical Chemistry at Sapienza University of Rome. His research activity is focused on all aspects of chemometrics, ranging from the application of existing methods to real world problems in different fields to the design and development of novel algorithms. He received the Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems Award in 2012. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems and serves as Associate Editor for Chemometrics in Wiley’s Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry. He is currently the leader of the Chemometric study group of DAC-EuChemS and vice-President of Italian NIR Society (SISNIR).
Agnieszka Smolinska
University of Maastricht
Dr. Agnieszka (Agi) Smolinska is an Associate Professor at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, specializing in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemometrics, and machine learning for biomedical applications. With over 16 years of experience, she applies advanced chemometrics to metabolomics, non-invasive diagnostics, and multi-omics research. Her interdisciplinary projects span clinical, analytical, and computational sciences, addressing challenges in respiratory, gastrointestinal, and liver diseases. She leads a research team and the NUTRIM Big Data Analysis Advice Committee, guiding innovations in data-driven healthcare. Dr. Smolinska has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, received multiple grants and awards, and has actively contributed to scientific education, mentoring, conference, advancing biomarker discovery and precision medicine in academic and industrial settings.
Most materials in science, technology, industry, commerce and regulation are *heterogeneous*. Sampling of *heterogeneous* original lots/batches/ materials is responsible for significant, often dominating sampling errors, which adds to MUanalysis. Indeed, MUtotal should always be reported as MUsampling + MU analysis, but the sampling contributions are often unknown, not recognized, or even ignored. To deal professionally with MUsampling, it is necessary to acknowledge the Theory of Sampling (TOS) and it’s critical role in the ‘before analysis’ domain. TOS is the world’s only science-backed framework guaranteeing optimal reduction of MUsampling effects. Recently a global standard for sampling was published, DS 3077:2024, which offers all necessary principles and equipment demands for documentable representative sampling in all domains ‘from-lot-to-aliquot’. Ignoring TOS is a breach of due diligence, also in the analytical laboratory.
TEACHER
Kim H. Esbensen
Kim H. Esbensen, Ph.D, Dr. (hon), has been professor at three universities (National Geological Surveys of Denmark and Greenland (2010-2015), Aalborg University, Denmark (2001-2010), Telemark Institute of Technology, Norway (1990-2000) and professeur associé, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. In 2015 he started phasing out this 30+ year academic career for a quest as an independent consultant, but as he could not terminate his love for teaching, he is still very active as an international guest professor on several continents. He is a member of several scientific societies, has published 250+ peer-reviewed papers and is the author of a widely used textbook in Multivariate Data Analysis (chemometrics).
AFTERNOON COURSES – 31st August 2025, 13h-16h
Hyperspectral / Chemical Imaging (HCI) is revolutionising how we analyse complex samples by combining spectral and spatial information to uncover chemical distributions in various fields. This course, organised under the umbrella of Euroanalysis, provides a comprehensive introduction to HCI, covering the fundamentals, instrumentation, data processing methodologies, and real-world applications.
The second course, Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging. Software and data analysis, we will focus on data analysis, exploring key workflows, algorithms, and software tools essential for extracting meaningful information from hyperspectral datasets. We will then explore Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) as a powerful chemometric technique for unmixing chemical signals. The course will conclude with a hands-on session analysing real samples, allowing participants to discuss challenges, insights, and applications in their own research.
| Session 1 (1 h 15 minutes) |
Hyperspectral data analysis. General workflows. Algorithms. Software. Libraries. Teacher: José Manuel Amigo |
| Break of around 15 minutes | |
| Session 2 (1 h) |
Multivariate Curve Resolution as an extremely helpful methodology. Teacher: Rodrigo Rocha |
| Session 3 (30 minutes) |
Analysis of the samples taken with the Multispectral Camera. Questions, doubts, concerns. |
This course is ideal for researchers and professionals seeking a solid foundation in Hyperspectral Chemical Imaging and its diverse analytical applications.
TEACHERS
Jose Manuel Amigo obtained his PhD (Cum Laude) in Chemistry from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain. He was employed as a post-doctoral student (2007 – 2009) and an Associate Professor (2010 – 2019) at the Department of Food Science of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2017, he was at the same time a guest Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. His current position is Research Professor at IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Sciences in Bilbao and a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Basque Country, Spain. His current research interests include hyperspectral and digital image analysis and the application of Chemometrics (i.e., Machine and Deep Learning). He has authored over 190 publications (180+ peer-reviewed papers, books, book chapters, proceedings, etc.) and has given over 80 conferences and courses at international meetings. Jose has supervised or is currently supervising several MSc, PhD and Post Docs, and he is an editorial board member of four scientific journals within chemometrics. Moreover, he received the “2014 Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems Award” for his achievements in the field of Chemometrics and the “2019 Tomas Hirschfeld Award” for his achievements in the field of Near Infrared.
Rodrigo Rocha
University of Barcelona
Rodrigo Rocha de Oliveira earned his PhD (Cum Laude) from the Universitat de Barcelona, specializing in chemometric strategies for data fusion, modeling, and chemical process control. His postdoctoral work at the University of Genova (Italy) advanced near-infrared chemical imaging analysis of biological processes. His research focuses on developing chemometric tools for Process Analytical Technology (PAT), with emphasis on spectroscopic sensors and chemical imaging. Currently, he is exploring Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) applications in chemometrics. Dr. Oliveira was awarded the 2021 Siemens Process Analytics Prize for outstanding contributions by a young scientist.
The course will present some advanced chemometric topics, that can be of interest for the analytical chemists. At first, the possibility of analyzing multivariate data coming from designed experiments will be covered and the ANOVA-Simultaneous component analysis (ASCA) method will be presented as one of the most versatile tools to deal with these problems. Additionally, an introduction to state-of-the-art strategies for fusing data matrices (e.g., resulting from different analytical platforms) though multi-block approaches will be provided, covering both exploratory and predictive models, together with the possibility of performing data fusion in the single and multi-block context.
For all topics, frontal teaching will be coupled to worked examples in Matlab. Scripts in R, to work at home, will be given as well.
TEACHERS
Prof. Marini is full professor of Analytical Chemistry at Sapienza University of Rome. His research activity is focused on all aspects of chemometrics, ranging from the application of existing methods to real world problems in different fields to the design and development of novel algorithms. He received the Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems Award in 2012. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems and serves as Associate Editor for Chemometrics in Wiley’s Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry. He is currently the leader of the Chemometric study group of DAC-EuChemS and vice-President of Italian NIR Society (SISNIR).
Agnieszka Smolinska
University of Maastricht
Dr. Agnieszka (Agi) Smolinska is an Associate Professor at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, specializing in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), chemometrics, and machine learning for biomedical applications. With over 16 years of experience, she applies advanced chemometrics to metabolomics, non-invasive diagnostics, and multi-omics research. Her interdisciplinary projects span clinical, analytical, and computational sciences, addressing challenges in respiratory, gastrointestinal, and liver diseases. She leads a research team and the NUTRIM Big Data Analysis Advice Committee, guiding innovations in data-driven healthcare. Dr. Smolinska has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, received multiple grants and awards, and has actively contributed to scientific education, mentoring, conference, advancing biomarker discovery and precision medicine in academic and industrial settings.
Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is an invaluable and complementary technique to organic mass spectrometry. It enables separations based on the three-dimensional structure of ions, in addition to their mass and charge. Furthermore, IMS allows for detailed ion characterization by calculating a key physicochemical property known as the collision cross section (CCS). This short course will cover the fundamentals of IMS, including the instrumentation involved in IM-MS (ionization, mass analyzers, ion mobility cells) and how to derive and interpret CCS values. It will place particular emphasis on how IM-MS can aid in the chemical structural assignment of small molecules and enhance selectivity when analyzing complex matrices in food and environmental applications.
TEACHER
Encarnación Moyano obtained her PhD in 1995 in Analytical Chemistry (University of Barcelona) and obtained a position as Associate Professor at the same institution in 1997. Since 2019, she holds the position of Full Professor at the University of Barcelona. Her scientific contributions have focused on developing innovative analytical methodologies that integrate both separation techniques. These methodologies are applied to the detection of environmental and food contaminants, addressing existing challenges and limitations in current analytical approaches. She has developed analytical methods that couple liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry using low-resolution, high-resolution and tandem mass spectrometry, utilizing atmospheric pressure ionization techniques such as electrospray, APCI, and APPI in both LC-MS and GC-MS applications. Additionally, she have researched and developed methods based on Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry (AIMS), including techniques such as DESI and DART, for the direct analysis of samples and to enhance the throughput of control laboratories. More recently, she has begun exploring ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) to improve the analysis of complex samples containing closely related compounds, including isobaric and isomeric species. Her dedication to advancing mass spectrometry and promoting its application in Spain culminated in her tenure as President of the Spanish Society of Mass Spectrometry (SEEM) from 2014 to 2021. Currently, she leads a delegation within SEEM focused on educational initiatives, organizing activities for young scientists in the field of mass spectrometry.
This course will cover the following aspects:
- Principles of molecular recognition in bioanalysis;
- New tools used in bioanalysis
- Mechanism of molecular recognition of biomolecules,
- Reliable design of the tools used in bioanalysis,
- Validation of methods used for bioanalysis
- Applications of bioanalysis in biomedical analysis, pharmaceutical analysis, environmental analysis and food analysis.
TEACHER
Raluca-Ioana Stefan-van Staden is a Full Professor at University Politehnica of Bucharest and the Head of the Laboratory of Electrochemistry and PATLAB Bucharest in the National Institute of Research of Electrochemistry and Condensed Matter. She was an Associate Professor of Bioanalysis at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and Assistant Professor at University of Bucharest. She is the head of the Study group Bioanalytics, of DAC. The author and co-author of more than 425 articles in journals especially in the fields of electrochemical sensors, bioanalysis, process technology and flow systems, of three books as well as of numerous chapters in books most of them related to sensors technology, she serves on the Editorial Boards of Analytical Letters, Sensors, Journal of Oncology, ECS Sensors Plus. Lately, she developed new types of sensors (potentiometric enantioselective membrane electrodes, biosensors and immunosensors) for the analysis of chiral drugs and she also did the modeling of interaction between enantiomer and chiral selector; she is also the initiator of simultaneous detection of enantiomers using (bio)sensors/sequential injection analysis systems. She received numerous international prizes from societies such as South African Chemical Institute (Raikes Medal), IUPAC, World International Laboratory, and from innovation salons from Geneva, Warsaw, Moscow, Brussels. The most important prize – WIPO AWARD FOR THE BEST WOMEN INVENTOR was received in Geneva in 2010, at the 38th Salon of Innovation and New Products for a microsensor capable to diagnosed 4 types of cancer in less than 6 minutes. She was invited for lectures in Romania (Bucharest), Belgium (Antwerpen), Austria (Vienna), Israel (Jerusalem), South Africa (Pretoria), USA (New Orleans, Boston), Japan and Australia (Perth) and she has more than 300 presentations at international conferences and symposium in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. A member of the American Chemical Society, International Society of Electrochemistry, The Electrochemical Society and Romanian Society of Chemistry, as well as a Chair of the Bioanalysis Task Group in the Division of Analytical Chemistry of EUCHEMs.
* Enrollment to individual modules is possible
Please note that the preconference courses will be held at the historic building of the University of Barcelona, located in the city center.