Like other RSC interest groups, the Separation Science Group is supported in its endeavours by an active committee. The members of the committee come from a range of backgrounds, in academia and industry, from across the UK; more information about current members can be found on our Committee page.

In the coming months we will be presenting videos of and interviews with individual members, showcasing their current work and scientific interests. We hope these demonstrate the tremendous diversity of interests and activities contained in the term ‘separation science’, and provide a glimpse into the working lives of scientists in the field.

The current chair, Prof John Langley, leads the Characterisation and Analytics Section at the University of Southampton, and has a long and distinguished career in mass spectrometry and chromatography research. He is also the 2016-2017 British Mass Spectrometry Society Lecturer, and Vice President of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation. Here, John talks about the use of supercritical fluid chromatograpy (SFC) and mass spectometry (MS) to support the work of chemists at Southampton, and the importance of open-access systems in core research facilities: