Plenary Lecture

Simon E. Jackson

Natural Resources Canada, Canada

35 years of LA-ICP-MS analysis in mineral deposit research – what we have achieved and what we might do next

Simon E. Jackson is a geoscientist at Natural Resources Canada, where his research focuses on in-situ isotope geochemistry and elemental mapping of geological materials using advanced laser-ablation mass spectrometry techniques. He has contributed to studies of elemental and rare-earth element distribution in Proterozoic sandstones and isotope-based investigations of mineral systems, reflecting expertise in LA-ICP-MS applications to complex geological problems. His work supports improved understanding of geochemical processes and has implications for exploration and characterization of crustal materials through detailed isotopic and trace element analyses

 Invited Keynotes

Lyndsey Hendriks

University of Vienna, Austria

Tracking metal-doped nanoplastics in biological matrices using LA-ICP-TOFMS

Lyndsey Hendriks is a postdoctoral researcher affiliated with the University of Vienna in Austria, working in analytical chemistry with a focus on advanced mass spectrometry methods. She develops and applies techniques such as single-particle and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ICP-TOF-MS) to characterize nanoparticles, microplastics, and metal distributions in biological and environmental samples. Her work aims to improve analytical strategies for detecting and understanding complex particle–matrix interactions relevant to environmental health and material sciences

Thibaut Van Acker

Ghent University, Belgium

The evolving art of LA-ICP-MS imaging

Thibaut Van Acker is a postdoctoral research fellow at Ghent University in Belgium, specializing in analytical chemistry within the Atomic & Mass Spectrometry (A&MS) research group. His research focuses on unravelling fundamental aspects of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and enhancing its capabilities for high-resolution quantitative elemental mapping and isotopic analysis. He also contributes to organizing international scientific meetings in laser ablation techniques (EWLA2024), reflecting his engagement in advancing micro-analytical methodologies

Søren Husted

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Mapping mineral ion and nanoparticle uptake in plants at the cellular level using LA-ICP-MS and complementary multimodal imaging techniques

Søren Husted is a professor at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) whose research centres on plant and soil sciences, particularly the mineral nutrition of plants. He has provided fundamental insights into how plants acquire and utilize essential trace elements such as manganese, zinc, and iron, and his group integrates nanotechnology with plant science to probe nutrient uptake and interaction mechanisms. His team also develops cutting-edge analytical techniques for mass spectrometry-based analysis and imaging of mineral elements in plant tissues

Vincent Motto-Ros

Université Lyon 1; France

How Far Can LIBS Imaging Go? A Journey Across Scales

Vincent Motto-Ros is an associate professor at Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France, where he conducts research in the Spectrométries des biomolécules et agrégats team at the Institut Lumière Matière. He is internationally recognized for his work on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), particularly its instrumental development, quantitative elemental analysis, high-resolution imaging, and applications across materials science, geology, and biomedical contexts. His research activities include advancing LIBS imaging techniques, developing data processing and spectral correction methods, and applying these tools to complex samples, as evidenced by his extensive publication record and collaborations

Dave Chew

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

From Crystals to Ages: Recent Advances in Geochronology by Laser Ablation ICP-MS

Dave Chew is a professor in the Department of Geology at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland whose research applies geochronology and isotope geochemistry to geological problems, including sedimentary provenance and the timing and rates of tectonic processes. He pioneered LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of apatite and integrated it with fission-track and trace-element analyses for multi-proxy provenance studies, later extending these approaches to the rapid dating of U-bearing minerals and accessory phases such as zircon, rutile, titanite, and monazite. More recently, his group has developed LA-ICP-MS U-Pb age mapping—particularly for calcite and zircon—enabling high-resolution dating of complex geological materials and applications ranging from constraining mineralization timing in the Irish Zn-Pb province to dating syn-tectonic carbonates and Neoproterozoic “Snowball Earth” events