Wei Liu Ph.D. is an application scientist at Oxford Instruments. He has been working in the field of Raman spectroscopy and SPM techniques for over 15 years. Wei obtained his Ph.D. in Physics from University of California, Riverside, then he worked as research associate at University of Alabama, Birmingham before joining Oxford Instruments.

Oxford Instruments is an industry leader in Raman imaging and correlative microscopy. As an intrinsic but non-destructive technique, Raman spectroscopy is an important tool for material characterization. Alpha300 Confocal Raman imaging system brings state of the art Raman technology to the scientists, high-resolution and high-speed imaging modes provide insights to many research such as 2D flakes and energy storage components development. In addition to the standard Raman configuration, a few correlative microscopic techniques including AFM/SNOM, fluorescence/photoluminescence imaging, time resolved spectroscopy and SEM etc. can be built together with Oxford Instruments Raman seamlessly, These versatile, multi-modal platforms provide powerful analytical tools for addressing complex scientific challenges.

Corey Beck is a Territory Sales Manager at Oxford Instruments for the Andor Technology Research Team. He has been with Oxford Instruments nearly four years and has over a decade of experience with microscopy and research equipment supporting R&D, Failure Analysis and Preclinical Medical research.

While lasers drive the Raman excitation, it will be the detection equipment that will deliver the sensitivity to drive success in detecting Raman signals. We will present the equipment necessary to build the detection system for a modular Raman spectroscopy set up. This includes the spectrograph (i.e. the dispersive element) along with the camera (i.e. the photosensitive component). Together these can provide a spectrometer system with sensitivity that can be tuned for excitation lasers spanning the UV to NIR.

Jinping Dong Ph.D. is a Principal Scientist at Cargill, specializing in materials science within the Core R&D team. He collaborates extensively across diverse business units and with external customers to advance the understanding of food and ingredient systems. His work spans a broad spectrum of applications, including meat and proteins, starches, sweeteners, texturizers, cocoa and chocolate, oils and fats, and bioindustrial materials. With over 25 years of experience in spectroscopy, microscopy, and materials characterization, Jinping brings deep technical expertise and a collaborative spirit to solving complex challenges in food and material innovation.

Understanding and controlling food microstructure is central to achieving desired texture and nutritional profiles—an area that has become a leading trend in contemporary food research. To explore these microstructures, researchers in both academia and industry increasingly rely on advanced microscopic techniques to reveal the morphology and chemical distribution within food and ingredient systems.

Among these tools, Raman spectroscopy and microscopy have recently emerged as powerful methods in food science. Raman spectroscopy offers molecular-level chemical fingerprints through laser irradiation, and when integrated with high-resolution confocal optical microscopy, it enables the generation of 3D chemical maps under various environmental conditions. At Cargill, we have applied Raman to a wide range of food systems, including emulsions, fats, fiber matrices, hydrocolloids, and protein-based beverages. In this presentation, we will highlight recent applications of Raman technology in studying plant-based meat alternatives, stabilized emulsions in chocolate manufacturing, and specialized nutrition systems for infant formula. These case studies demonstrate the versatility and value of Raman microscopy in advancing food innovation and quality.

Manufacturing of medical devices requires the highest level of quality to ensure optimal device performance and patient safety. Raman spectroscopy and imaging techniques are well suited for the characterization of surfaces, interfaces, and coatings to support research, development, and manufacturing of medical devices. Its strengths include chemical information through spectroscopy (molecular fingerprint), imaging sub-micron chemical features, depth profiling of chemistry non-destructively, identification of drug polymorphs, and the ability to image in various environments. All of these are important for understanding material properties as they are received, processed, and after exposure to different environmental conditions. This presentation will highlight real-world applications, including degradation of biomaterials, and forensic identification of unknown materials, and particle analysis.

Lysa Chizmadia Ph.D. is Process Mineralogist, I am responsible for the preparation, characterization and analysis of various natural economic samples and engineered materials. In addition, I have over 15 years experience teaching undergraduate Crystallography, Mineralogy and Petrology courses. In addition to a variety of undergraduate courses, I have taught Masters-level courses in Electron Microscopy, Geochemistry and Economic Geology. I graduated my first MS student in May 2017 and have sat on eleven MS committees, including 2 of my own. I was promoted to Associate Professor and awarded tenure in 2013, in spite of serious budgetary problems at UPR. Even as an Assistant Professor with a high teaching burden, I was able to bring over $500,000 of outside money to UPR, including private donations. My publications are heavily cited and considered among the top authoritative papers in their particular areas.

The Raman Imaging and Scanning Electron Microscope (RISE) system is a collaboration between Oxford and JEOL which has produced a new combination of techniques within a single instrument. The core of the Zeiss RISE system is a Zeiss Gemini 460 field emission SEM. The Gemini is low vacuum capable and includes multiple detectors for secondary electron, back scattered, and cathodoluminescence imaging. The system includes two Oxford UltimMax 65mm2 EDS detectors, one AZtechHKL Symmetry EBSD detector and an integrated Witec Raman confocal microscope. Combining EDS, EBSD and Raman now makes it possible to distinguish between different phases that have traditionally been challenging for researchers to differentiate within a single instrument e.g., iron-rich oxides (see Fig. 1) and oxyhydroxides, manganese-rich minerals, various sulphide minerals, etc.

Jason Scheeler PhD is an Analytical Chemist at Ebatco, He supports customers from a wide range of disciplines through technical consulting and by performing contract lab services with an emphasis on molecular spectroscopy. Jason obtained his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There he used nonlinear coherent multidimensional spectroscopy techniques to study the excited-state behavior of 2D photovoltaic materials. In his studies he utilized spectroscopies such as coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and coherent Stokes Raman scattering (CSRS).

Confocal Raman Microscopy and Microspectroscopy (CRMM) is a non-destructive, versatile tool capable of determining the chemical fingerprint of a wide range of materials and morphologies, enabling it to meet the broad characterization demands of practically every industry sector. In this talk, three case studies will be presented to highlight the unique ways CRMM can provide chemical, compositional, and structural information about samples across a variety of industries. First, 2D chemical mapping is used to measure the percent composition of active ingredients in a pharmaceutical tablet, while also illustrating their spatial distribution in the formulation. Then, the chemical ID capability and the confocality of the instrument are employed to profile the depth of a multi-component polymeric coating, which reveals a non-uniform deposition. Finally, polarization-resolved measurements are utilized to reveal the relative orientation of the functional groups in the polymer backing of a packaging tape. This talk will provide a quick overview of the multifaceted analytical profile of CRMM, both for its data acquisition modalities and its ability to perform 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D analysis. Due to its strong analytical capabilities and versatility, CRMM is expected to play an increasingly important role in meeting the analytical needs of the dynamic and growing industrial landscape.