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Editorial

A

s you set out for Ithaka

hope the voyage is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.”

I begin with an excerpt from a poem written

in around 1900 by Constantine Peter Cavafy. Within its five

verses, he tells us to live our life as an adventurous journey, to

visit many cultures and countries, to not be afraid, to keep our

heads high, and to enjoy that journey fully, while keeping in

mind that our destination is – as Ulysses’ goal was – Ithaka.

These days, being an analytical scientist can bring a life full of

adventure. We work in all kinds of interesting areas of exploration,

and our endeavors give many of us the opportunity to see different

countries and meet with scientists from many cultures.

Times have changed for the better. When I studied analytical

chemistry some 40 years ago, not many of us crossed borders

• neither geographical borders, nor the borders of our own
  specialism. Instead, scientists dug deeper and deeper, like
  moles searching for the light while, unsurprisingly, it became
  darker and darker around them.
  Since then, analytical scientists have (thankfully) lost their
  tunnel vision and started to collaborate with a variety of
  sciences to provide direction, details, facts and figures. The
  tools we developed made many discoveries possible – in energy,
  health, biology, medicine, genetics and proteomics.
  This issue of The Analytical Scientist is full of adventures and
  crosses many borders. We take a look into analytical science in
  South America, go deep into single cell analysis – and in “The
  Spectroscopist Inside,” we ask spectroscopists what’s on their
  ultimate wish list.
  So why aim for Ithaka? What if we arrive and find it
  disappointing? Cavafy gives us an answer:

“Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you would not have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.”

Frank van Geel

Scientific Director

Crossing Borders

In science – as in life – it’s important to enjoy the journey