Dr. Jeff Smith is an analytical Chemistry, a Mass spectrometry expert, and an associate professor in the Chemistry department at Carleton University. He received his BSc in Biochemistry and PhD in Chemistry from York university. He has been the director of the Carleton Mass Spectrometry Center (CMSC) at Carleton since 2015. Additionally, Dr. Smith is currently the Associate Director of the Ottawa Carleton Chemistry Institute since 2016. His work spans many collaborations with companies and government contracts and has a keen insight on the development and limitations of mass spectrometry. 

In this episode, Dr. Smith and I discuss what mass specs are, how they are used, and why they are such a crucial tool in every sector you can think of, from healthcare, to home appliances. Having one of these tools implemented in homes can tell you when your food will spoil ahead of time, when you might have a mold problem before you even find out, testing small traces of biomolecules that can detect diseases before they become serious, and many more applications. 

Time Stamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:31 - Disaster that delayed this episode 

04:06 - Education & Insights on Grad Studies

15:38 - Mass Spec facility setup & Projects

28:21 - What are mass spectrometers

41:06 - Orbitraps

43:11 - Iontraps

45:08 - Carleton magic show 

48:37 - Airport chemical testers

54:48 - Turbine pump catastrophe 

01:01:6 - Applications in homes, hospitals, & backpack mass specs