In this episode, podcast co-hosts Dr. Dwight Stoll and Dr. James Grinias talk with Dr. Pierre-Hugues (PH) Stefanuto who is an Associate Professor and Lead Scientist in the Molecular System Research Unit at University of Liège in Liège, Belgium. He previously received both his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the same institution. Following his graduate work in Liege he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Dartmouth College. He is a recognized world expert in multidimensional gas chromatography, where he focuses on profiling volatile organic compound mixtures in various life science samples. Currently, he is focused on developing multi-omics screening approaches to tackle biomedical challenges at the molecular level. He has received a number of accolades to date, including the John Phillips Award and Richard Sacks Award, which are two of the highest honors in the field of multidimensional gas chromatography. He is also one of the co-chairs of the ongoing Multidimensional Chromatography Workshop symposium series.

In the conversation we talk about PH’s early experiences as a kid scientist, both experimenting in the kitchen at home, and as a laureate of the Chemistry Olympiad in Belgium. We then move on to discuss the Multidimensional Chromatography Workshop - the early days, the alignment with PH’s professional interests, the 17th annual workshop in Williamsburg, VA, and the upcoming 18th workshop in Liège in early 2027. We also talk about the “Century Mix” Project, which was discussed at the Williamsburg with guidance from PH and Dr. John Dimandjia, and has aims to democratize the characterization of GCxGC systems, and provide open datasets for anyone in the community to use. Later in the conversation we briefly discuss two of PH’s recent papers in the GCxGC field, both focused on aspects of data analysis. Finally, we finish with some quick hits, where PH has great advice for young scientists.