Emeritus Professor John Langley

Professor John Langley an expert in Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography researching complex systems through application and development of different analytical approaches. John has >130 peer-reviewed publications (>150 in Google Scholar), H-index of 35 and his papers have been cited 4,400 times. The most highly cited articles are on fullerenes (241) and the seminal IUPAC MS nomenclature document (499) in over 30 leading scientific journals, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the applications of his research activity. These include:

• Nature
• Analytical Chemistry
• Analyst
• Chemical Science
• Journal of the American Chemical Society
• Journal of American Society for Mass Spectrometry
• Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry
• Journal of Chromatography A

John specialises in the application of separation science and mass spectrometry as a research tool for chemistry/chemical biology/oilfield chemistry, addressing complexity as well as probing new research areas; specific interests are the application of hyphenated approaches (GC-MS, GCxGC-MS, LCxLC-IMS-MS, HPLC-MS, SFC-MS and MS/MS).

John has 30 years of sustained research funding with RCUK and Industry, (including AZ, BP, GSK, Innospec, Syngenta) and is regularly invited to speak at national and international meetings. He is very proud of the 26 PhD students that have successfully graduated from his research group (100%) and that they all worked in the field of their research in their first job (Industry and Academic), the majority still working as chromatographers/mass spectrometrists, with a few moved into management roles and many are now training the next generation of researchers. Presently, John has 4 PhD students (3 primary supervisor and 1 second supervisor) and works with them to hone their practical skills, experimental design and data interpretation and evaluation, also coaching them, through different research approaches, including delivery of high quality presentations, robust description of their project and techniques, and in the oral defence of their research.

John is the first and only person to have been Chair the British Mass Spectrometry Society and the RSC Separation Science Group (a position held since 2009). These positions highlighting his standing and reputation across both fields that deliver the hyphenated techniques that have ubiquitous impact across the modern scientific world.  John’s prowess has been recognised by the award of the Chromatographic Society Jubilee medal in 2024 and the British Mass Spectrometry Society medal in 2021. Internationally John is Past President of the International Foundation for Mass Spectrometry (previously President and Vice President) and served on a multinational IUPAC panel for Mass Spectrometry Nomenclature, made up of 1 x American, 2 x Canadian, 1 s South American, 1 x Asia and Oceania and 1 x European representatives.

John is recognised as a pioneer of open access chromatography-MS within the academic sector, starting with OA ESI-MS (1995), OA-HPLC-MS and OA-GC-MS (2000) and OA-SFC-MS (2013).  One significant research topic area has also focused on SFC-MS since 2003 and John is a leading SFC-MS researcher in the UK, and recognised internationally for this activity. Waters Corp. recognised this and sited the first of the new generation SFC-MS systems in his lab in 2012. This collaborative project further entrenched his position in this field, and he has been invited to lecture on this topic at Conferences, by Universities and Industry, both nationally and internationally. Most recently (2023) John has started a collaboration with Selerity Inc., a SFC company based in Salt Lake City, where we will explore the use and application of their unique technology across many   research areas.

Almost two decades of research with petrochemical and renewable fuels has led to recent research activity with 2D chromatography and MS alongside SFC to identify and understand new fuels and problematic species within modern fuels.  This work has led to John being an expert for The Energy Institute for chromatography and mass spectrometry (panel member for SC-G2, G4, G6, G7 and G8), and delivery of invited oral presentations at the Energy Institute (London) and Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) conferences (e.g., Baltimore, Heidelberg).

Honours and distinctions:

• Chromatographic Society Jubilee Medal 2024
• British Mass Spectrometry Society Medal 2021
• Chair of Royal Society of Chemistry Separation Science Group of the RSC (2009 - )
• Past President of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation (2022 – 2026)
• President of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation (2018 – 2022)
• British Mass Spectrometry Society Lecturer (2016 - 17)
• IUPAC Fellow (2013)
• Chair of the British Mass Spectrometry Society (2008 -2010)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (1999 - )
• Chartered Chemist (2003 - )
• Chartered Scientist (2003 - )

Prizes