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Dr. Stephen Kennedy gave a free Environmental Forensics Web Seminar Presentation on “Particle Speciation in Soil, Sediment and Dust”, on Thursday, October 29, 2009. Dr. Kennedy described analytical methods for particle speciation and the value they bring to environmental projects. He also reviewed different characterization methods, specifically MSEM and CCSEM.
For more information or if you would like a consultation regarding analytical speciation techniques, contact
Dr. Stephen Kennedy, Senior Scientist at skennedy@rjlg.com.
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 Carbon is often called “the element of life.” Indeed, carbon materials touch every aspect of our daily lives in some way as we are surrounded by a never ending array of natural and manmade products produced from organic compounds and other carbon-containing substances. A variety of manufactured particulate carbon-based materials, namely activated carbon, carbon black, and carbon nanotubes, are finding an increasing number of advanced scientific and commercial applications. Dr. Brian Strohmeier gave a presentation, co-authored with RJLG’s John Piasecki, Dr. Kristin Bunker, Dr. Jacqueline Sturgeon, and Bradley Stitch, at the 24th International Activated Carbon Conference on October 7th in Pittsburgh, PA. The subject of the presentation was “XPS and FESEM/STEM Surface Characterization of Activated Carbon, Carbon Black, and Carbon Nanotubes.” The presentation demonstrated the advantages of using XPS together with FESEM/STEM to provide complementary information on the surface chemistry and surface morphology of carbon-based particles.
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 Built in 1994, the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF) is located in the heart of the Department of Energy’s (DOE-RL) Hanford site in Washington State. Managed by RJ Lee Group, Inc. under the Mission Support Alliance, LLC, WSCF provides a wide-range of cost-effective, high quality analytical services to major DOE remediation programs and projects across the Hanford Site.
WSCF consists of a main 40,100 sq. ft. analytical laboratory building, plus several support and office buildings. It provides process control, regulatory and industrial hygiene analyses on air, water, soil, vapor, sludge and miscellaneous samples in support of Hanford’s environmental cleanup mission. Capabilities include organic, inorganic, radiochemical analyses on air, water, soil, vapor, sludge and miscellaneous biota samples.
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RJLG Scientists to Exhibit and Present at the American Vacuum Society (AVS) 56th International Symposium and Exhibition
 RJLG will host a booth at the AVS Exhibition to highlight our latest field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) capabilities provided by the Hitachi S-5500 FESEM/STEM and the Hitachi HD-2300A STEM instruments, as well as our state-of-the-art X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) capabilities provided by the Thermo Scientific K-Alpha instrument. We will also be displaying the latest Hitachi TM-1000 tabletop SEM instrument in the RJLG booth. Ben Schifelbein, John Mastovich, and Brian Strohmeier will represent RJLG at the AVS exhibition. This year's conference and exhibition will take place at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA on November 8-13, 2009. More than 3,000 scientists, academics, and students from the United States and abroad are expected to attend.
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American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
RJLG Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Services Group will be exhibiting at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition, November 8 – 12, 2009, in Los Angeles. The conference is an opportunity to highlight services such as X-Ray Diffraction, forensic particulate characterization, automated particulate characterization, light obscuration, surface characterization and nanotechnology initiatives. Technical representatives will be on hand to discuss how these techniques can be utilized – whether alone or in combination – to design a sample characterization protocol that will meet individual client needs.
Automated particulate characterization will be highlighted in a poster presentation by Karen Sutch and co-authored with RJLG's Julianne Wolfe and David Exline entitled Automated Raman and Computer Controlled SEM: Identification of Foreign Particulate Matter in Pharmaceutical Samples. Visit RJLG representatives, Karen Sutch and David Caruso, at booth 1862.
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Joint Forensic Science Meeting 2009
 Allison Murtha and Keena Zitkovich of RJLG’s Forensic Science Department attended the 2009 Joint Forensic Association Meeting in Orlando, Florida on October 19-23, 2009. Organizations in attendance included the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists (of which they are both a part), the Southern Association of Forensic Scientists, the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, and the Southwest Association of Forensic Scientists. This national meeting was a wonderful opportunity for RJ Lee Group to showcase the different forensic services we provide and the items we manufacture. We were able to meet with clients and network with colleagues from all over the United States, as well as stay updated with the latest techniques and newest technology in the forensics arena.
Currently the Forensics Department is preparing to attend the annual Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists meeting which will be held at Penn State University this year.
A special thank you to this month's contributing writers and editors
Sue Cornell, WSCF Training & Communications
Stephen Kennedy, PhD, Senior Scientistc
Rich Lee, PhD, CEO
Allison Murtha, Forensic Scientist
Lindsay Peters, Associate Scientist, Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Services
Alex Sciulli, President & COO
Brian Strohmeier, PhD, Manager of the Surface Analysis Laboratory
Nicole Young, Writing & Editing
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 What began as a modest Small Business Innovation Research Phase I development grant in November of 2001 has become a $26+ Million dollar success for RJ Lee Group’s Software Development team, the community of Waynesburg, PA, and the U.S. Air Force. The overall goal of the project is to provide timely access to the Air Force’s vast resources of data on the health of their engines, allowing them to make quick, accurate, cost-saving decisions about engine maintenance. Sensors throughout the engines of the Air Force fleets collect in-flight data on a variety of engine performance indicators. This information, combined with routine maintenance data allows engine health and maintenance schedules to be assessed and modified, minimizing break downs, and reducing the time a plane is grounded. The data from various metrics, bases, and aircraft were proving impossible for the Air Force to combine in a timely and useful manner – until the RJLG software development team entered the picture.
Our team developed innovative software solutions to a problem many organizations face today: how to merge disparate data from multiple systems into one useful, manageable, and timely interface. After implementing various early-phase solutions based on traditional data warehousing concepts, RJLG developed a new innovation: rather than pursuing the conventional route of physically combining the databases, RJLG’s team developed software that identifies the data at the source and reveals it to the end user through various web applications, ad hoc reporting options, and series of graphs and reports. Pulling the data together in this manner allows the Air Force to do fleet-wide trending and analyses, and to develop more effective engineering, diagnostic and maintenance solutions, without interrupting data flows or introducing any time lag to data availability or data transition.
Viewing the data through one comprehensive portal allows the Air Force to analyze symptoms and avert impending failures, resulting in cost savings, improved availability and utilization of its fleet, and improved safety for American pilots and soldiers. Thanks to RJLG’s progress, the Air Force has been able to shift from a reactive approach to engine health, to a safer, more cost effective pro-active approach. Our software programs are now in use at several Air Force bases and are expected to be deployed throughout the country’s bases over the next several years.
These government (Department of Defense) contracts contribute greatly to the long term health and stability of RJLG. The contracts have been ongoing since 2001 and are currently slated to run through 2012, totaling more than $26M. RJLG is the prime contractor with five subcontractors, and a few working representatives from several key jet-industry corporations. Between the various organizations, a team of more than 100 members has been created. The dramatic success of the pilot program promises another new innovation where RJLG has made its mark.
RJLG’s developed solution has wide reaching utility as a comprehensive software suite that is modifiable for applications through all industries. As new sources of information emerge, and as the trend of merging corporations continues, compiling information from multiple databases by traditional methods continues to be an extremely difficult process that yields ineffective results at extraordinarily high costs. RJLG provides resolutions that are more effective, more efficient, and more comprehensive than any other software service on the market at the present time. |
