JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY SEPTEMBER 1992 VOL. 7 78 1 Foreword 1992 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry San Diego California USA January 6-1 1 1992 The ultimate conclusion of a good meeting is to publish the conference presentations as refereed papers in a respected journal collected as the proceedings. In this issue about one- fifth of the total oral and poster presentations from the 1992 Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry appear after passing the rigors of normal peer review and under- going careful editorial revisions in the short interval since January. These papers comprise a sampling of the confer- ence theme ranging from interfaced chromatography with plasma detection to characteristics of nebulizers plasma source mass spectrometers and numerous applications.They highlight the conference- Formally 204 papers were presented during the six day meeting with six plenary lectures 17 invited lectures 8 1 submitted oral presenta- tions and 100 posters. But where are the other manuscripts? What are we missing? The journal editors worked diligently to contact and encourage authors to submit their manuscripts oq time to expedite the review and editorial stages and to meet the September deadline for this issue. They and the authors deserve our sincerest appreciation and praise. Fortunately another fraction of the Conference presentations will be published either subsequently in this journal or in other forms. Some of the research and developments described at the Conference were not yet ready for manuscript prepara- tion because authors were presenting their latest findings before project completion.Unfortunately in the meantime the impact of the missing presentations will be appreciated only through recollections of attendees or consideration of the conference abstracts. Too bad for both authors and readers alike. The Winter Conference has gained a reputation as the foremost meeting in the field.' Since its beginning in 1980 with 175 spectroscopics gathering in San Juan Puerto Rico the meeting has become an established benchmark for plasma spectrochemistry. This seventh biennial Winter Conference sponsored by the ICP In formation Newsletter continued the concept of presenting state-of-the-art applica- tions developments and research in plasma spectrochemis- try with a single program sequence.The registration total with 450 scientists from 23 countries and 41 states attending was only a few per cent. lower than at the 1990 St. Petersburg meeting. Unlike many larger and smaller conferences concurrent often competitive parallel ses- sions purposely are avoided in the Winter Conference programme. Topics and invited speakers are selected to hold the interest of the audience including both the experienced and novice. However the six day schedule is full especially combined with a weekend of short courses preceding the formal meeting. Listening fatigue is mini- mized by afternoon breaks for poster presentations and an exhibition. In the warm southern California Winter the opportunity for sports relaxation by the pool and excur- sions to the ocean beaches or other San Diego attractions also helps when the rain abates. This format has proven to be successful and popular especially when a participant can hear all the presentations of interest without fear of missing something in another session.Cross fertilization of ideas and approaches is stimulated when research topics some- what remote from ones own professional specialities are described. The programme consisted of 12 popular theme symposia including flow injection spectrochemical analysis; sample introduction and transport phenomena; automation and plasma instrumentation; artificial intelligence chemo- metrics and software for plasma spectrometry; sample preparation and treatment; laser assisted plasma spectro- metry; excitation mechanisms and plasma phenomena; spectroscopic standards reference materials and characteri- zation; plasma source mass spectrometry; glow discharge spectrometry; and chromatographic plasma detection.Highlights of these sessions and six panel discussions along with the final conference programme abstracts and com- mentaries from symposium leaders have already been published.* A report also appeared earlier in this journaL3 Few have questioned whether plasma spectrochemistry has passed its prime. Certainly the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source is mature and its application in atomic emission spectrometry has been accepted for years. Novel applications new instrumentation improved soft- ware and artful developments keep the research and development field active.The novelty of plasma sources including ICP glow and microwave discharges for mass spectrometry continues and the emphasis on purity and quality is stimulated by the added capabilities and limita- tion of mass spectrometric analysis. Fundamental descrip- tions of the ICP and other plasma sources are progressing slowly as expected since this is the hardest part of science. All-in-all the primary need for a Winter Conference persists and thus the Winter Conference continues. The 1993 European Winter Conference is scheduled for January 10- 15 in Granada Spain. The meeting is chaired by Professor Alfred0 Sanz-Medel and is expected to be as valuable as the previous European Winter Conferences. The proceedings of the 1991 European Winter Conference held in Dortmund Germany apeared re~ently.~. The 1994 Winter Conference again will be held in San Diego CA USA. In addition to the six day programme from January 10- 15 short courses will be offered January 7-9. The deadline for submitting titles and 50-word pre- abstracts is July 2 1993. Furthermore the Sixth Winter Conference on Flow Injection Analysis for the first time will precede the meeting at the same location on January 5-7. Readers enlightened by this Conference proceedings are encouraged to participate in one of these forthcoming Winter Conferences to interact contribute and publish in the next proceedings. Ramon M. Barnes Conference Chairman Amherst MA USA References 1 Beauchemin D. Yves Le Blac J. C. Peters G. R. and Craig J. M. Anal. Chem. 1992 66 442R. 2 ICP Inf Newsl. 1992,17,687-75 1 and 769-823 and ICP Inf Newsl. 1992 18 1-29. 3 Dymott T. C. J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 1992 7 19N. 4 Boumans P. and Broekaert J. Spectrochim. Acta. Par? B 1992 47 1.