This year, we invited entrants to the Power List 2025 – Leading Voices Edition – to respond to one of three crucial questions for the field, including: How do we help today's analytical scientists become tomorrow's science leaders? Here, we share the 10 most compelling suggestions – selected blind by our expert panel.
Click here to explore the full essays and be inspired by the voices shaping the future of the field.
“Broaden how we define leadership in analytical science”
Isabelle Kohler: “I advocate that we need to broaden how we define leadership in analytical science, and how we prepare young analytical scientists for it.
“We must support the next generation of analytical scientists not only in becoming brilliant researchers, but also bold communicators, innovators, strategists, CEOs, and change-makers who can amplify our impact across society. Let’s integrate comprehensive career development into doctoral programs, highlight diverse role models beyond academia, and redefine success beyond publications and professorships.” Read more
“More structured mentorship programs”
Francesco Cacciola: “Structured mentorship programs that connect early-career scientists with established experts can foster growth, strategic thinking, and leadership development. At the same time, it is important for senior scientists to provide space for emerging professionals to propose and lead research initiatives.” Read more
“Activate excellence, trust, and innovation”
Maite Ibarretxe: “I would like to offer a fresh perspective on this topic through the application of my Leverage Wheel framework. As the name suggests, it focuses on creating and applying leverage to unlock the full potential of an ecosystem. In this context, the goal is to harness the capabilities of today’s analytical scientists and transform them into tomorrow’s science leaders by simultaneously activating the three dimensions of the wheel. The first is Excellence – analytical science must shift from being seen as a technical service to being recognized as an intellectual anchor. Second is Trust, which becomes a currency of leadership when scientists are seen as guardians of transparency and co-creators of societal value. And finally, Innovation – it’s vital to engage and develop analytical scientists to see innovation not just as a product or process, but as a mindset and as such a way of designing resilient solutions that anticipate disruption and guide future progress.” Read more
“Become a skilled user of generative AI”
Charlotta Turner: “We can help today´s young analytical scientists by fostering engagement in societal challenges, and by embracing all aspects of analytical chemistry – from fundamental curiosity-driven research in analytical chemistry, to applied chemical analysis within collaborative projects, as well as routine analytical service. The success factors for our future analytical scientist leaders are three things: (i) deep knowledge in analytical chemistry; (ii) an ability to communicate and collaborate across disciplines; and (iii) being a skilled user of generative AI.” Read more
“Dare to try – the only risk is learning for the future”
Lourdes Ramos: “Among the attributes and aptitudes that contributed to the uniqueness of these leaders, I would highlight the following features as desirable for our tomorrow´s leaders: (i) deep knowledge and understanding of your specialization field that you continuously update; (ii) belief in yourself; (iii) dare to try what you devise based on your strong knowledge – the only risk is learning for the future; (iv) be a mentor, but also the coach for your students; (v) always listen and be kind – all ideas can be valuable; (vi) your team is your strength – support professional development and celebrate their successes; (vii) collaborate with colleagues from the same area, but also from other research fields; (viii) balance your professional and personal life.” Read more
“Acquire fundamental knowledge of instrumentation and application areas”
Laura Sanchez: “Funding is becoming harder and harder to acquire to support training, especially in light of a number of training grant opportunities that were just terminated by NIH and NSF. It is imperative that we train the next generation of analytical scientists in both their fundamental knowledge of instrumentation and application to biological problems. I have observed that without training in application and consideration of the statistics and caveats associated with working with complex biological systems, strong fundamental scientists struggle to make a translational jump, which can inherently limit job opportunities.” Read more
“Cultivate interests across different fields”
Martina Catani: “I observe that scientific challenges are becoming progressively more interdisciplinary. Given the central role and versatility of analytical chemistry, it is crucial for young scientists to cultivate interests across different fields. I believe we must actively involve young scientists from the beginning of their career in research meetings with both academic and industrial partners. This exposure will allow them to grasp the complexity of modern science.” Read more
“Embrace the FUTURE”
Paweł Świt: “The FUTURE (Funding, Understanding, Training, Unity, Research, Engagement) is key to helping today’s analytical scientists become tomorrow’s science leaders:
Funding – create mini research teams within the research groups of science leaders with their budget, access to equipment, and the ability to choose research topics.
Understanding – recruitment for internships to groups of current science leaders, not only for scientific and research purposes but also for organizational and management purposes.
Training – organizing workshops on writing scientific articles, research projects, and presenting results.
Unity – ensuring professional stability, which will allow you to focus on scientific aspects
Research – building an international cooperation network, which will allow for involvement in international research initiatives.
Engagement – organizing congresses of current science leaders, at which young researchers will be able to participate in numerous discussions with science leaders to a greater extent than is possible at traditional conferences.” Read more
“Check your ego at the door”
Kevin Schug: “Analytical measurement science is essential to provide insight into nearly any scientific or engineering process. As analytical scientists, we have become masters of some techniques, but we can hardly possess all the expertise needed to speak in depth about all the potential application spaces where they can be used. This trend is only going to continue and increase. If you are an up-and-coming analytical scientist, you need to be grounded in the fundamentals of your science, and you must be able to cooperate and work with others. Your new credentials or position may be a recognition of your accomplishments, but it should not be an impetus to start building your pedestal so you can look down on others. If you do this, you will quickly find your sphere of opportunities and interactions shrinking.” Read more
“Emphasize the scientific approach to problem-solving”
Brooke W. Kammrath: “First, scientific illiteracy is a plague facing the world. It is therefore critical for today’s analytical scientists to develop effective scientific communication skills so they can successfully apply their expertise to global issues such as climate change, clean energy, unidentified aerial phenomena, infectious diseases, and crime. Second, analytical chemistry education should emphasize the scientific approach to problem-solving rather than the rote memorization of protocols. This focus will cultivate logical reasoning skills, which are essential for navigating complex scientific challenges.” Read more
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