Future Trends in Spectroscopy

On 27 and 28 June 1989, a Symposium on Future Trends in Spectroscopy took place at the Seat of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Casina Pio IV, on the grounds of the Vatican. The occasion for this Symposium was the 50th anniversary of the first publication of Spectrochimica Acta, the founding editor of which was the Vatican Astronomer, Father Alois Gatterer. Participants in the Symposium included representatives of the combined Editorial Advisory Boards of Spectrochimica Acta Parts A and B, with representatives from the Pontifical Academy, the Vatican Observatory and Pergamon Press. This volume contains the papers presented at the Symposium, with summaries of the ensuing discussion. Professor Gerhard Herzberg was not able to be at the Symposium to present his paper in person, so we are grateful to him for providing the manuscript which appears here. The message to the participants from Robert Maxwell was presented by his wife, Dr Elisabeth Maxwell, whose presence at the Symposium was greatly appreciated. In addition to the texts of the lectures, this volume also includes a selection of "Classic Papers" from earlier issues of the journal. Thus, this volume presents both a retrospective and a prospective view of the exciting and evolving field of spectroscopy, whose applications span so many areas of science, from the cosmos to global environment to detailed studies of life processes.