Dr Björn Meermann has been leading the Inorganic Trace Analysis Division at BAM at BAM since June 2019. He previously worked as a chemist at the Federal Institute of Hydrology (Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde) in Koblenz and also lectured at the university there. A discussion on precision and the limits of research.
Read more in the interview ‘The Trace Finder’
As a trace analysts, Dr Björn Meermann investigates samples in the micro- or nanogram range...
Source: BAM
...because it is important to closely examine certain elements that can be potentially harmful, such as mercury, cadmium or lead and to explore these extreme measuring ranges.
Source: BAM
His most important tool is a plasma mass spectrometer in which the substances ionised or vaporised into gas begin to glow.
Source: BAM
Working in this extreme range requires extreme precision, diligence and neatness.
Source: BAM
One future goal: Björn Meermann would like to characterise and quantify nanoparticles that are only a few thousandths of a millimetre in size and occur in foods, textiles and cosmetics, for example, and can thus enter the environment, and create a database for their subsequent evaluation.
Source: BAM
