History of Mass Spectrometry in Australia and New Zealand

ANZSMS is compiling a history of mass spectrometry in Australia and New Zealand and is seeking contributions from its members and other interested individuals. This will comprise a timeline of significant events and discoveries, together with other recollections and perspectives.

To contribute a timeline event, tribute or recollection please complete and submit the form below. Any comments or corrections to the existing timeline and tributes are welcome as well.

ANZSMS Timeline

Timeline of significant events

1922	Then student Ian Wark (later Head of the Division of Industrial Chemistry, CSIRO) writes to Francis Aston in Cambridge seeking advice on building a mass spectrograph to measure ionisation potentials. Aston promptly replies (‘I think a 12″ coil should be ample for your purpose. 20,000 volts should not strain it seriously even with one pole earthed … Wishing you every success, Sincerely F.W. Aston.’)
1946	Construction of a 60 degree Nier-type mass spectrometer commences in the Physics Department, University of Melbourne, becoming operational in 1947. This and a subsequent all-metal mass spectrometer completed in 1948 (still in operation in 1971) were used as isotope separators for the production of milligram quantities of lithium, oxygen, neon, magnesium and zinc.
1948	Arrival of first commercial mass spectrometer in Australia – a CEC21102 instrument at CSIRO, Melbourne.
1950s	Ian Lauder (U. Queensland) and Peter Jeffrey (UWA) construct mass spectrometers for isotope tracer and geological dating experiments.
1953	Jim Morrison constructs world’s first mass spectral digitizer consisting of an analog-to-digital converter.
1957	Mark Ingram-inspired magnetic mass spectrometer built by Jim Morrison and colleagues in Melbourne.
1959	Arrival of commercial Metropolitan Vickers MS-2 instrument at UNSW for use by Jim Green and Jack Garnett.
1960	Jim Shannon CSIRO coal research section receives an Atlas CH4 mass spectrometer.
1960s	Jim Shannon promotes use of “fish-hook arrows” for homolytic bond cleavages of ions.
1962	Second Atlas CH4 mass spectrometer installed at Defence Standards Laboratory in Melbourne.
1962	Jim Morrison and Don Swingler construct early quadrupole mass spectrometer at CSIRO, Melbourne.
1966	John Bowie initiates studies of organic anions by negative ion mass spectrometry, initially using a Hitachi RMU 7D mass spectrometer.
1968	Jim Shannon appointed Australian editor of Organic Mass Spectrometry journal.
1968	Thermal ionisation mass spectrometer installed at Waite Institute, now Curtin University of Technology, WA.
Late 1960s	Keith Murray acquires Atlas CH4 at CSIRO Food Research section in North Ryde Sydney. Instrument subsequently adapted for GC-MS experiments.
1969	Jim Morrison and John Smith construct the first fast scanning laminated magnet for a magnetic-sector GCMS. (Haertel, G.; Morrison, J.D.; Smith, J.F. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Phys. 5 (1970) 215-222).
1970	A community of Australian scientists who were working and were interested in mass spectrometry established a formal society known as the Australian Society for Mass Spectrometry. The society was initially chaired by Barry Batts.
1970	Bert Halpern constructs quadrupole mass spectrometer for early biomedical mass spectrometry experiments.
1970s	First commercial ICRs arrive in Australia – U. Adelaide, ANU, CSIRO in Melbourne.
1971	First meeting of the Australian Society for Mass Spectrometry at Macquarie University (August 23-27). Name changed to Australian & New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry.
1971	Don McGilvery and Jim Morrison develop SIMION program for electrostatic potential and charged particle trajectory calculations.
1974	Jim Morrison and Don McGilvery construct a triple quadrupole for studying the photodissociation of ions. (McGilvery, D.C.; Morrison, J.D. J. Chem. Phys. 67 (1977) 368-369).
1974	John Traeger builds La Trobe University photoionization mass spectrometer. (Traeger, J.C.; McLoughlin, R.G. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Phys. 27 (1978) 319-333).
1976	ETP, manufacturer and developer of electron multipliers, founded in Sydney.
1975	Peter Derrick constructs large-scale (1 metre magnetic radius, 8 tonne magnet) reverse geometry sector mass spectrometer at La Trobe University. (Cullis, P.G.; Neumann, G.M.; Rogers, D.E.; Derrick, P.J. Adv. Mass Spectrom. 8B (1980) 1729-1738)
1978	First use of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for analytical tandem mass spectrometry in Melbourne. (Yost, R.A.; Enke, C.G.; McGilvery, D.C.; Smith, D.L.; Morrison, J.D. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Phys. 30 (1979) 127-136).
1979	GCMS analysis of volatile constituents of Australian honeys. (Graddon, A.D.; Morrison, J.D.; Smith, J.F. J. Agric. Food Chem. 27 (1979) 832-837).
1980	Application of computerized GCMS to oil exploration in Australia. (Philp, R.P.; Gilbert, T.D. APEA Journal20 (1980) 221-228).
1982	ETP develops replaceable dynode multipliers.
1983	GCMS analysis of constitutents associated with off-flavors in crustaceans from Australian coastal waters. (Whitfield, F.B.; Freeman, D.J. Water Sci. Tech. 15 (1983) 85-95).
1987	Composition of wax made by the Australian stingless bee Trigona australis. (Milborrow, B.V.; Kennedy, J.M.; Dollin, A. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 40 (1987) 15-25).
1989	GCMS analysis of volatile oils in eucalyptus leaves. (Barton, A.F.M.; Tjandra, J.; Nicholas, P.G. J. Agric. Food Chem. 37 (1989) 1253-1257).
1989	Jim Dawson and Michael Guilhaus propose an orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer as a new way to couple TOF with continuous ion sources. (Dawson, J.H.J.; Guilhaus, M. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 3 (1989) 155-159).
1990	First commercial electrospray mass spectrometer in Australia (Sciex API-III) installed at Bond University.
1991	Early tandem TOF/TOF mass spectrometer built at UNSW. (Jardine, D.R.; Alderdice, D.S.; Derrick, P.J. Org. Mass Spectrom. 26 (1991) 915-916).
1991	ETP develops air-stable “active film” multiplier technology.
1992	Guilhaus and Coles complete construction of first orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer at UNSW. (Coles, J.; Guilhaus, M. Trends Anal. Chem. 12 (1993) 203-213).
1992	Waldron, Dowsett, and Derrick patent hybrid double-focusing magnetic-sector time-of-flight mass spectrometer).
1995	Construction of a pentaquadrupole mass spectrometer capable of performing MS/MS/MS experiments at Monash University. (Thomas, P.D.; Morrison, R,J.S. Proc. ANZSMS15 ThP-07).
1996	Guilhaus and Mlynski complete construction of first MALDI orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer at UNSW. (Mlynski, V.; Guilhaus, M. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 10 (1996) 1524-1530).
1997	Michael Guilhaus receives the Curt Brunnée Award at the 14th International Mass Spectrometry Conference. (Adv. Mass Spectrom. 14 (1997) xxv-xxviii).
1998	Don McGilvery shares ASMS Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry for development and application of SIMION, an algorithm to simulate for electrostatic fields and ion trajectories. (J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 9 (1998) 657).
1998	First record of host defence peptides in tadpoles using mass spectrometry. (Wabnitz, P.A.; Walters, H.; Tyler, M.J.; Wallace, J.C.; Bowie, J.H. J. Peptide Res. 52 (1998) 477-481).
1999	Aquatic sex pheromone detected in a male tree frog by mass spectrometry. (Wabnitz, P.A.; Bowie, J.H.; Tyler, M.J.; Wallace, J.C. Nature 401 (1999) 444-445).
2000	Special honour issue of the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry for Jim Morrison (Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 194(2/3) (2000)).
2000	Guilhaus group demonstrates resolution and sensitivity advantages of parallel wire grids and rectangular repeat cell meshes in orthogonal TOF mass analysers for MALDI and commercial ESI instruments. (Selby, D.; Mlynski, V.; Guilhaus, M. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 206 (2001) 201-210. Lewin, M.J.; Guilhaus, M.; Wildgoose, J.; Hoyes, J.; Bateman, R. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 16 (2001) 609-615).
2000	Measurement of proton affinities on a pentaquadrupole mass spectrometer by the kinetic method. (Thomas, P.D.; Morrison, R.J.S. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 194 (2000) 133-143.
2001	AMS radiocarbon dating of early human occupation 50,000 years ago in Southwestern Australia. (Turney, C.S.M.; Bird, M.I.; Fifield, L.K.; Roberts, R.G.; Smith, M.; Dortch, C.E.; Grun, R.; Lawson, E.; Ayliffe, L.K.; Miller, G.H.; Dortch, J.; Cresswell, R.G. Quatern. Res. 55 (2001) 3-13).
2001	Implementation of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) within the Australian Customs Service for narcotic detection. (Webster, J. Int. J. Ion Mob. Spectrom. 4 (2001) 65-66).
2001	Selby, Mlynski and Guilhaus complete construction of compact MALDI reflecting orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer at UNSW. (Selby, D.S.; Mlynski, V.; Guilhaus, M. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 210/211 (2001) 89-100).
2003	Special honour issue of the Australian Journal of Chemistry for John Bowie (Aust. J. Chem.56(5) (2003)).
2006	John H. Bowie receives a Thomson Gold Medal from the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation recognising “his considerable contributions to fundamental organic mass spectrometry, particularly those involving the study of negative ions”.

Tributes and Recollections

Peter Jeffery University of Western Australia	Stable Isotope Studies in W.A. Jeffery, P.M. The Australian Physicist (1976) 28-30.

Bert Halpern University of Wollongong	Berthold Halpern – 1923-1980 Danks, D.; Duffield, A.; Sargeson, A. Historical Records of Australian Science 5 (1983) 73-82.

Jim Morrison La Trobe University	Jim Morrison – Mass Spectrometrist for All Seasons McLafferty, F.W. Org. Mass Spectrom. 26 (1991) 181-182. Personal Reminiscences of Forty Years of Mass Spectrometry in Australia Morrison, J.D. Org. Mass Spectrom. 26 (1991) 183-194. Jim Morrison Festschrift Traeger, J.C. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 194 (2000) vi-vii.

Jim Shannon CSIRO	Editorial Derrick, P.J.; Lacey, M.J.; Macdonald, C.G. Org. Mass Spectrom. 27 (1992) 979-984. Jim Shannon at Coal Research Sternhell, S. Org. Mass Spectrom. 27 (1992) 985-986. Early Shannon Mass Spectrometry McLafferty, F.W. Org. Mass Spectrom. 27 (1992) 987. J. S. Shannon – an Appreciation Maccoll, A. Org. Mass Spectrom. 27 (1992) 989-990.

John de Laeter Curtin University	The Oldest Rocks: The Western Australian Connection De Laeter, J.R.; Trendall, A.F. J. Roy. Soc. West. Aust. 85 (2002) 153-160.

John Bowie University of Adelaide	John Hamilton Bowie: An Appreciation O’Hair, R.A.J. Aust. J. Chem. 56 (2003) 343-348.

Richard O’Hair University of Melbourne	The Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference – a Tradition of Over Thirty Years. O’Hair, R.A.J. Eur. J. Mass Spectrom. 9 (2003) 525-529.

Kevin Downard University of Sydney John de Laeter Curtin University	A History of Mass Spectrometry in Australia Downard, K.M.; De Laeter, J.R. J. Mass Spectrom. 40 (2005) 1123-1139.

Yoji Hayasaka Gayle Baldock Alan Pollnitz Australian Wine Research Institute	Contributions of Mass Spectrometry in the AWRI to Wine Science Hayasaka, Y.; Baldock, G.A.; Pollnitz, A.P. Aust. J. Grape Wine Research 11 (2005) 188-204. Reproduced with permission from the Australian Society of Viticulture and Oenology.

Kevin Downard University of Sydney	Cavendish’s Crocodile and Dark Horse: The Lives of Rutherford and Aston in Parallel Downard, K.M. Mass Spectrom. Rev. 26 (2007) 713-723.

Submission form

ANZSMS Inc.
c/o Assoc Prof Tara Pukala
School of Physical Sciences
University of Adelaide
Adelaide
South Australia 5005
Australia
(+61 8) 8313 5497
president@anzsms.org