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The Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry (HEMS) was created in 1999 as a means of encouraging interaction among people involved in deploying mass spectrometers outside of the typical laboratory setting. These environments are diverse, ranging from volcanoes and battlefields, to ocean depths, outer space and other rugged locales. Building mass spectrometers to withstand the rigors of such harsh and remote environments places a unique burden on engineering design and science objective planning, where operational requirements for power, size and durability must be met while achieving the goals of the scientific mission.

We hope to foster and promote interaction between scientists and engineers through the informal setting of the HEMS Workshop and thus stimulate the development of HEMS technology and applications.

Our History

1999 - 1st Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
February 21–23, 1999, St. Petersburg, Florida
Hosted by the University of South Florida, Marine Science Department, Center for Ocean Technology

2001 - 2nd Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
March 18–21, 2001, St. Petersburg, Florida
Hosted by the University of South Florida, Marine Science Department, Center for Ocean Technology

2002 - 3rd Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry Workshop & The 2nd NASA/JPL Miniature Vacuum Pumps Workshop
March 25–28, 2002, Pasadena, California
Hosted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA

2003 - 4th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
October 7–10 2003, St. Petersburg Beach, Florida
Hosted by the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, Center for Ocean Technology

2005 - 5th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 20–23 2005, Lido Beach, Sarasota, Florida
Hosted by the University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, Center for Ocean Technology

2007 - 6th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 17–20, 2007, Cocoa Beach, Florida
Hosted by the ASRC Aerospace Corporation, Kennedy Space Center

2008 – Incorporation of the Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
May 12, 2008, Tallahassee, Florida
The Harsh Environment Mass Spectrometry Society, Inc.

2009 - 7th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 17–20, 2007, Santa Barbara, Calafornia
Hosted by Hamilton Sundstrand

2011 –The Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry, Inc. becomes a tax exempt public charity under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Effective date of exemption is May 12, 2008.
January 11, 2011, Cincinnati, OH
The Harsh Environment Mass Spectrometry Society, Inc.

2011 - 8th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 19–22, 2011, St. Pete Beach, Florida
Hosted by the University of North Texas

2013 - 9th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 15–18, 2013, St. Pete Beach, Florida
Hosted by the University of North Texas

2015 - 10th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 13–16, 2015, Baltimore, Maryland
Hosted by OI Analytical

2017 - 11th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 18–21, 2017, Oxnard, California
Hosted by UTC Aerospace Systems

2018 - 12th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
October 16-18, 2018, Cologne, Germany
Hosted by Inficon, Inc.

2019 - 13th Workshop on Harsh-Environment Mass Spectrometry
September 16–19, 2019, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Hosted by Collins Aerospace