The Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry Award recognizes a focused, singular achievement in or contribution to fundamental or applied mass spectrometry, in contrast to awards that recognize lifetime achievement. The person nominated should have made a contribution that has had a significant impact on the fundamental understanding and/or practice of mass spectrometry. Eligibility is not restricted to members of ASMS. The award is announced at the ASMS Annual Conference with the presentation of a $10,000 cash award and a recognition plaque. Nominations will be held for three years.

 2011 Recipient:  Robert J. Cotter

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is a key tool for molecular structure elucidation. Many instrument configurations are feasible for accomplishing gas-phase analyte selection followed by activation and molecule-specific dissociation. Robert J. Cotter is recognized for his invention and development of tandem time-of-flight (TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry that utilizes high-energy collisions (up to 20 keV) for collision-induced dissociation. Cotter’s first instrument design, realized in 1993, incorporated two dual-stage reflectrons (rTOF/rTOF), which were later replaced by single-stage reflectrons for improved focusing of product ions over a wider mass range. This work was followed by the development of the “curved-field reflectron” to enable simultaneous focusing of the entire product ion mass range. The curved-field reflectron also gained wide use on post-source decay instruments and was licensed to Kratos Analytical for their Kompact IV, AXIMA CFR and AXIMA CFR+ mass spectrometers and then Shimadzu Confidence mass spectrometers. A simplified instrument configuration, developed in 2004, was commercialized as the Kratos AXIMA TOF2 and later the Shimadzu Performance. More than 400 curved field reflectron instruments have been manufactured and sold. The potential benefits of high-energy (20 keV) collisions are now being appreciated, with perhaps the most exciting being the possibility of carrying out “top-down” or “middle-down” protein analyses on a MALDI TOF mass spectrometer.

Dr. Robert J. Cotter is Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.