One of IUP’s scholars in residence and the school’s research institute have won an international research and development award for his breakthrough work in mass spectrometry and has made an in-kind donation to the university as part of the Impact 150 campaign.
This marks the fourth R&D 100 Award for Dr. Howard Kingston, who works in IUP’s Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics. The award is for “Thor’s Hammer”, an innovation developed by Kingston and Applied Isotope Technology, with IUP and the Research Institute listed as co-developers. It delivers up to a 100-fold increase in sensitivity across all mass spectrometers and makes Quantitative Dried Blood Cards a practical alternative to traditional blood draws.
As part of the award, Kingston has donated over $1.8 million of equipment to the university, including the school’s first inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. This equipment is part of the Kingston Laboratory in IUP’s John J. and Char Kopchick Hall, which is used by faculty and by students for a variety of courses and research projects.
The donation is part of the ongoing Impact 150 campaign, where the university is trying to raise $150 million in donations. The campaign had a public kickoff at the start of the academic year and it was announced that the private part of the campaign had raised over $81 million.