21st GC×GC Symposium - Invited Speakers

The 44th International Symposium on Capillary Chromatography (ISCC), the premier meeting for pressure and electrodriven microcolumn separations and related techniques, will be held May 17 – 22, 2026 in the Congress Centre, Riva del Garda, Italy.

The 21st GCxGC Symposium will be organized jointly with the ISCC meeting to allow scientists to attend both meetings. The symposium will start with a short course on Sunday May 17 covering the fundamentals and applications of comprehensive GCxGC and with a plenary session on Monday May 18. Key-note lectures and posters will be included in the program of the ISCC meeting.

KeyDates

• February 20, 2026: Abstract deadline for an Oral Presentation to be included in the Book of Abstracts.
• March 15, 2026: Abstract deadline for a Poster Presentation to be included in the Book of Abstracts.
• April 06, 2026: Within this date, information will be given on the acceptance of oral and poster presentations.
  • Please remember that if you are submitting an abstract for an oral or poster presentation, you must pay the registration fee by April 19, 2026 (with the reduced fee by April 12, 2026). If no payment is made by April 22, 2026, the abstract will not be included in the program and book of abstracts.
• April 12, 2026: Deadline for Reduced Registration
• April 22, 2026: Preliminary Program
• May 17, 2026: GCxGC and LCxLC Courses
• May 18, 2026: 21st GCxGC Symposium
• May, 19 2026: 44th ISCC Symposium

Program

Invited Speakers 21st GCxGC

Beyond Resolution: GC×GC as an Enabler of Predictive, Purpose-Driven Analytical Science

• Chiara Cordero
  • Chiara Cordero (orcid.org/0000-0003-3201-0775) is Full Professor of Food Chemistry at the Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin (Italy). She was Research Fellow at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Lebensmittelchemie (DFA), Technical University of Munich (Germany), and Visiting Professor at the Poznan University of Life Sciences (Poland, 2019 and 2023) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa, 2020).Her research focuses on the development of instrumental platforms based on comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) for food-omics applications (profiling and fingerprinting), data processing tools for GC×GC interpretation, discovery of food quality markers (food metabolomics and volatilomics), and intake markers in biofluids (nutrimetabolomics and volatilomics). She also works on the design of miniaturized, fully automated, solvent-free sample preparation strategies for sensomic food characterization.In 2008, she received the “Leslie S. Ettre Award” for original research in capillary gas chromatography with emphasis on food and environmental safety. In 2014, she was awarded the “John B. Phillips Award” for achievements in GC×GC. In 2016, The Analytical Scientist included her in its “Women Power List” of the 50 most influential women in analytical science. In 2022, she received the Scientific Achievement Award in GC×GC, and in 2024, the “Giovanni Dugo Medal” from the Italian Chemical Society (GISS) for research in food analysis.

GC×GC-(HR)TOFMS Volatolomics: Advances in Disease Diagnosis

• Jean-François Focant
  • Jean-François (Jef) Focant is Full Professor at the Chemistry Department at ULiege in Belgium. Expert in multidimensional GC coupled to MS, his team develops and validate analytical methods for the measurement of (semi)volatile molecules present in complex matrices. His Organic and Biological Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is known for its focus on solving real-life analytical challenges to serve the general society. The diversity of applications is very large and covers fields such as forensics, food control, archeology, and much more. Major recent activities include metabolomics (volatolomics, breathomics), especially oriented to biomarker discovery in medical applications. The team also specializes in specific chemometric solutions for feature selections over large data sets from multi-class studies.

Modulation in GC×GC: a journey over three decades

• Tadeusz Gorecki
  • Tadeusz Górecki is a professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo (ON). He obtained his M.Sc. Engineer (1981) and Ph.D. (1986) degrees from the Gdansk University of Technology, Poland, and the Professor of Chemical Sciences degree (2009) from the President of the Republic of Poland.Prof. Górecki’s main research area is separation science, with a particular focus on comprehensive multidimensional gas and liquid chromatography, as well as sample preparation and environmental analysis. He has authored/co‐authored 28 book chapters, over 180 papers published in peer reviewed journals, over 320 conference contributions (including nearly 100 invited presentations) and 6 patents.He is the recipient of the Waksmundzki Medal awarded by the Committee on Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2017 he received the GCxGC Scientific Achievement Award at the 41st International Symposium on Capillary Chromatography & the 14th GCxGC Symposium. His papers have been cited over 10000 times.

Preliminary feature extraction algorithm for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

• Leandro Wang Hantao
  • Professor at the Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP). His research interests include sample preparation, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and chemometrics.

Labrador vs. laboratory in arson investigations. GC×GC-TOFMS to the rescue

• James Harynuk
  • Prof. James Harynuk is currently a Full Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. His research focuses on developing advanced analytical tools to tackle challenges such as complex samples, faster analysis times, and lower detection limits.He specializes in multidimensional gas-phase separations, including GC×GC, heart-cut GC (GC-GC), and advanced data handling tools. Applications of his work span health research, metabolite profiling, forensic science, petrochemicals, and environmental science.

GC×GC-HRToFMS for the detection of organohalogen compounds in environmental samples

• Teruyo Ieda
  • Teruyo Ieda is a senior researcher at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan. Her research focuses on the development of detection methods for organohalogen compounds in environmental samples. Her research interests include comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC), high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HRToFMS), sample preparation, and thermal desorption methods.

Using comprehensive GCxGC to improve the sensitivity and temporal resolution in food flavour analysis

• Hans-Gerd Janssen
  • Prof. Hans-Gerd Janssen obtained his MSc degree in Chemical Engineering (1987, cum laude) and his PhD degree in analytical chemistry in 1991 (Supercritical Fluid Chromatography), both from the Eindhoven University of Technology. After obtaining his PhD degree he joined the Eindhoven University as an assistant professor and became associate professor in 1996. In 1999 he moved to Unilever R&D where he currently is science leader Food Compositional Analysis. From 2004 to 2019 he was part-time professor at the University of Amsterdam at the chair ‘(bio-)macromolecular separations’. In 2019 he moved to Wageningen University where he now holds a part-time professor position in ‘recognition-based analytical chemistry’.Prof. Janssen has published more than 220 papers including four patents and seven book chapters. He is a member of the editorial advisory board of several scientific journals. He has been, or is, a member of the board of the Analytical Chemistry division of the Dutch Chemical Society and the working group Separation Methods. He also is a member of the scientific or organizing committee of several symposia including the Comprehensive GCxGC meetings, the conference series on Capillary Chromatography and the series Recent Advances in Food Analysis. His research interests are broad, ranging from theory development in chromatography to the development of advanced chromatographic systems for food analysis. Prof. Janssen was awarded the 2020 GC×GC scientific achievement award in recognition of his contribution to the field. In 2023 he received the AOCS Herbert Dutton Award for tis contribution to developments in the field of lipid analysis.

Innovations in GC×GC Modulator Design with 3D Printing, and Selected Novel Applications

• Philip Marriott
  • Professor Marriott’s research commenced at LaTrobe University (Ph.D.), continued at Bristol (Postdoc) then had academic appointments at the National University of Singapore then in Melbourne at RMIT and Monash University. These latter two appointments accompanied invention of, and developments in cryogenic modulation in GC, leading to primary research in comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GC×GC), multidimensional GC (MDGC), and mass spectrometry.Our research includes device development, fundamental descriptions of GC×GC technology, and supports a broad applications base. As a platform technology, we apply MDGC and GC×GC to a diverse array of separations, including: pesticides; petrochemicals; pharmaceuticals; natural products; toxins; and foods, flavours and beverage analysis such as olfactometry, essential oils, wine, coffee, hop, fatty acids, polyphenols, food safety, herbs and spices etc. He has had visiting appointments in China, South Korea, Singapore, Brazil, and Malaysia.

LC-GC(×GC) a powerful toolbox in food analysis

• Giorgia Purcaro
  • Giorgia Purcaro is a full professor of Analytical Chemistry at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège (Belgium). She has a Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Udine (Italy). She spent part of her postdoctoral work at the University of Messina (Italy) and at Dartmouth College (USA) before being appointed at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (Belgium) in 2018.Her main areas of research are the optimization of hyphenated chromatographic techniques and sustainable sample preparation workflows. The primary areas of application are related to contaminant analysis in food and food quality, with a primary focus on lipids and volatile compounds. Her primary goal is to demonstrate the robustness of hyphenated chromatographic techniques and facilitate their routine application, thereby ensuring more cost-effective, informative, and effective analytical methods.She has significantly contributed to the advancement in the field of MOSH and MOAH analysis in food, by developing an LC-GC×GC-FID/MS and the associated dedicated software in collaboration with LECO, and she is constantly improving the sample preparation method to increase accuracy in the determination.She received the Leslie Ettre Award in 2010 for her most outstanding contribution to capillary chromatography and the J. Phillips Award in 2015 for her contributions to the field of comprehensive two-dimensional GC. She was included in the list “Top40under40”.She has been a co-author of more than 150 papers and more than 300 conference presentations, with an H-index of 35.

Adapting Tile-based Discovery Analysis for Comprehensive Two-dimensional Gas Chromatography with Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (GC×GC-VUV) Data of Gas Oils

• Robert E. Synovec
  • Robert E. Synovec is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle WA, USA. He obtained his PhD in 1986 from Iowa State University under the direction of Edward S. Yeung, then joined the UW Faculty, also in 1986. At UW, he served as Associate Chair of the Chemistry Graduate Education Program from 2007-2020 and is now Co-Director of the MSACST Program (2022-present). Synovec has graduated 51 PhDs, 7 Thesis Masters, and 12 Non-Thesis Masters, with 10 Post Docs and 67 Undergraduate Researchers.His group pioneers the development of novel analytical instrumentation and methodology based upon chemical separation science, coupled with chemometric data analysis at both a fundamental and problem-solving level. He has over 300 publications (which includes over 75 publications in Analytical Chemistry, with an h-index of 60 and i10-index of 212), and over 680 research presentations which includes 280 invited lectures. The tile-based Fisher ratio software pioneered by the group to perform discovery-based analysis of GC×GC-TOFMS data was licensed by LECO corporation, commercialized as ChromaTOF Tile. In May 2013, Synovec was awarded the GC×GC Scientific Achievement Award at the 10th GC×GC International Symposium. This award has been instituted to recognize pioneering contributions in developing and promoting GC×GC instrumentation, method development and/or applications. In May 2016, Synovec received the Marcel Golay Award at the 40th ISCC meeting in Riva del Garda, Italy, presented to a scientist in recognition of a lifetime of achievement in capillary chromatography.

Major benefits of using comprehensive 2D gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in food analysis

• Peter Tranchida
  • Peter Q. Tranchida occupies a position as Full Professor in Food Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences (University of Messina, Italy), and is currently Coordinator of the Master’s Degree Course in Food Science and Human NutritionHe has co-authored over 180 scientific publications (Scopus database) and has participated to over 360 oral/poster presentations in national and international meetings. In 2012, at the"9th GC×GC symposium", held in Riva del Garda, he was awarded the "John Phillips Award", for his outstanding achievements in the field of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. In 2019, at the “16th GC×GC symposium”, held in Fort Worth (Texas), he was awarded the “GC×GC Lifetime Achievement Award”. Prof. Tranchida is currently Associate Editor of Journal of Separation Science (Wiley).His research activities are focused mainly on the study of complex food samples by using advanced gas chromatography processes, in particular, multidimensional gas chromatography systems, combined with various forms of mass spectrometry Specifically, he has performed a great deal of research work in the field of classical multidimensional gas chromatography, multidimensional liquid-gas chromatography, and comprehensive 2D gas chromatography.

Short Courses

GC×GC Course

The popular GC×GC workshop Riva returns. In 2026, we will feature an updated coverage of basic principles, fundamentals, optimization strategies, key applications of GC×GC.

Presented by leading proponents of GC×GC, this course will offer opportunity to ask questions through a Q&A session, share experiences, and learn of solutions that will assist your understanding of the technique, and provide tips and advice to improve your conduct of GC×GC.

Combined with a strong program of oral presentations and posters, GC×GC Riva 2026 promises to be a wealth of value-added information for the practitioner.

Target Audience

The target audience includes scientists and technologists who have an interest in GC×GC and are familiar with the technology but need additional information to assess the merits of GC×GC for their particular application or wish to further interpret the scope of GC×GC. More experienced users who wish to optimize their use of the instrument, to update their knowledge, or wish to have an opportunity to evaluate their personal practices in GC×GC will also be catered for.

Sunday - May 17, 2026

09:00 – 09:45  Introduction and Fundamentals

• Tadeusz Gorecki

09:45 – 10:30 Optimization

• Hans-Gerd Janssen

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee Break

11:00 – 11:45 GCxGC Data

• James Harynuk

11:45 – 12:45 Applications

• Philip Marriott

12:45 - 13:00 Q/A Session