In Recognition of Paul R. Haddad : Foreword/Editorial to Journal of Chromatography A Volume 1213 Issue 1: Techniques for the Separation of Ionic and Ionogenic Species.

This special issue of the Journal of Chromatography A is dedicated to our friend and colleague Paul Haddad on the occasion of his 60th birthday. This is a very special recognition. Only very rarely are individual scientists honoured in this way by the Journal of Chromatography A. Paul Haddad is indeed a very special member of the chromatographic community. Also, he is an outstanding contributor to the journal. During the first 50 years of the journal's existence Paul was second only to the incomparable Georges Guiochon on the list of most-frequent authors [1]. Since 2005 he also contributes greatly to the quality and the status of Journal of Chromatography A as editor. Paul received his B.Sc. (with first class honours) and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from the University of New South Wales in 1971 and 1975, respectively. He was then senior tutor in Chemistry at the Australian National University until 1979 after which he was appointed as lecturer in analytical chemistry at the University of New South Wales where he was progressively promoted to professor in 1990. In 1992 he was appointed as professor of chemistry and head of department at the University of Tasmania, where from 1993 to 2001 he served as Dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering. He was appointed as Director of the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS) and in 2004 was awarded an Australian Research Council Australian Professorial Fellowship. In 2006 he was awarded a prestigious Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship and was appointed as Director of the Pfizer Analytical Research Centre (PARC) in Tasmania. For this special issue we chose the theme of 'Techniques for the separation of ionic and ionogenic species' as a subject close to Paul's heart, but it is chosen to be broad enough to allow many of his friends and colleagues to contribute. Paul is an acknowledged world authority in separation science, particularly on the analysis of inorganic ions and low molecular weight organic acids and bases using separation methods. He is senior author of a widely acclaimed reference text on this topic, Ion Chromatography: Principles and Applications‚ÄövÑvp, which has received more than 600 citations. He has made major pioneering contributions in numerous areas of ion chromatography and capillary electrophoresis over his career and has shown a long-standing interest in the fundamental development of separation science and its application to important industrial samples. Paul is also an active participant in the scientific community and as well as being an editor of Journal of Chromatography A, he is also a contributing editor of Trends in Analytical Chemistry and was previously an editor of Analytica Chimica Acta (1999‚Äö-2005). He is a member of many editorial boards including Analytica Chimica Acta, Analyst, Electrophoresis, Chromatographia, Analytical Sciences, International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Letters, Australian Journal of Chemistry, Current Analytical Chemistry and the Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry. He has had a long involvement with the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and has held various positions within the RACI including Chairman of the Analytical Division, Member of the Executive Council, Branch President (Tas) and Treasurer of the Analytical Division. He is also a foundation member of the Permanent Scientific committee of International Ion Chromatography Symposia series (1991-present). Paul was awarded a D.Sc. from the University of New South Wales in 1996 and he is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Royal Society of Chemistry and the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies. His many accomplishments have been recognised by a number of awards and honours including the RACI H.G. Smith Medal (2007), AJP Martin Gold Medal of the Chromatographic Society (2002), Royal Society of Chemistry Analytical Separation Methods Award and Medal (2003), RACI Analytical Chemistry Divisional Medal (1993), RACI Archibald Olle Prize (1991) and the International Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to ion chromatography (1989). As well as these many achievements Paul is also a prominent international advocate for Australian analytical chemistry in general. He was instrumental in establishing ACROSS (www.across.utas.edu.au) in 2001 as a strategic agreement between key Australian researchers working in separation science. Since this time ACROSS has grown as a multi-institutional centre with over 60 staff and students. One of Paul's most significant contributions as Director of ACROSS has been in actively seeking opportunities for mentoring and training the next generation of separation scientists in Australia. This is in addition to having acted as a major research supervisor for over 40 Ph.D. students, 19 M.Sc. students and 42 B.Sc.(Hons.) students. Like any successful scientist, Paul would not be where he is today without the love and support from his wife, Kerry, and his children, Simone, Lianne and Chris. They have had to share Paul with his numerous friends and colleagues and the frequent and lengthy travel that must be undertaken for any prominent scientist based in Australia. They have in no small part contributed to Paul's career and have taken a great deal of pleasure and pride in their collective achievements. Paul has a large network of international collaborators and friends, and those who have met him know him not just for his scientific talent but also for his congenial nature, keen sense of humour, ability to find a story to tell for any occasion, and his love of sport, in particular Australian Rules Football and the Geelong Cats. It comes as no surprise to us that he is well liked wherever he goes. Happy Birthday Paul, and best wishes for many more.