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Benjamin Place (Fed)

Research Chemist

Ben is currently a Research Chemist within the Organic Chemical Metrology Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. He first started at NIST as a National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellow, working with adviser Dr. Catherine Rimmer, to develop novel techniques using multidimensional liquid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry. Ben has worked on the quantitative measurement of fatty acids in food and dietary supplement reference materials and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food and environmental reference materials.

Currently, Ben’s research has been on the development and validation of non-targeted analysis methods using liquid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry. This work includes the coordination Method Assessment for Non-Targeted Analysis (MANTA) Program interlaboratory study and participating as a member of the Benchmarks and Publications for Non-Targeted Analysis (BP4NTA) Working Group. Recently, he has focused on the development of tools and reference data for the identification of novel PFAS in environmental samples with the Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program (SERDP).

Professional Memberships

  • Member, Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)
  • Member, American Chemical Society (ACS)

Awards

  • NIST/MML Accolade for MML Strategic Partnership, 2019
  • NIST/MML Accolade for Service to MML, 2015
  • MML Angel Investor Award for High-throughput, Surface-based Ionization Technique, 2014
  • Laboratory Teaching Assistant Award (Oregon State University), 2009
  • ACS Outstanding Student in Chemistry Award (Alma College), 2008

Selected Publications

An Introduction to the Benchmarking and Publications for Non-Targeted Analysis Working Group

Author(s)
Benjamin Place, Elin Ulrich, Jonathan Challis, Alex Chao, Bowen Du, Kristin Favela, Yong-Lai Feng, Christine Fisher, Piero Gardinali, Alan Hood, Ann Knolhoff, Andrew McEachran, Sara Nason, Seth Newton, Brian Ng, Jamie Nunez, Katherine Peter, Allison Phillips, Natalia Quinete, Ryan Renslow, Jon Sobus, Eric Sussman, Benedikt Warth, Samanthi Wickramasekara, Antony Williams
Non-targeted analysis (NTA) encompasses a rapidly evolving set of mass spectrometry techniques aimed at characterizing the chemical composition of complex

Communicating Confidence of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Identification via High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Author(s)
Joseph Charbonnet, Carrie McDonough, Feng Xiao, Trever Schwichtenberg, Dunping Cao, Sarit Kaserzon, Kevin Thomas, Pradeep Dewapriya, Benjamin Place, Emma Schymanski, Jennifer Field, Damian Helbling, Christopher Higgins
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are important environmental contaminants, yet relatively few analytical reference standards exist for this class

Publications

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles Exposed to Abrasion, Elevated Temperature, Laundering, or Weathering

Author(s)
Andrew Maizel, Andre Thompson, Meghanne Tighe, Samuel Escobar Veras, Alix Rodowa, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Bruce A. Benner Jr., Kathleen Hoffman, Michelle K. Donnelly, Olivia Hernandez, Nadine Wetzler, Trung Ngu, Jessica Reiner, Benjamin Place, John Kucklick, Kate Rimmer, Rick D. Davis
Textiles used in the construction of structural firefighter turnout gear jackets and pants have been found to contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Certification of Standard Reference Material® 2386 Avocado Powder

Author(s)
Melissa M. Phillips, Laura Wood, Joseph Browning, George Caceres, Grace Hahm, Mahboubeh Hanaee, Abigail Lee, Karen Murphy, Rabia Oflaz, Rick L. Paul, Benjamin Place, Jeanice "Brown Thomas ", James H. Yen
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released SRM 2386 Avocado Powder which has value assignment for over 70 analytes. This

Use of non-targeted and suspect screening analysis to detect sources of human exposure to environmental contaminants

Author(s)
Katherine Manz, Anna Feerick, Joseph Braun, Yong-Lai Feng, Amber Hall, Jeremy Koelmel, Carlos A. Manzano, Seth Newton, Kurt Pennell, Benjamin Place, Krystal Godri Pollitt, Carsten Prasse, Joshua Young
Non-targeted analysis (NTA) and suspect screening analysis (SSA) are powerful techniques that rely on high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and computational

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in New Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles

Author(s)
Andrew Maizel, Andre Thompson, Meghanne Tighe, Samuel Escobar Veras, Alix Rodowa, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Bruce A. Benner Jr., Kathleen Hoffman, Michelle K. Donnelly, Olivia Hernandez, Nadine Wetzler, Trung Ngu, Jessica Reiner, Benjamin Place, John Kucklick, Kate Rimmer, Rick D. Davis
Turnout gear is increasingly recognized as a potential source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure to firefighters. To determine the type
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Created May 31, 2018, Updated December 8, 2022