About the Cover
A string quartet might be a surprising choice for Applied Spectroscopy's cover image^a for the September 2022 issue, yet it seems appropriate given that string vibrations are often used to illustrate the fundamental nature of quantum transitions, which are the basis of vibrational spectroscopy. The allegory is further relevant for this month's Focal Point Review paper entitled, "Chemometrics for Raman Spectroscopy Harmonization", by Bastian Barton, James Thomson, Enrique Lozano Diz, and Raquel Portela (DOI: 10.1177/00037028221094070). Raman spectroscopy is increasingly being applied to a wide range of fields for materials characterization and in-vivo measurements because it is non-destructive, has sub-surface sampling abilities, and provides high spatial and spectral resolution. Multivariate data analysis (MVDA) is often applied for the analysis of complex Raman datasets that are collected such as hyperspectra, component mapping, and three-dimensional volume analysis. This Focal Point Review highlights techniques utilizing MVDA in Raman spectroscopic data modeling, while advocating the need for an open access database and protocol to track, validate, calibrate, update, and transfer Raman chemometric models for instrumentation harmonization. Further details about this research can be found on pages 1021 to 1041.

^aCC BY-NC image of the Orava String Quartet at the Asia-Pacific Chamber Music Competition at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 14 July 2013 by Ryan Egan https://www.flickr.com/photos/ryaneganau/9283757070/