Katelynn Perrault Wins Satinder Ahuja Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science

Katelynn A. Perrault, an assistant professor of forensic sciences and chemistry at Chaminade University of Honolulu in Hawaii the winner of the Satinder Ahuja Award for Young Investigators in Separation Science. This award, presented by the American Chemical Society’s Division of Analytical Chemistry, recognizes and encourages outstanding contributions to the field of separation science by a young chemist or chemical engineer.

Perrault’s work focuses on the use of multidimensional chromatography for analyzing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for odor analysis applications, particularly in the field of forensics. She has used two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection (GC×GC–MS) for characterizing VOCs from cadavers to assist search and recovery in missing persons cases, mass disasters, homicides, and other challenging scenarios. She earned her PhD from the University of Technology Sydney in 2015 with a focus on forensic chemistry. She then conducted postdoctoral studies at the University of Liège, where she applied novel analytical approaches to challenging matrices in fields such as food science, archeology, and forensic science. This research has allowed her to cultivate an international network of collaborators in academia, police, and government agencies.

Perrault is also developing a career with synergistic approaches for novel research undergraduate education and science outreach.