The latest GASG Newsletter - edition #85 - can now be viewed via the Members Area of the site.
(May 2026)
This edition contains a detailed report of our highly successful and well-attended meeting ‘Something In The Air – Atmospheric & Environmental Monitoring’ held in April at the British Antarctic Survey.
We also pay tribute to a well-known figure among GASG Members, Dr Chris Walton from Cranfield University, who sadly passed away earlier in the year.
GASG is delighted to announce that 3 new members have recently joined the Group.
(March 2026)
Dynament, a long standing UK manufacturer of optical gas sensors has been operating for over 20 years and is based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. They offer a wide range of nondispersive infrared (NDIR) gas sensors for monitoring hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and refrigerant gases. Their patented IR technology is integrated into OEM gas detection products all over the world .
We also have a new Corporate member. The National Physical Laboratory is the United Kingdom’s national metrology institute, developing and maintaining the country’s primary measurement standards and delivering the world‑class measurement capabilities that underpin the UK’s prosperity, scientific progress, and quality of life. Through its research and expertise, NPL helps drive innovation and product development across industry, ensuring the accuracy and reliability needed for cutting‑edge technologies and high‑value manufacturing. Founded in 1900 and headquartered in Teddington, NPL also operates regional sites in Huddersfield, Glasgow, Cambridge, and Guildford, extending its measurement science and innovation activities across the UK.
Most recently, we have been joined by Protea, a UK manufacturer of analysers using a range of technologies including IR, UV, FTIR, TDL and QMS, operating from sites in Middlewich and Peterborough. The company has a particular expertise in stack and marine emissions, pollution reduction and process improvement and offers support for entire monitoring systems.
GASG warmly welcomes all 3 organisations!
GASG Meeting 92 took place on Thursday 4th December 2025 at the Wellcome Collection, a renowned museum which blends history, art, and science to tell varied stories about health and the environment.
(December 2025)
The meeting programme was similarly eclectic, featuring two plenary talks. Mark Miodownik spoke on ‘The Magnificent and Elusive Elements that Expand our World’ covering a wide range of historical issues relating to the discovery and use of gases, while after lunch, Claire Guest described her work on disease detection with highly trained Medical Detection Dogs in ‘Forging a New Path in Science’. In a first for GASG, delegates were also treated to an impressive live demonstration showing the speed with which samples can be reliably differentiated by canines.
The packed day also included presentations from Oliver Gould (NOx Production in Smart Dressing Applications), Catherine Gardner (The 12 VOCs of Christmas), Anjali Piette (Exoplanet Atmospheres), Jessica Gabb (Gas Raman for Tritium Analysis) and Paul Thomas (Locating Buried Victims: The Trapped Human Experiment).
This was one of the most informative and varied meetings of recent years and the excellent presentations were well received by all those present. A full report of the proceedings is included in Newsletter #84 along with details of the GASG AGM which was also held during the day. Members are also able to access the presentations here (subject to author’s publication approval).
GASG Newsletter #83 can now be viewed via the Members Area of the site.
(August 2025)
In this special edition, we pay tribute to the life and work of Dr Joe Watson, President of the GASG and former Chair who died recently. Joe was a founder and driving force of the group for over 30 years and will be sorely missed.
There is also a report of the very successful 91st Meeting held at IWM Duxford in June, and early details of the December meeting which will be held at the prestigious Wellcome Collection in London.
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Dr Joe Watson, President of the GASG and former Chair who died recently, following a short illness.
Joe led the GASG as founding Chair from its inception in 1993 until 2015, and during the GASG’s first 22 years, he and his wife Margaret Watson ran the group, including all the administration. When he decided to step down to better enjoy his 'retirement', he continued to co-author and edit several academic books, and remained active on the committee where he was always a passionate advocate for GASG members.
He set the tone for the group and established its enduring and successful mode of operation. His legacy is the friendly, welcoming community that has had an important impact on the development of the UK gas sensing sector. He has left the group in a strong position for the future and we are greatly indebted to him. Our thoughts are with Margaret, his children and grandchildren.
Joe’s education as an electronic engineer included the University of Nottingham and MIT, and in 1959 he started work in the gas detection industry, working closely with Verne Brown to build Enmet, a company supplying medical and industrial gas monitoring equipment. Joe was a Lecturer (later, Reader) at Swansea University from 1964 and was a Visiting Professor at the University of Calgary and the Universities of California Davis and Santa Barbara.
He consulted with Figaro and co-authored and edited books on aviation and electronics, including “The Stannic Oxide Gas Sensor, Principles and Applications”.
In due course we will issue a special GASG newsletter to celebrate Joe’s life, including Members’ personal tributes and stories. Please send contributions to [email protected].
GASG Newsletter #82 is now available via the Members Area of the site.
(May 2025)
In addition to announcing the sad news regarding Dr Joe Watson, this edition also contains a report of the 90th Meeting, our highly successful 5th Early Career Researchers Forum. Details of the 2 upcoming meetings in 2025 are also included.
The 5th GASG Early Career Researcher Forum was held at Crowcon Detection Instruments in Abingdon on 20th March 2025. The meeting featured 12 talks from talented young researchers describing their work on a huge variety of topics. The best overall presentation was judged to be that by Eleanor Warrington (University of Oxford), who received her prize from Dr Claire Batty (Open University and GASG Committee Member). Other prizes were awarded to Lekan Popoola (University of Cambridge) and Euan Martin (University of Strathclyde / Emerson Automation Solutions).
(April 2025)
Attendees also benefitted from the insights provided by Prof Norman Ratcliffe (University of the West of England) who gave a highly entertaining plenary talk entitled ‘The Smell of Disease’, drawing on his long career in the field of gas detection for medical diagnosis.
Thanks also go to our generous hosts, Crowcon Detection Instruments, who provided tours of their facilities for delegates. These were of particular value to the young researchers present, many of whom were unfamiliar with the operation of a commercial gas detection business.
The day was generally agreed to have been one of the most vibrant and informative of recent GASG events and continued the strong reputation the group has established for providing an informative and engaging environment for the exchange of ideas in the field.
The January 2025 Newsletter can now by accessed by logging in to the Members section of the website.
(January 2025)
This 81st edition contains important news concerning our upcoming meetings – the 5th Early Career Researcher Forum to be held in March, and the summer event on the theme of Gas Sensing In Defence & Security. In addition, there is a full report of the December Meeting ‘Gas Sensing And Analysis For Human Health’ and details of the 2024 AGM held at the same event.
One of our newest members, i-Climate, introduce their business and we also mark the 5oth anniversaries of the Health and Safety At Work Act (HASAWA) and the Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring (CoGDEM).
GASG Communications Director Martin Willett gave a presentation entitled ’Shared Experiences In Gas Detection – New Solutions For Old Problems’ as part of the Air Quality & Gas Detection Conference at the NEC Birmingham on 9th October 2024.
(October 2024)
The talk highlighted how gas detection methods with histories stretching back well over a century continue to evolve and improve. Innovations drawn from other fields such as communications and cloud processing are delivering important user benefits, while further progress in connectivity and miniaturisation are anticipated. Many of the examples were taken from items covered in recent GASG meetings, emphasising the contemporary relevance of the topics addressed in our programmes. The presentation can be viewed by using the link below.
GASG meetings for 2025 are already being planned. It is hoped to hold a 5th event in our popular series of meetings for Early Career Researchers and a call for papers will be issued shortly. We welcome submissions from all those in the early stages of a career in industrial, academic or other organisations active in fields of interest to GASG.
We are also considering meetings focussing on Defence and Security, Carbon Dioxide and Dissolved Gases. If you have any comments on this list, or additional suggestions to offer, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch using this link!
(July 2024)
Our summer meeting on the theme of 'Gas Sensor Materials : Cracking the Code‘ was held at Bletchley Park, home of the WW2 codebreaking teams. A full programme of presentations from international speakers at the forefront of such developments was supplemented by fascinating guided tours explaining the history and roles of the site.
The meeting presentations and a report of the proceedings are available by logging in to the Members section of the website.
(June 2024)
The 87th GASG Meeting was held at Cranfield University on 21st March 2024 and attracted one of the largest audiences in the 30-year history of the group. 8 renowned speakers provided detailed insights into cutting edge research addressing the significant challenges in the detection and measurement of hydrogen, as well as explaining key issues in the understanding the role of hydrogen as an indirect greenhouse gas.
(April 2024)
Prof Dame Helen Atkinson DBE FREng explained the world-class facilities at Cranfield enabling research into a wide range of aspects of critical importance to the development of the Hydrogen economy. Delegates were then able to see some of these during tours kindly provided by members of the research teams.
The day was an undoubted success and demonstrated once again the unique ability of GASG to bring people together from all parts of the industry to learn about developments in a productive forum which facilitates engagement and discussion. The meeting presentations and a report of the proceedings are available by logging in to the Members section of the website.
GASG Chair Jane Hodgkinson presented an invited talk entitled “Sensors For Net Zero: Reflections From The Gas Analysis & Sensing Group” at the 53rd Intelligent Sensing Programme (ISP53) – Emerging Sensing Technologies for Net Zero. This networking workshop was held in Birmingham on 16th January 2024 and brought together industries, innovators, end-users and other stakeholders driving efforts to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The aim was to stimulate new ideas generation, develop new collaborations/partnerships and accelerate business innovations.
Jane commented, “Giving this talk has been a great opportunity for me to go back through the rich GASG archive and reflect on the “big picture” of improving our environmental impact. If there was an issue to cover, somebody (often several people) at the forefront of the field had given us a talk about it. I am grateful to our speakers over the years and all the hard work that lay behind the talks they presented. The exercise has left me feeling really positive about the future of the GASG.”
For more details, contact GASG Chair, Jane Hodgkinson ([email protected]).
(March 2024)
Jane focussed on the significant and highly relevant activities in gas, VOC and particulate sensing which GASG promotes through our meetings and publications. It was emphasised that mainstream gas sensing has long supported the petrochemical sector, having grown with the rise of fossil fuel extraction and use. The sensing industry is now an important driver, monitor and enabler of the path to net zero. The need to dramatically reduce emissions is widely accepted, but some leakage is inevitable and the various risks associated with a wide range of gases must still be mitigated. This is driving significant increases in sensor deployment (and lowering of costs), improvements in limits of detection and growth in emissions measurement applications across all sectors, not just oil & gas. Even in a fully electrified world, there will still be many applications for gas and particle sensors!
The talk was illustrated with examples drawn from GASG Meetings, and highlighted the importance of the information sharing we facilitate across our broad community.
This is the new GASG website! We hope that members and those considering joining our community will find the site useful and informative. If you have any suggestions or comments on the content or operation of the site, we would be pleased to hear from you!
(March 2024)
