NIR spectroscopy – What a wonderful world!

Abstract

This review article for the Karl Norris Award Special Issue consists of four parts. First, the unique history of NIR spectroscopy is described briefly. Then, I discuss the main topic, “what a wonderful world – uniqueness and versatility of NIR spectroscopy.” Next, I introduce our NIR studies for the last 35 years – When did serendipity work in our minds? – a long way of NIR research in the Ozaki group. The investigations on spectral analysis, applications of NIR spectroscopy to physical chemistry, those to life science and NIR imaging studies are reported. Finally, the perspective of NIR spectroscopy is discussed briefly. Through this review, I emphasize on the importance of serendipity in the research.