Dr. Fergenson received his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry in 2001 from the University of California, Riverside, where he was one of the pioneers in the nascent field of single particle mass spectrometry. He and his colleagues designed what would become the TSI Model 3800 ATOFMS, the first commercial single particle mass spectrometer, which his company, Livermore Instruments Inc (LII), maintains for early adopters to this day. After graduation, Dr. Fergenson and four of his UCR colleagues moved to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where they significantly improved upon their earlier work, producing the Single Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SPAMS). He and his colleagues deployed an early version of the SPAMS during the autumn of 2001 to interdict the postal anthrax attacks that were in progress. In 2008,
Dr. Fergenson and three of his LLNL colleagues founded LII to commercialize the SPAMS technology, significantly accelerating its operation and streamlining it for manufacturability and maintainability. He has since served as the President of LII, which provides products and services to the inhalational pharmaceuticals industry. Dr. Fergenson’s work has appeared in Science, on the cover of Analytical Chemistry, been presented as evidence in Federal Court, and has won the LLNL Annual Science and Technology Award and two R&D 100 awards.