Activities by Shimadzu Scientific Instruments for Supporting Educational Institutions
Summit Hosted Jointly with Walsh University

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc. (based in Columbia, Maryland, and hereinafter “SSI”) is in charge of coordinating the analytical & measuring instruments business in the United States. On January 29, SSI partnered with Walsh University (North Canton, Ohio) to jointly host the “SPARQ Summit,” named after SSI's program for supporting educational institutions.

The summit was held as part of the Science and Business Innovation Summit 2025 held by Walsh University from January 29 to 31.

SPARQ: SSI Program for Supporting Educational Institutions

SSI is involved in building long-term relationships with academic institutions through its unique “Shimadzu Partnership for Academics, Research and Quality of Life” (SPARQ) program for supporting educational institutions. Partnerships are decided based on their scope and content of research, and their impact on academic institutions and regional communities.

In 2021, Walsh University established the “Center for Scientific Excellence” analytical center within the university campus. The center includes liquid chromatograph, mass spectrometer, ICP atomic emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, thermal analyzer, total organic carbon analyzer, and other systems installed on-site in order to expose students to cutting-edge analytical technologies. It is also used to promote advancements in life science, healthcare research, environmental science, and other fields by providing analytical, testing, and other specialized support to local companies. Consequently, the SPARQ program is anticipated to accelerate research throughout the region.

Ribbon-Cutting at the Opening Ceremony (2021)

Center for Scientific Excellence

Sharing Shimadzu’s Knowledge and Technologies at the SPARQ Summit

A total of 45 people involved from companies, academia, and others attended the SPARQ Summit in person and 15 people online. SSI personnel described the SPARQ program, and faculty and researchers at Walsh University, York College of Pennsylvania, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee who were actually supported by the program shared their experiences introducing the SPARQ program.

Following the summit in the morning, an LCMS-2050 seminar was conducted in the afternoon. For the seminar, an SSI application scientist and product manager each gave presentations, respectively entitled “Thinking Like a Mass Spectroscopist in Your Chromatography Lab” and “DON’T Just Grab Any Column from the Drawer!”

Lastly, a workshop was conducted on LCMS-2050 high performance liquid chromatograph mass spectrometers.

A highlight video of the Science and Business Innovation Summit 2025 was posted on the Walsh University YouTube channel. That video includes the following comments from two SSI employees.

Comment from the Person in Charge of SPARQ Summit

SSI’s Senior Field Sales Engineer, Heather Juzwa, offered the following comments.