Sven Merk studied chemistry and did his doctor’s degree at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. His thesis on “Plasmadiagnostics and Quantification for the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy“ (translated from German) was written at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Berlin. He joined LTB Lasertechnik Berlin GmbH in 2012 and is now working on the development of automated data analysis techniques for LIBS systems in industrial and laboratory setups.