 It was coined by Miguel A. Bañares, who sought to name the methodology in a way that captured the idea of observing a functional material — in this case a catalyst — under actual "working", i.e.device operation, conditions.The first international congress on operando spectroscopy took place in Lunteren, Netherlands, in March 2003, followed by further conferences in 2006 (Toledo, Spain),2009 (Rostock, Germany), 2012 (Brookhaven, USA), and 2015 (Deauville, France).