Emphasis on Education at SVC
- Published: June 28, 2006, By Claudia Hine, Managing Editor
CONVERTING INDUSTRY NEWS
WASHINGTON, DC—The Society of Vacuum Coaters held its 49th Annual Technical Conference April 22–27 at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel. As always, the conference featured a full agenda including technical presentations, short courses, and tutorials, as well as an exhibit hall with more than 150 booths.
At the plenary session, SVC president Clark Bright (3M Co.) conducted a short business meeting at which Michael Andreasen (Vacuum Edge) reported the society ended 2005 with a net profit of $124,582, well over the projected $70,000.
David Glocker (Isoflux Inc.) announced the 2006 Mentor Award recipients: Hana Baránková (Uppsala Univ.) for the development of numerous novel plasma sources; Leon McCrary (Denton Vacuum retiree) for his contributions to the commercialization of large scale optical coating technology; and Jim Seeser (JDS Uniphase retiree) for his contributions to the field of sputtering, particularly as applied to precision optics.
H. Angus Macleod (Thin Film Center) presented the Nathaniel Sugerman Award to Carlo Misiano, who has worked in thin-film technology his entire professional life. Misiano retired from Centro Tecnologie del Vuoto in 2001 and since has created a research company, Romana Film Sottili. A constant contributor to SVC, he has produced more than 80 research papers and has been awarded more than 40 patents.
In its fourth year of existence, the Student Scholarship Committee has awarded five scholarships totaling $25,000. Director Paolo Raugei (Galileo Vacuum Systems) reported three more scholarships will be awarded in 2006; two of the winners had poster presentations at the conference.
The scholarship program got a big boost from Dr. John B. Fenn Sr., a Nobel laureate who decided to share some of his Nobel Prize with SVC. He donated $50,000 to the SVC Foundation for use in the scholarship program. Fenn’s son, John Fenn Jr., a past-president of SVC, said he hopes the donation will help create a self-funded scholarship. Fenn Jr. said he is disappointed in the lack of scholarship applications from people already working in the industry and encourages vacuum coating professionals to continue their education and apply for scholarship funds.
John T. Felts (Nano Scale Surface Systems) introduced elected directors William D. Sproul (Reactive Sputtering Consulting); Ludvik Martinu (École Polytechnique), and Pamela Diesing (SAGE Industrial Sales). Officers are Angus Macleod, vice president, and Peter Martin, president. Martin announced SVC will break from tradition next year and hold the 50th Annual Technical Conference at a convention center rather than a conference center hotel. The Kentucky Intl. Convention Center in Louisville is the chosen site for the 2007 conference, which will be held April 28–May 3.
SVC conferences offer plenty of networking opportunities, and this year was no exception. In addition to the Newcomer’s Welcome Reception and a Beer Blast in the exhibit hall, attendees were invited to participate in a 5K Run and Fitness Walk through the nearby Smithsonian National Zoological Park.
For more information contact SVC at svc.org.
