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Rogers assumes presidency of international technical society

Newly installed president of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications Dr. J. W. Rogers, Jr. (USA) President, third from right, addresses the governing board of officers. IUVSTA Officers for the 2007-2010 Triennium are (left to right) Prof. Christoph Eisenmenger-Sittner (Austria), Scientific Secretary; Dr. Mariano Andrele (Italy), Chair Science and Technology Directorate; Prof. Ugo Valbusa (Italy), Past-President; Prof. Jean-Jacques Pireaux (Belgium), President-Elect; Rogers (USA); Dr. Ron Reid (UK), Secretary General; Dr. David Sykes (UK), Recording Secretary. (IUVSTA photo)

During a global conference in Stockholm, Sweden on July 4, INL Associate Laboratory Director J. W. "Bill" Rogers, Jr., assumed the presidency of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (IUVSTA). The Union's membership is comprised of 32 national technical societies.

IUVSTA is one of the largest and most prestigious technical societies in the world representing more than 15,000 physicists, chemists, materials scientists, engineers and technologists. It is a union that offers special forums for national member societies in applied surface science, surface science, thin films, plasma science and technology, electronic materials and processing, nanometer structures, surface engineering and vacuum science.

Serving as president for the next three years, Rogers said, "It is a special honor to be selected to lead this union whose members conduct some of the most important scientific research in the world. Our members regularly contribute breakthrough discoveries in the expansive research areas of materials science. The impact of this society and its members exists in technology we depend upon and use daily without contemplating the research behind it."

With his wife, Lee, Rogers traveled to Stockholm, for the co-located forums of the 17th International Vacuum Congress IVC-17, the 13th International Conference on Solid State Surfaces ICSS-13 and the International Conference on Nanoscience and Technology (ICN+T 2007), which were held July 2-6 and where he was inducted as president of IUVSTA for the next triennium.

Nearly 3,000 delegates attended the forums, which were hosted by the Swedish Vacuum Society at Stockholm International Fairs and supported by the Finnish Vacuum Society.

The main topics for the International Vacuum Congress were Surface Science, Nanometer Science, Applied Surface Science, Thin Films, Electronic Materials, Advanced Surface Engineering, Plasma Science and Technology, and Vacuum Science. The speakers included leading researchers, several of whom are Nobel Laureates in physics or chemistry. They addressed the latest research results in the nano, surface and materials sciences, bio-nanosystems, new materials for data storage in novel computers and frontline development in catalytic processes. Key events included a reception at the Stockholm City Hall and a Dinner at "Skansen," an open air museum displaying historical buildings from all parts of Sweden.

On July 4, 2007, INL Associate Laboratory Director J. W. "Bill" Rogers, Jr. began a three-year term as president of the International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (IUVSTA). Here, Rogers (center), poses with past and present IUVSTA officers, Professor John-Jacques Pireaux (Belgium), left, Dr. Marie-Genevieve Barthes (France), second from left, Professor Jose de Segovia (Spain), second from right, Prof. Ugo Valbusa (Italy), right. (IUVSTA photo)

The next International Vacuum Congress (IVC-18) will be held in Beijing, China in October, 2010 and hosted by the Chinese Vacuum Society.