The International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications (IUVSTA) is a federation of 30 national vacuum societies and it represents about 15,000 scientists, engineers and technicians worldwide who are active in basic and applied research, development, manufacturing, sales and education. Bill Rogers, who took over as president of the IUVSTA last year for a tenure of three years, trained as a surface scientist. Currently he is associate laboratory director for energy and environment science and technology at the Idaho National Laboratory in the US.

What is the IUVSTA’s role within the international vacuum community?

The IUVSTA seeks to stimulate international collaboration in the fields of vacuum science, techniques and applications. It provides a strong programme of meetings, including the triennial International Vacuum Congress, an ongoing series of topical workshops and schools, and a regular series of European Vacuum Conferences. It also has a growing awards and recognition programme, and it has recently made great strides in expanding its educational efforts, which include a visual-aids series and a budding short-course programme. The IUVSTA also provides financial and organizational assistance to various international scientific groups and co-sponsorship for many of their activities.

How would you assess the current state of vacuum science and technology, both in academia and industry?

In my opinion, the study of vacuum science and technology peaked in the 1970s. For example, the last truly new innovation in vacuum measurement was the development and deployment of the spinning-rotor gauge, which dates back to the mid-1980s. This is not to say that vacuum technology has stood still: turbomolecular pumps are much more robust than they were 20 years ago; materials and coatings for vacuum applications have proliferated at a rapid rate; and innovation and improvement in electronics design have revolutionized displays, interfaces, computer controls and many other areas. So, while revolutionary changes in vacuum technology have been absent in the last few decades, what has kept the industry afloat is the never-ending list of applications where controlled environments, and thus vacuum technology, are necessary to study new phenomena. A few examples include surface, thin-film and nano science; semiconductor physics; and new areas of materials science, such as low-dimensional materials and high-temperature superconductors. In many cases, advances in these fields have rapidly led to commercialization, such as the use of optoelectronics for flat-panel displays. This in turn has been a boon for the vacuum-technology industry because most of the manufacturing techniques involved require some degree of vacuum. So the field continues to rejuvenate itself as new applications for vacuum emerge.

What do you see as the main challenges facing those involved in vacuum science and technology?

From an academic perspective, the postgraduate educational process is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. To my knowledge there is no major university where vacuum science and technology is offered as a degree, yet it is a field that must be mastered in order to study other phenomena of interest. Graduate students usually pick up these skills via self-study or from a practitioner in the field; rarely from a formal course. I see this as a major challenge for students and postdocs who need a working knowledge of vacuum science and technology to pursue their varied research interests. This offers an opportunity for the IUVSTA to enhance its educational programme, particularly with regard to topical schools and workshops in highly specialized areas. From an industrial prospective, very little fundamental research is done in industrial labs; they usually concentrate on applied research and development. Most new innovation occurs in academia and many new applications reach the market through small companies that are spun-out of universities, so being first to the market with a new product is the real challenge.

What are your predictions for the future of vacuum science and technology?

I believe that field has a bright future because major advances in emerging and yet-to-be-discovered areas of interest will demand controlled environments. These environments are often created by the application of vacuum technology. Vacuum science and technology is an indispensable tool for cutting-edge science. A recent example is the completion of the US Department of Energy’s $1.2 bn Spallation Neutron Source at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Vacuum science and technology is also a necessity for advanced-materials processing and manufacture, as can be seen at any state-of-the-art semiconductor-fabrication facility. The IUVSTA is in the final stages of developing a strategic plan that will be implemented in this triennium. The plan will help the organization to pursue new opportunities in vacuum science, technology and related fields. Being at the heart of science and manufacturing is a good place to be, now and in the future.