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been developed in partnership with the SOLEIL

synchrotron located close to Orsay. Partner-

ships with other educational institutions (such

as the Technology Institute of Saint-Etienne)

have been developed to broaden the scope

of activities. Some courses are also offered

in conjunction with conferences on subjects

related to the topic of the conference. Specific

courses can also be organised at industrial

sites on request. Some of the courses can be

taught in the English language.

Several additions to these three historical acti-

vities were recently made:

•

Manufacturers and Service Providers

Committee – Vacuum exhibitions

The Manufacturers and Service Providers

Committee (CEPS) was set up in 1996. Strong

collaboration between the industrial and

academic worlds is a genuine originality of

SFV in the landscape of the French scientific

associations. The CEPS committee was set

up following a prestigious exhibition animated

in collaboration with the Palais de la Décou-

verte in Paris (a museum dedicated to science)

in 1995, on the occasion of the 50

anni-

versary of the SFV. For a month and a half,

over 150,000 visitors discovered an overview

of applications of vacuum in everyday life,

promoting exchanges between experts and

general public.

This successful initiative has been perpetuated

by the organisation of a Vacuum Exhibition

located in Grenoble, in 1998. Initially organised

on a bi-annual, then annual, frequency alter-

natively in Grenoble and Paris, the Vacuum

Exhibition became itinerant in France in 2007.

Since 2009, it has evolved into the Vacuum

and Materials Processing Exhibition (SVTM)

and is organised in partnership with A3TS

(Association for Heat and Surface Treatments).

It usually brings together about 120 exhibiting

companies.

•

Expertise

The SFV provides a network of experts to

assist in research or developments in the fields

of vacuum production and processes.

Since 1953, the SFV has developed international

relationships with a number of different scientific

communities. It has willingly helped and encou-

raged representatives of other countries, both in

Europe and in other parts of the world, to set up

national vacuum societies in their own country.

The SFV participated in the creation in 1959 of the

International Organisation for Vacuum Science and

Technology (IOVST) but decided not to join this

organisation until it was transformed into a confe-

deration of national vacuum organisations. When in

1962 the IUVSTA was formed to replace the IOVST,

the SFV was one of the ten Founder Members and

contributed, through M. Berthaud, to drafting the

original statutes and by-laws for the Union, and

J. Debiesse was elected as the first Vice-President.

Members who have served as Officers of the Union

include: J. Debiesse (President), D. Degras (STD

Chair), P. S. Choumoff (Treasurer), M. Berthaud

(STD Secretary), M.-C. Asensio (STD Chair) and

M.-G. Barthés-Labrousse (STD Secretary and

IUVSTA President). Today, the SFV has represen-

tatives in the various committees and all Divisions

of the IUVSTA, as well as on the Executive Council,

and A. Galtayries will become the IUVSTA President

in 2019.

The 70

anniversary of the SFV was celebrated in

2015 with the participation of national and inter-

national personalities including Dr M. Anderle,

who was the IUVSTA President at that time.

Being the oldest national vacuum society in

the world, the SFV already has a long history.

Its continuing contribution, both within France

and internationally, to activities in fields related

to the development and application of vacuum

will remain strong. This is assured by the conti-

nuing input of its members and councillors and to

the dedication of the members of its secretariat,

currently comprising four permanent staff.

Awardees of the Michel Cantarel-SFV grants for PhD

students at IVC19 in 2013 (Paris). From left to right; Michel

Rémy (past SFV president), Dhia Ben Salem, Manale Noun,

Marie Hervé, Anouk Galtayries (SFV President).

70 years of SFV in 2015

celebrated in the Musée

des Arts et Métiers in

Paris, December 2015.

SUMMARY