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Presently, the main areas of PVS activities are
include vacuum science and technology, thin
films, electronic materials and processing, surface
engineering, surfacescienceand technology, semi-
conductors, digital displays, and bio-interfaces. In
the middle of 1998, the General Body Meeting of
the PVS elected the office bearers and members
of the executive council and technical committees.
During this meeting, PVS formally launched the
society newsletter PAKVACUUM, establishing
an information-link between members and the
society activities.
PVS applied for the membership of IUVSTA in
1998. Initially, IUVSTA awarded a provisional
membership. After a period of two years, PVS was
elected as a full member of IUVSTA in the year 2000
with two shares. Since then, PVS is continuously
participating in the Executive Council (ECM) and
General Meetings. Since its inception, PVS is
continually organizing promotional activities. More
than twenty major national and international events
were organized in the 1997-2017 period, mostly
in Islamabad but in Karachi, Faisalabad, Lahore,
and Bahawalpur, as well. The 6
th
Vacuum and
Surface Sciences Conference of Asia and Australia,
VASSCAA-6, held in Islamabad, 2012, with about
1,640 participants, is the biggest international event
organized by the PVS.
The membership of PVS now exceeds 436 life
members and 24 annual members including
industrialists, engineers, technologists, resear
chers and university professors. PVS offers free
annual memberships to PhD and post-graduate
students doing research in the fields related to
vacuum science and technology and it’s applied
areas
PVS continues to publish the quarterly newsletter
PAKVACUUM from its head office in Islamabad.
This is available to all members free of cost. In
addition, PVS extends advisory services to the
industrial sector at nominal charges.
The PVS has opened the offices of its provincial
chapters at Karachi and Lahore till now. The
Quetta and Peshawar chapters are going to be
established soon. Beside this, the main office of
PVS is functioning at Islamabad.
The establishment of National Institute of
Vacuum Science and Technology (NINVAST)
in Islamabad is the great achievement of PVS.
This institute is now fully functional and provides
vacuum technology based facilities and systems
to the research students of M. Phil and Ph. D
studies registered from other universities of the
country. Government of Pakistan is continuously
supporting and providing annual budgets to
NINVAST to sustain its research and training
activities.
A delegation of the IUVSTA visited the research
facilities of the NINVAST in the year 2012 during
IUVSTA event VASSCAA-6 at Islamabad and
declared it the INTERNATIONAL VACUUM
INSTITUTE (IVI). In this regard, PVS signed a
memorandumof understanding (MoU) with IUVSTA.
Under this MoU, IUVSTA is continuously providing
full cooperation and support to the scientific and
research activities of NINVAST / IVI. Besides this,
PVS has the distinct honor of training some of its
members from abroad in advanced technologies
as well as providing opportunities of higher studies
leading to Ph. D degrees. In this regards, PVS is
really grateful to the worthy officers of IUVSTA, such
as Pr. Mariano Anderle of Italy, Pr. J. J, Pireaux of
Belgium, Pr. Christoph Eisenmenger-Sittner of
Austria and Pr. Chung and Pr. SS Hong of South
Korea for their special support to PVS in providing
research grants to PVS researchers and students
for higher studies leading to Ph. D degrees.
PVS is recognised as the sole authority in the field
of vacuum science and technology in Pakistan.
The goal during the coming years is to further
develop PVS and its identity as an inspiring,
competent, engaging, well known and influential
national body that proudly serve society. Our
new activities, being discussed during the past
years related to setting up a communication
plan and develop a completely new and modern
web-interface, are instrumental for achieving the
goal. PVS has a very important role to play in the
research, technology and innovation processes
fostering a sustainable societal development. It
is believed that PVS has to become an influential
entity that students and professionals in the
vacuum community in our country will be proud of
being a part of. In this regards PVS is broadening
its base to have a wide cooperation and linkages
with the international community involved in the
development of vacuum technology around the
world and is looking forward to make IVI a big
success.
A view of the National Institute of Vacuum Science and
Technology (NINVAST), Islamabad
SUMMARY