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In the 1958 several experts from vacuum-related
research in the former Yugoslavia participated at the
first International Congress on Vacuum Technique
in Namur, Belgium. Excited by the international
vacuum movement, these participants organised
the first Yugoslav Congress on Vacuum Technique
in October 23, 1960. The conference was held
in Ljubljana and included 120 participants. On
this occasion they also founded the “Yugoslav
Centre for Vacuum Technique” (JCVT) with the
seat in Ljubljana. The first president of JCVT
was Dušan Lasič. Two JCVT delegates from
Slovenia, E. Kansky and B. Zupančič, attended
the constitutional meeting of IUVSTA in Brussels
in 1962, which made Yugoslavian vacuum society
as one of the ten founding members of IUVSTA. In
1963 the JCVT changed its name to the “Yugoslav
Committee for Vacuum Technique” (JUVAK)
having the seat at the Institute of Electronics and
Vacuum Technique (IEVT) in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
JUVAK encouraged the development of vacuum-
related technologies and provided education
to researchers and industrial staff from other
republics in Yugoslavia. In 1964 the Section for
Vacuum Technique of Croatia was formed, a
predecessor of the Croatian Vacuum Society.
The Section for Vacuum Technique of Serbia
was formed a year before in 1963. In 1979 the
three vacuum societies changed the status and
the name of JUVAK to the “Yugoslav Union of
Vacuum Societies”. Throughout the history of
JUVAK the presidents were Dušan Lasič, Evgen
Kansky, Avgust Belič, Jože Gasperič, Anton Zalar
and Monika Jenko. In the period before 1990
there were about 300 members of JUVAK. JUVAK
organised 11 Yugoslav vacuum congresses,
several specialized conferences and published
24 issues of its Bulletin. JUVAK also made
important contributions to the progress of vacuum
science and technology in the whole Yugoslavia
region through educational courses, advisory
work and publication of several vacuum textbooks
in the national languages of Yugoslavia. JUVAK
also hosted three IUVSTA Executive Council
meetings: ECM-8 in Zagreb (1966), and ECM-17
(1971) and ECM-58 (1988), both in Portorož.
From 1985 Yugoslavia participated in the series
of Joint Vacuum Conferences - JVC. JUVAK
organised the 4
th
Joint Vacuum Conference JVC-4
in September 1988 in Portorož.
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Croatian
Vacuum Society and Slovenian Society for
Vacuum Technique decided for dissolution of
JUVAK in 1992, and applied for a membership
in IUVSTA.
The participants of the 8
th
Yugoslav Vacuum Congress
organised by JUVAK in 1979 in Bled, Slovenia. D. Lasič
(left) and E. Kansky (right), the first two presidents of
JUVAK were in the front row.
The participants of the Executive Council meeting
of JUVAK in 1989 in Ljubljana (from left to right)
H. Zorc (Croatia), R. Stojanović (Croatia), A. Zalar
(Slovenia),T. Nenadović (Srbia), M. Jenko (Slovenia)
and Z. Šternberg (Croatia).
YUGOSLAV UNION OF VACUUM
SOCIETIES JUVAK
History of Yugoslav Union of Vacuum Societies – JUVAK,
from its formation to dissolution
Janez Kovač, Andrej Pregelj, Jože Gasperič