SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The 20

International VacuumCongress (IVC-

20) and the 16

International Conference on

Solid Surfaces (ICSS-16) were organised

by the Korean Vacuum Society (KVS) at the

BEXCOConvention Centre of Busan in Korea

from 21 to 26 August 2016, in conjunction

with the International Conference on

Nanometer Science and Technology (ICN+T

2016) and the 8

Vacuum and Surface

Science Conference of Asia and Australia

(VASSCAA-8). Three other conferences were

associated: the 6

International Symposium

of Plasma Biosciences (ISPB 2016), the

Anniversary Symposium of the KVS

and an Industrial Topical Conference (ITC

2016) which was held for two days to foster

industrial collaboration. The General Chair of

the Congress was Hee-Jae Kang and the

Chair of the Program Committee was Yang

Kuk. There was a total of 2370 attendees (of

which 1620 to the conference and 750 to the

exhibition) coming from 45 countries, with

2082 coming from Asia (including 1655 from

Korea, 211 from Japan and 134 from China),

220 from Europe and 64 from Americas.

8 plenary, 602 oral (including 138 invited) and

746 poster contributions were presented

during the conference in 122 oral and

3 poster sessions. A public lecture was also

given by the Nobel laureate Erwin Neher,

focused on basic science and the qualities

that make a good scientist. It was attended

by over 300 people, mostly local high school

students. In addition to 13 topics covering

the IUVSTA divisions, 4 specific themes

were selected by the KVS: 2D materials

and devices (2DMD), Alternative Energy

(AE), Advances Semiconductor and Display

Devices (ASDD) and Plasma Bioscience

and Medicine (PBM). To raise the public’s

awareness of the vacuum science and

technology field, KVS organised a public

lecture with a Vacuum Experience Center

in celebration of its 25

anniversary. The

Vacuum Experience Center was consisting

of 15 exhibits which taught about common

vacuum techniques found in daily life. It was

operating in the exhibition hall and open

to general public. There were 153 booths

representing 94 companies at the Equipment

Exhibition, which was coordinated by the

KVS Director of Industrial relations, Jang-

Hun Joo. At the conclusion of the congress

the KVS made a donation of

€

30,000 to the

IUVSTA.

The 21

International Vacuum Congress

(IVC-21) and the 17

International

Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-17)

will be hosted by the Swedish Vacuum

Society in Malmö, Sweden, between

1 and 5 July 2019, in conjunction with the

International Conference on Nanoscience

and Technology (ICN+T 2019). The Chair of

the Congress Organising Committee will be

Pär Omling and the Chair of the Program

Committee will be Heiner Linke.

It is clear that this triennial congress

is organised as an important

international gathering of scientists and

technologists working in the relevant

fields. The attendance was boosted

in 1992 when political events made it

much easier for scientists in Eastern

Europe to travel to the west, and in

1998 when the Japanese contingent

increased following their exposure

to this meeting three years before in

Yokohama.

However when the congress is held outside

USA, the contingent from the USA is

always proportionately low compared to the

relevant number of scientists in that country.

This is possibly due to the fact that the

AVS organises a similar large Symposium

covering the same, and more, topics. This

Symposium is held every year, usually in

October, and attracts a very large number

of American and international attendees.

Therefore care is taken to choose a period

removed from that of the AVS Symposium

to hold the IUVSTA triennial congress.

SUMMARY