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15. STUDENT AWARDS
AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Two programs have been developed to help
students or young scientists: the Medard
W. Welch International Scholarship and the
IUVSTA-Elsevier Student Travel Awards.
The Welch Scholarship had its origin at
an EC meeting in Stuttgart during the
3
rd
International Vacuum Congress in
1965. Even though it was a lean financial
period for the Union, President Debiesse
(F) expressed the desire for an IUVSTA
scholarship. Later, through M. Berthaud
(F), M. W. Welch (USA) informed Debiesse
that he would like to be the first to
contribute to such a scholarship. He then
made a proposal to the American Vacuum
Society (AVS) Board of Directors for the
establishment of a US$ 5000 international
scholarship to allow younger scientists to
work abroad for a period of one year in the
field of vacuum science and technology.
Under the terms of his proposal, the
AVS would be custodian for the funds,
advancing US$ 5000 each year to the
IUVSTA, after acceptance of a satisfactory
protocol describing how it would select
the scholars. A protocol, drawn up
by M. Berthaud (F), D. Degras (F) and
A. Venema (NL), was accepted in 1966, and
the first scholar was chosen in 1968. The
administrative details of the scholarships
were handled in the STD by M. Berthaud,
Scientific Secretary. A scholar has been
selected each year from 1968 to 2013.
Since the death of Mr. Welch, his family has
generously continued to advance money
annually to support the scholarship. The
amount of the scholarship was increased
to US$ 7000 in 1974 and subsequent
increases have raised this to the value of
US$ 15,000 from the year 2001 scholar.
However, due to a restructuring of the
financial basis of the Welch Scholarship,
the scholarship is currently suspended.
After the establishment of an Executive
Secretariat by the IUVSTA in London in 1971,
all administrative duties associated with the
Welch Scholarship were transferred to that
office. When that Secretariat was dissolved
in 1980, the administrative work was
returned to the AVS and is now managed by
a Scholarship Administrator: the first being
J. P. Hobson, followed by W. D. Westwood
in 1987 and F. R. Shepherd in 1999. Under
the present protocol, revised in 1980, the
Scholarship Administrator is responsible
to the Welch Foundation which is the
responsibility of the Scientific Director of the
STD. The Scientific Director is assisted by
a committee named the Welch Scholarship
Trustees, which is comprised of himself,
as ex officio chairman, the Treasurer of
the IUVSTA and four Welch scholarship
trustees, elected by the Executive Council.
One trustee is elected each year for a
term of four years. In 2004 the Awards
and Scholarship Committee took the
responsibility of the Welch scholarship.
A list of the Welch Scholars is shown in
Table XIII, together with their country of
origin and the country in which they took up
their scholarship.
Since 1993 and following negociations
initiated by the then Secretary General,
J.S. Colligon, the Elsevier Publishing
Company has been making an annual
donation to be used to help, and therefore
encourage, students to attend IUVSTA
sponsored conferences. The money is
used to make IUVSTA-Elsevier Student
Travel Awards to help students from less-
developed countries who give a presentation
at one of the IUVSTA conferences. The
eligible conferences are IVC, EVC, ICTF,
ECOSS or VASSCAA. The IUVSTA is
grateful for the donation and support from
Elsevier.
SUMMARY