Awards | Current Awardees

2011 Awardees

The AVS Awards Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 6:15 p.m. in Room 204-206 of the Nashville Convention Center to be followed immediately by an Awards Reception in the Grant Ballroom East and Center of the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. This year, AVS honors the following awardees:

Medard W. Welch Award

Dr. Wilson Ho, University of California, Irvine, “for the development and application of atomic scale inelastic electron tunneling with the scanning tunneling microscope.” This award recognizes and encourages outstanding research in the fields of interest to AVS. The award consists of a cash award, a struck gold medal, a certificate, and an honorary lectureship at a regular session of the International Symposium.

Albert Nerken Award

Dr. John E. Rowe, North Carolina State University, “for his fundamental role in the development of electron energy loss spectroscopy, photoemission and synchrotron radiation techniques and their applications to surface and interface studies.” This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the solution of technological problems in areas of interest to AVS. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and an honorary lectureship at a regular session of the International Symposium.

JOHN A. THORNTON MEMORIAL AWARD AND LECTURE

Prof. Vincent M. Donnelly, University of Houston, “for innovation of surface and plasma diagnostics to evaluate the complex kinetics of plasma processing, and for the development of fundamental reaction mechanisms to explain that complexity.” This award recognizes outstanding research or technological innovation in the areas of interest to AVS with emphasis on the fields of thin films, plasma processing, and related topics. The award is conferred biennially as a suitable candidate may be identified. The award consists of a cash award, a commemorative plaque stating the nature of the award, and an honorary lectureship at a regular session of the International Symposium.

Peter Mark Memorial Award

Dr. Mohan Sankaran, Case Western Reserve University, “for the development of a tandem plasma synthesis method to grow carbon nanotubes with unprecedented control over the nanotube properties and chirality.” This award is a memorial to Dr. Peter Mark, who served as Editor of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology from 1975 until his death in 1979. It was established in 1979 with an initial endowment from the AVS Greater New York Chapter. Significant additional contributions were made at the time by Hans and Herman Mark, AVS Electronic Materials and Processing Division, the Physics of Compound Semiconductor Interfaces Conference, and several individuals.

GEORGE T. HANYO AWARD

Mr. Jonathan Koch, NIST, “for the creative and technical ingenuity in vacuum sciences that has supported over 18 years of innovation at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.” The award was established in 1996 by the Kurt J. Lesker Company in the memory of George T. Hanyo, a highly skilled, long-time employee of the company.

2011 AVS Fellows

AVS Fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions in areas of interest to AVS.

  • André Anders, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
  • David Cohen, Weizmann Institute of Science
  • James E. Castle, University of Surrey
  • Robert E. Ellefson, REVac Consulting
  • Timothy A. Gessert, National Renewable Energy Lab.
  • Satoshi Hamaguchi, Osaka University
  • Judith A. Harrison, United States Naval Academy
  • Sherman L. Rutherford, Duniway Stockroom Corp.
  • Stephanie Watts Butler, Texas Instruments
  • Jory Yarmoff, University of California, Riverside

2011 NATIONAL STUDENT AWARD FINALISTS

There are five (5) top-level named Graduate Student Awards and three (3) Graduate Research Awards, described below. The recipients of these awards are determined after a general competition with all the graduate research applicants and a presentation to the Awards Committee at the International Symposium. The finalists are:

  • Justice Alaboson, Northwestern University
  • Joseph E. Baio, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
  • John G. Gibbs, University of Georgia
  • Sondra Hellstrom, Stanford University
  • Andrew J. Lohn, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz
  • David A. Siegel, Univ. of California, Berkeley
  • Kangkang Wang, Ohio University
  • Bingjun Xu, Harvard University

DOROTHY M. AND EARL S. HOFFMAN AWARD

The Dorothy M. and Earl S. Hoffman Award was established in 2002 to recognize and encourage excellence in graduate studies in the sciences and technologies of interest to AVS. It is funded by a bequest from Dorothy M. Hoffman, who was president of AVS in 1974 and held other positions of responsibility in the Society. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the International Symposium.

NELLIE YEOH WHETTEN AWARD

The Nellie Yeoh Whetten Award was established in 1989, in the spirit of Nellie Yeoh Whetten, to recognize and encourage excellence by women in graduate studies in the sciences and technologies of interest to AVS. A fund to support the award was established by Timothy J. Whetten, friends and family of Nellie Yeoh Whetten, and AVS. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the International Symposium.

RUSSELL AND SIGURD VARIAN AWARD

The Russell and Sigurd Varian Award was established in 1982 to commemorate the pioneering work of Russell and Sigurd Varian. It is presented to recognize and encourage excellence in graduate studies in the sciences and technologies of interest to AVS. The award is supported by Varian, Inc. It consists of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the International Symposium.

DOROTHY M. AND EARL S. HOFFMAN SCHOLARSHIPS

The Dorothy M. and Earl S. Hoffman Scholarships were established in 2002 to recognize and encourage excellence in graduate studies in the sciences and technologies of interest to AVS. They are funded by a bequest from Dorothy M. Hoffman. The scholarships consist of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the International Symposium.

2011 GRADUATE RESEARCH AWARDS

The Graduate Research Awards were established in 1984 to recognize and encourage excellence in graduate studies in the sciences and technologies of interest to AVS. Each consists of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the International Symposium.


Nominations for the 2012 awards are currently being solicited. For more information, please contact Angela Klink, AVS, 212-248-0200 Ext. 221, fax: 212-248-0245, .


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