The AVS Awards Assembly will be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. in Ballrooms A2-7 of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to be followed immediately by an Awards Reception in Salons I-VI of the San Jose Marriott Hotel. This year, AVS honors the following awardees:

Medard W. Welch Award

Dr. Robert J. Hamers, University of Wisconsin, “for wide ranging studies of chemistry and photochemistry at semiconductor surfaces and for establishing connections to various emergent technologies.” 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. Donald R. Baer, Pacific Northwest National Lab., “for seminal contributions towards advancing the application of surface-sensitive techniques to understand environmentally important materials and interfacial processes.” 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

Dr. Frances A. Houle, Manager, Materials Development, Startup Company in California, “for pioneering studies of fundamental physical and chemical mechanisms of surface and thin film modifications.” 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. Beatriez Roldan Cuenya, University of Central Florida,, “for pioneering contributions to the understanding of processes taking place in metal nanocluster-catalyzed chemical reactions.” This award is presented to a young scientist or engineer (35 years of age or under) for outstanding theoretical or experimental work, at least some of which must have been published in JVST. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and an honorary lectureship at a regular session of the International Symposium.
Additional Awards

2009 AVS Fellows
AVS Fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions in areas of interest to AVS.

• Flemming Besenbacher, University of Aarhus
• John J. Boland, Trinity College, Dublin
• Ian S. Gilmore, National Physical Laboratory
• Luke Hanley, University of Illinois, Chicago
• Gary E. McGuire, International Technology Center
• John Randall, Zyvex Labs
• Bridget R. Rogers, Vanderbilt University
• Seiji Samukawa, Tohoku University
• Irwin L. Singer, Naval Research Lab.
• Jerry D. Tersoff, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
• Chris Van de Walle, University of California, Santa Barbara
• Edward Yu, University of Texas at Austin

AVS Graduate Student Awards
2009 Top-Level Student Finalists— There are five (5) top-level named graduate student awards, described below, and the recipient of each is determined after a general competition with all the graduate research applicants and a presentation to the Scholarship and Awards Committee at the International Symposium. The award consists of a cash award, a certificate, and reimbursed travel support to attend the Inter-national Symposium.
The top-level students are:

• Sarah Bishop, Univ. of California, San Diego
• Engang Fu, Texas A&M University
• Juan Carlos Rodriguez-Reyes, Univ. of Delaware
• Jian Shen, Univ. of San Diego
• Sudhakar Shet, New Jersey Inst. of Technology /NREL

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.

2009 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. The Graduate Research Awardees are:

• Atul Asati, University of Central Florida
• Yongjun Liu, University of Georgia
• Dragos Seghete, University of Colorado
   

Nominations for the 2010 awards are currently being solicited.  For more information, please contact  Angela Klink, AVS, 212-248-0200 Ext. 221, fax: 212-248-0245, angela@avs.org.