The International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology

E. THOMAS

Professor at the Royal Military School (Belgium), Director of the Center .for Nuclear Sciences in thi.r School,

President of the IOVST

Origin of the International Organization The International Organization for Vacuum Science and

Technology (IOVST) was created in Namur (Belgium) on 13 June 1958 by the 520 participants (from 26 countries) attending the First International Congress on Vacuum Techniques*, and arose out of the general appreciation of the value of an international gathering such as that held at Namur.

In his friendly message delivered at the Closing Session of the Namur Congress, Mr. M. W. WELCH, the then President of the American Vacuum Society, recommended the creation of an international committee that would continue the action borne by the organizers of that congress. He also suggested that the seat of such a committee be established in Belgium and that the future congresses should take place in different countries?.

These suggestions were favorably greeted by all and were later reproduced in a draft resolution submitted to the participants by Messrs. J. YARW~~D (U.K.), R. CHAMPEIX (France), G. OETJEN (Germany) and which was unanimously adopted.

This resolutiont recommended an Organizing Committee composed of Messrs. A. S. D. BARRETT (U.K.), K. DIELS (Germany), J. M. DUNOYER (France), E. THOMAS (Belgium, President) and Mr. M. W. WELCH (U.S.A.) with the following duties :

(1) to establish an international organization for vacuum science and technology, whose aims would be :

to hold and organize in various countries once every three years an international congress on vacuum science and technology ; to promote the dissemination of information and the advancement of and the education in vacuum science and technology ; to affiliate with such other national and international bodies to achieve these objects ;

(2) to organize and call the Second International Congress on Vacuum Science and Technology ;

(3) to submit to the participants of the Namur Congress a Draft Constitution and Bylaws, by mail vote.

The resolution indicates that the seat of the new Organiza- tion will be in Brussels$.

Structure-Constitution An international secretariat was immediately set up in

Brussels to ensure the daily life of the Organization and to co-operate with the Executive Committee (name given to the organizing committee created by the Congress).

Considering as a charter the resolution approved at Namur, the Executive Committee established firstly a draft con- stitution and the draft bylaws, which documents were sub- mitted to the participants of the First Congress, as agreed. At the same time, it was also deemed advisable to submit these drafts to many societies and persons interested in vacuum science and technology although they did not all attend the congress, in order that they may furnish their competent remarks and suggestions, as the case may be ; also, to induce them to participate to the work of the Inter- national Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology.

The drafts were thereafter adopted by the Executive Committee with a few minor amendments resulting from such observations as were received from competent personalities consulted in that respect.

The Constitution outlines the legal form, the seat, the aims, the composition, the financial means, the organs and the languages agreed upon by the Organization.

Legal form and location of the Organization Headquarters

The International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology is constituted in conformity with the Belgian law respecting the international organizations having scientific aims, and whose seat is in Belgium.

It is a fact that international associations established in other countries very often benefit by analogous legal rights, in conformity with the law set up in these countries.

The civil rights were granted to the Organization’s Con- stitution and approved by a Belgian Royal Decree on 7 August 1959, published in the Moniteur Belge on 20 August 1959 9.

* See appendix for details of the origin, aims and organization of the 1958 International Conference at Namur.

t The address of the President of the American Vacuum Society and the resolution adopted by the 1958 Congress are reproduced in extenso with the Proceedings of the First International Congress on Vacuum Techniques (Pergamon Press, London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles).

f The International Headquarters of the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology are in Brussels 4, Belgium, 30 Avenue de la Renaissance.

$ Furthermore, the Constitution is published in French, English and German, as an appendix to the Moniteur Beige of 17 September 1959, in accordance with the law. It also appears in a booklet.

256

Object

The International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology 257

The Executive Committee will be assisted by an Advisory

The Organization’s aims are detailed in the Namur resolution (see reference t on p. 256).

Committee having international representation. The mem- bers of these two committees will ensure a proportional representation of all the countries taking part in the aims and objects of the Organization.

Membership The Organization is composed of :

(a) individual members : persons ;

(h) associate members : corporate bodies such as national vacuum societies, non-profitable institutions and scien- tific organizations, firms, commercial and industrial corporations, etc. ;

Languages All communications and discussions are accepted in

English, French and German. The Executive Committee may decide to use other languages for certain publications and communications as may prove desirable or necessary.

(c) honorary members. Activities

The Executive Committee gave considerable thought and attention at the meeting held in Brussels to the most desirable structure for the International Organization. It was firstly decided that the best way to resolve certain initiation diffi- culties, bearing in mind the different conditions in many countries, was to admit individual and associate members at the beginning.

The Executive Committee and the Secretariat have not only been engaged upon the establishment of the Constitution and Bylaws.

The final goal is obviously a Federation of the National Vacuum Societies, and the reasons for this have been strongly presented by many people. But to begin with, one must be realistic. Up to the present time, there are but a few such national societies. The Executive Committee, nevertheless, is making every effort to encourage their creation in the different countries, and there is already in some of them a tendency to bring this idea into focus. But of course some patience is required until the members from each country are able to group themselves and work together.

As stated above, the Organization is encouraging the establishment of national vacuum societies in the.countries where they do not yet exist. When such national societies have been developed, the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology will then be able to form a “ Federa- tion “-this being its most important task for the future. (Reference is made to the resolution adopted by the Executive Committee on 21 February 1959)*.

On the other hand, a strictly federative structure would not have allowed the co-operation of specialists and firms in the countries where no national vacuum society exists. The Constitution of the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology does permit their affiliation and this structure contributes notably to the advancement of vacuum science and technology.

Furthermore, the Advisory Committee and Technical Standing Committees are being established : a Congress Committee, a Committee for the formation of specialists and a Standardization Committee. Progressively, the Organiza- tion proceeds with the aims of meeting the further needs for the advancement of vacuum science and technology. The various committees envisaged will help to achieve the Organization’s aims.

Finance The financial means of the Organization are derived from :

regular subscription dues of its members, grants from public and private institutions, any other emoluments deriving from any other source whatsoever.

A News Bulletin is regularly published in order to furnish all members with the latest information concerning vacuum science and technology (announcement of meetings, letters to the editor, abstracts of scientific reports, abstracts of articles submitted to vacuum and other scientific reviews).

By rapid diffusion of such information, the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology has in mind (a) to create bonds of friendship between its members and (b) to complement and aid the work of the existing vacuum reviews.

Administration

Naturally, the Organization exists through and for its members and is striving to increase the membership. On 30 November 1959, there were 32 Associate Founder Members and 418 individual Founder Members (24 countries).

The International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology is administered by the General Meeting, the Executive Committee and the Secretariat at the Headquarters in Brussels.

Conclusion

The General Meeting represents the whole of the members. It is invested with the widest powers to take or ratify all decisions which concern the Organization, which is adminis- tered by the Executive Committee to be made up of twelve members.

The creation of the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology fulfilled a need and, in consequence, a large number of persons and organized groups interested in vacuum science and technology have already had the opportunity to express their desire towards a closer inter- national co-operation in this field.

The Organization is and will remain a bond between its

* See News Bulletin No. 3 of the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology.

258 E. THOMAS

members. They are not controlled in any way. The present nology, ‘to co-ordinate their respective activities on an structure, it is believed, is the one that best meets the con- international scale and in the most concrete manner. ditions now prevailing in some countries, and which allows The affiliation of an increasing number of members will the rapid realization of its objective. It is hoped too, that permit the International Organization for Vacuum Science the national societies and groups will be able, through the and Technology to contribute effectively to the advancement International Organization for Vacuum Science and Tech- of vacuum science and its applications.

APPENDIX

The First International Congress on Vacuum Techniques held at Namur

Origin and aims of the congress After the second world war, some groups of specialists in

the field of vacuum science and technology were constituted in various countries (France, U.S.A., Japan, Germany, Belgium, . . .) and they contributed to the development of such technique and its applications.

The activity of these groups merit a more detailed account, but, unfortunately, space prevents it from being given here. However, it may be useful to give an outline of the work done by the Belgian group, which was formed in 1954 under the name of Vacuum Techniques Section, in the framework of the Research Committee within the Societe Royale Belge des Ingenieurs et des Industriels (SRBII). This Section was responsible for the idea of the 1958 First International Congress on Vacuum Techniques.

The first activity of this Section was the study of the industrial applications of vacuum.*

It should also be recalled that in 1954 the Institut Inter- universitaire des Sciences Nucleaires de Belgique (IISN) formed working groups, each commissioned to organize discussions on a specified subject, and one of which should include research workers who, within the six Institute’s centers, are more particularly interested in the use of vacuum technique in nuclear sciences.?

The working group and the section above mentioned organized meetings either separately or jointly, and they contacted the vacuum specialists of various countries as well as scientific societies whose activity include this technology.

In 1956, when the question of the organization of inter- national congresses was raised, in the framework of the 1958 Universal and International Exhibition of Brussels, members of the above mentioned Section proposed to organize an international congress in the field of vacuum techniques.

Of course, several conferences and meetings dealing with these techniques have been held in various countries in the past, but they were not organized as real international events-the participation of specialists, foreign to the organizing country, was rather small. The Brussels exhibition seemed to provide an excellent opportunity to hold for the first time an international congress including all the vacuum specialists of most countries ; these specialists would then be in a position to advise their colleagues of their latest researches concerning production, vacuum measurement as

well as vacuum applications in the laboratory and in industry. At the same time, the opportunity would afford for initiating a closer co-operation between the delegates in their respective fields.

Organization of the congress In January 1957, following the first steps taken by the

provisionally appointed committee, an Organizing Committee (whose members belonged to the research and industrial bodies) decided to hold the congress in Namur (Belgium). They prepared the program of work and agreed that the communications and discussions should take place in French, English and German.

With the co-operation of several scientific societies and reviews in and outside Belgium, the organizers publicly announced the congress, and sought the co-operation of authors and attendees. A Papers Committee examined and selected the program of papers, and a Publications Committee prepared the publication of the congress’ proceedings.

All this work was only made possible with the moral and material help supplied by the Organizing Committee.

His Majesty Leopold III, President of the National Commission for Sciences, honoured the congress with His High Patronage.

The Commissariat General of the Belgian Government for the 1958 Universal and International Exhibition of Brussels, officially recognized the congress, thus giving vacuum techniques an important place in the international gathering provided by the Brussels Exhibition.

The necessary funds were generously provided by industrial organizations including 58 Belgian, 3 Luxembourg and one Swiss.

Work of the congress Participants

Three categories of participants were foreseen : (a) industrial and commercial business concerns officially represented by one or more delegates, (6) persons’ not representing officially such business concerns, (c) students.

The Table I hereunder shows the attendance by country and of the lectures and communications delivered.

* For more details on the subject, see Bulletin de la SBRII : 5 (1954). p. 192, Revue de la SRBII : 4 (1955), p. 283 and p. 309 ; 7/8 (1956), p. 294 and p. 325 ; 6 (1957), p. 254 and p. 282 ; 5 (1958), p. 263 and p. 288 ; 5 (1959), p. 234, p. 270 and p. 292.

t The activity of this committee is outlined in the Reports of the working groups of the USN.

The International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology 259

TABLE I

Firms officially

represented

Number of lectures and communications delivered Participators

(delegates, private

persons, students)

\ccompanying persons

Countries

_ Europe (CERN)* . . Argentine.. Australia . . . Austria . . Belgium . . Canada

4 1

3

Czecho-Slovakia : : . . .

Denmark . . France . . . . . Germany :

Democratic Republic . . Federal Republic

Hungary . . India . . 1: 1: Italy . . . . . Japan .,. . . Liechtenstein . . Netherlands Norway . . Poland 1: . . Spain . . . . Sweden

32

1

16

138 I 5 2

80

22 1

5 3

12 88

i 1

Switzerland 1: 1: Turkey . . . United Kingdom U.S.A. . . . . U.S.S.R. . . . Yugoslavia .

26 I

7 I 9

10 4

21 I 4 3 4

21 1

60 27

Total . . 129 522

t

.-

-_

-

_-

--

--

8

25

2

9 12

82

_

.-

-

- TABLE II

French English German

27

35 35

2: 6 6 1

3 1 21

4

1

5

18 15

4

18 15 6

1

164 46 70 48

Lectures given Lectures given Communications during the during the given during the

Opening Plenary Sections’ Session Sessions Sessions

- F

1

1

: 3 5

__ D

- 5 3 1 1

2

1

1 3 3

3 I 6

Total

16 13 18 3 6

: 8

.-

--

.-

__

-

-

.-

_-

-

.-

.-

_-

F D -

1

F D -

E E

1

.-

_-

__

_

Fundamental problems in vacuum techniques (62 lectures and communications)

I.-Generalities (units, standards, etc.) . . 2.-Mechanical pumps 3.-Diffusion pumps and ejectors ’ : : 4.-Problems arising in vacuum systems 5.-Leak detection . 6.-Vacuum measurement : : : : : : ‘I.-Pumping speed measurement 8.-Leads and connections . .

. . 2

Ultra-high vacuum (25 lectures and communications)

9.-Generalities .......... lO.-Measurement .......... 1 I.-Getter pumps and ionization pumps . 12.-Applications ..........

1 1

3

Vacuum systems applications in various sciences and techniques (77 lectures and communications)

1 13.-Nuclear sciences . . . 14.-Metallurgy 15.-Electron tube industry and related problems . . 16.-Chemistry . . . . . 17.-Biology, pharmacy and food industry . l8.-Vacuum evaporation . 19.-Vacuum concrete . . 20.-Miscellaneous subjects

Total . . F : in French E : in English D : in German

5 4

164

i *CERN. European Organization for Nuclear Research.

260 E. THOMAS

Lectures and communications With the co-operation of 208 speakers from 18 countries

and of a European Institute (CERN), the organizers of the congress were able to prepare the program of lectures and communications covering to a large extent the field of vacuum science and technology. This program included : 5 lectures given during the Opening Session (10 June 1958) 4 lectures given during the plenary sesssion of 11, 12 and 13 June, 155 communications delivered 11, 12 and 13 June, divided up into 20 sections (see Table II hereunder), the total of which being 164 lectures and communications : 46 delivered in French, 70 in English and 48 in German.

A. Opening Session M. GUILMIN, President of the permanent Deputation of the Province of Namur, representing the Governor M. GRUSLIN, opened the congress.

Professor E. THOMAS, President of the congress, thanked all those who brought their help to the organization of the congress, welcomed the attendees and outlined the program of work ; he hoped that with the co-operation of all the attendees, the aim of the organizers’ efforts would be plainly realised. Thereafter, the following lectures were delivered :

I.-Bases exp&rimentales de la tht!orie cin&ique des gaz, by L. DUNOYER, Dr., ancien Professeur a la Sorbonne, Membre du Bureau des Longitudes, President d’Honneur de la Societe Francaise des Ingenieurs et Techniciens du Vide, Paris (France). This lecture was read by J. M. DUNOYER, Dr., Professor at the Faculte des Sciences de Rennes (France).

2.-History of the vacuum-pump, by E. N. da C. ANDRADE, DSc., Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.S., Professor at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (U.K.).

3.-Die Diflusionspumpe-Ihre Physik und Technik, by R. JAECKEL, Dr., Professor an der Universitlt Bonn, Vorsitzender der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Vakuum des VDI, des Verb. Dtsch. Phys. Ges. u. d. DECHEMA (Deutschland).

4.-Recent Advances in Ultra-high Vacuum Technology, by D. ALPERT, Dr., Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana (U.S.A.).

5.-L’apport de la technique du vide 6 la science et ci l’industrie, by R. CHAMPEIX, Ing.-Dr., Ingenieur en Chef aux Laboratoires d’Electronique et de Physique appliquees, Paris (France),

they threw a light on the important aspects of vacuum sciences and techniques and constituted an excellent introduction for the exposes to be delivered the next day.

B. Plenary Sessions (11, 12, 13 June 1958) The following conferences were delivered during these sessions :

- on 11 June : Evapor-ionpump development at the University of Wisconsin, by R. G. HERB, Dr., Professor at the Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison (U.S.A.).

- on 12 June : Die Anwendung der Vakuumtechnik bei der Herstellung von Reaktor-Baustoffen, by H. HARDUNG- HARDUNG, Dr., Degussa, Frankfurt am Main (Deutsch- land).

- on 12 June : High vacuum pumps and units for accelerators, by S. A. VEKSHINSKY, M. 1. MENSHIKOV and I. S. RABINO- VICH, Academy of Sciences, Moscow (U.S.S.R.).

- on 13 June : Education in Vacuum Technology, by J. YARWOOD, M.Sc., F.Inst.P., Head of Department of Mathematics and Physics, The Polytechnic, London (U.K.).

C. Sections’ Sessions (11, 12, 13 June) We only mention the dividing up of the 155 communications delivered during these sessions (Table II overleaf). Most of these were followed by a discussion.

Results

We may reasonably affirm that the two aims of the organizers of the congress were fulfilled.

The congress had planned and achieved the exchange of views between specialists in the field of vacuum science and its applications. The basis of a greater co-operation between these specialists have been assured by the creation of the International Organization for Vacuum Science and Technology.