aip.org:history/ead/20080202.xml Finding Aid to the American Vacuum Society Records, 1953-2007 AR.1998.421 Finding aid prepared by American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library and Archives. Niels Bohr Library and Archives
1 Physics Ellipse College Park, Maryland, 20740-3843 301-209-3177 nbl@aip.org
May 19, 2008

Machine-readable finding aid created using Archivists' Toolkit by Mark A. Matienzo in 2008. Any revisions made to this finding aid occurred as part of the editing and encoding process.

 This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2008-05-22T18:53-0400 Finding aid written in English. Describing Archives: A Content Standard American Vacuum Society records AR.1998.421 Niels Bohr Library and Archives 18.0 Linear feet 16 records boxes, 1 oversize box, and 1 oversize folder 1953-2007 English. This collection contains the records of the American Vacuum Society and its predecessor organization, the Committee on Vacuum Techniques, as well as records of committees, topical divisions, and regional chapters. American Vacuum Society. Scope and Contents of Collection

This collection contains administrative records, minutes, correspondence and subject files, rosters for membership and attendance, publications (including bibliographies, newsletters, membership directories and brochures), reports, and material related to symposia and short courses. It constitutes the archives of the American Vacuum Society, which are maintained before their transfer by the AVS Archivist, an ex-officio member of the AVS History Committee. In additon, the records contain administrative and business records received from the AVS National Office.

The records contain important historical material and provide a complete set of board minutes from the initial meeting of the Committee on Vacuum Techniques onwards. Other notable historical records include materials on the creation of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, the incorporation of AVS, correspondence with other national and international vacuum technology societies, and a set of membership cards that served as the official membership record from the mid 1960s to the 1980s.

The collection also has a wide breadth of records from the Society's committees, topical divisions, and regional chapters. It should be noted that there are often large gaps in these records, often resulting from rotating leadership of these groups and geographic and institutional dispersal of their membership.

 History of the American Vacuum Society

This text was adapted from the AVS History page on the American Vacuum Society's website. An exhaustive history of the Society can be found in the e-book 50 Years of the AVS (1953-2003), available from the Society's website at http://www2.avs.org/historybook/default.asp.

On June 18, 1953, fifty-six people from diverse technical backgrounds, gathered in New York City to consider the need for a forum to discuss problems and applications of high vacuum technology. Six days later, the Committee on Vacuum Techniques was formally organized with the mandate to initiate a symposium and develop programs for education and for standards. The first symposium was held June 16-18, 1954 and attracted 295 registrants from several countries.

Until 1961, the Society was essentially comprised of the people attending the annual symposium, whose votes elected the officers and committee chairs for the succeeding year. At the 1957 Symposium, the membership changed the name of the group to the American Vacuum Society, Inc. A revised Constitution and By-Laws was adopted in 1961, establishing the current procedure of a mail ballot for the election of officers and directors.

The Society was originally organized in the northeast and remained largely in the East and Midwest for several years. As the membership expanded throughout the country, the need for regional groups increased. The first such group was developed by members in the Seattle area, which became the Pacific Northwest Section of the AVS in 1962. Other groups soon followed and there are now 19 regional Chapters throughout the country.

The Society became an affiliate member of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) in 1963 and was elected a full member in 1976. In 1967, the AVS office moved from Boston to the AIP building in New York, and a full-time Executive Secretary was hired for the Society from 1968 until 1989. In 1992, a Technical Director was hired to lead the AVS into new and important technical areas, and in 1993, an Office Manager was brought on board to run the New York Office. In that same year, the AVS moved from its location on 45th Street in New York City in the AIP building (the AIP was relocating to College Park, Maryland) to its current location in the Association Center for non-profit associations at 120 Wall Street. At the present time, the Society has seven employees at the AVS Headquarters on Wall Street and two at the Editorial Office of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology in North Carolina. Membership of the Society was about 6,000 in 1995.

Early publications of the Society were transactions of the annual symposia from 1954 to 1963. The first volume of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology appeared in 1965. In 1983 the Journal was split into two sections: A -- devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces and Films, and B -- devoted to Microelectronics, Processing and Phenomena. In January 1991, the scope of section B was expanded to include nanometer-scale science and technology with a subtitle change to Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures --Processing, Measurement and Phenomena. In 1985, a new publication format, devoted primarily to the publication of topical conferences, was introduced to permit separate and timely publication of each conference in archival format at an acceptable cost. These are published by AIP as the AVS Conference Series. Surface Science Spectra, an archival journal for the publication of spectra databases from surface analysis techniques was first published in 1992. Biointerphases launched in 2006 as an open access journal for the biomaterials interface community providing an interdisciplinary platform for scientific exchange among the biology, chemistry, physics and materials sciences communities.

To respond to specific interests within the membership, divisional organizations were developed. The first of these, Vacuum Metallurgy, was formed in 1961, which became Advanced Surface Engineering in 1999 when an existing organization affiliated with the Society. The remaining Divisions developed largely from within the Society; listed in order of formation, they are: Thin Films (1964); Surface Science (1968); Vacuum Technology (1970); Electronic Materials and Processing (1979); Fusion Technology (1980), which became Plasma Science and Technology in 1986; Applied Surface Science (1985); Nanometer-Scale Science and Technology (1992); Magnetic Interfaces and Nanostructures (1999); Biomaterial Interfaces (2003). Technical Groups, which focus on newly emerging, dynamic growth areas of science and technology, were established in 1994, and include Manufacturing Science and Technology (MSTG) (1994), The Science of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) (1999), and Technology for Sustainability Technical Group (TSTG) (2003).

 Organization and Arrangement of Collection

The collection is organized into six subgroups: Subgroup 1: Board of Directors records Subgroup 2: Publications Subgroup 3: Committee records Subgroup 4: Division and Technical Group records Subgroup 5: Chapter and Region records Subgroup 6: National Office records

This collection was formed by combining several accessions from the American Vacuum Society. These accessions were arranged thematically by a member of the American Vacuum Society prior to their transfer to the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. After reviewing the organization of the records as received, the processing archivist made the decision not to treat it as the original order of the records. The current arrangement reflects the organizational structure of the American Vacuum Society.

The bulk of the collection is arranged chronologically, with a few exceptions arranged alphabetically. Notable examples of these exceptions include the Committee records (Subgroup 3), the Division and Technical Group records (Subgroup 4), and the Chapter and Region records (Subgroup 5). Within each of these subgroups, records are arranged alphabetically by the name of the subordinate body.

 Processing Information

This collection was formed through the combination of several individual accessions. The processing of the combined collection was completed by Mark A. Matienzo in May 2008.

 Information on Accrual of Records

Further accruals are expected.

 Provenance and Acquisition Information

Transferred to the Niels Bohr Library and Archives by the American Vacuum Society in several accessions: 1998 (AR 421), 1999 (AR 13), 2000 (AR 64), 2001 (AR 486), 2002 (AR 540), 2007 (AR 760), 2008 (AR 816), and through accrual (AR 334).

 Preferred Citation of Collection

Cite as: Item and date, Box [number], Folder [number], American Vacuum Society records, 1953-2007, Niels Bohr Library and Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD.

 Access to Collection

Permission of an officer of depositing organization required for access to records less than 25 years old.

 Restrictions on Use of Collection

Use of primary source material in the Niels Bohr Library requires prior approval through an Application for Access, which includes a statement of research purpose and the names and addresses of two scholars as references. Access applications can be obtained by contacting the Library (telephone 301-209-3177; or e-mail nbl@aip.org). The application can also be printed from our website.

 Materials Separated from Collection

A large amount of monographic material was received in various accessions and is now held in the book collection of the Niels Bohr Library. These include materials in the AVS Monograph Series and several books on the history of AVS and vacuum science and technology.

All photographs and negatives in the collection have been separated to the Emilio Segrè Visual Archives Collection.

 Other Related Materials

Niels Bohr Library and Archives:

Monograph materials published by the American Vacuum Society American Institute of Physics. Office of the Director. Records of H. William Koch, 1932-1988. American Institute of Physics. Office of the Director. Records of H. William Koch, 1960-1987. American Institute of Physics. Office of the Director. RRecords of H. William Koch and Kenneth W. Ford, 1966-1992. American Institute of Physics. Office of the Secretary. Records, 1932-1994. American Institute of Physics. Physics Programs. Lewis Slack papers, 1968-1988. American Vacuum Society. AVS video history interviews, 1991-2000. American Vacuum Society. International Symposium (48th: 2001: San Francisco, Calif.) Special session on NBS/NIST Centennial [videorecording] Oral history interview with Charles B. Duke, 2007 January 23. Oral history interview with Jane P. Chang, 2005 November 1. Oral history interview with Jack S. Kilby.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility:

American Vacuum Society Historical Book Collection.

University Archives, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

John A. Thornton papers, 1943-1991.

Duke, Charles B. Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers. Thornton, J. A., (John Alexander), 1933- Committee on Vacuum Techniques. Hablanian, M. H. American Institute of Physics. American Vacuum Society. Singleton, J. H., (Jack H.) Korean Vacuum Society. American Society for Metals. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Redhead, P. A. American Vacuum Society. National Symposium. Chinese Vacuum Society. Westwood, William D., (William Dickson), 1937- Zehe, Alfred Holloway, Paul H. Beavis, Leonard C. Meyer, Donald E. Whetten, N. Rey International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications. Denton, Richard A. McCain, Walter Vacuum technology Lecture notes Journal of vacuum science & technology. Newsletters Correspondence Programs Audits Reports Manuals (instructional materials) Election returns Bylaws (administrative records) Minutes Vacuum technology -- History Rosters Personnel records Subgroup 1: Board of Directors records 1953-2006 Minutes 1953-2006 Board minutes 1953-2006 Committee on Vacuum Techniques board minutes 1 1 1953-1954 Committee on Vacuum Techniques and American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 2 1956-1957 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 3 1958-1959 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 4 1960-1961 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 5 1962-1963 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 6 1964-1965 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 7 1966 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 8 1967 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 9 1968 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 10 1969 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 11 1970 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 12 1971 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 13 1972 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 14 1973 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 15 1974 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 16 1975 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 17 1976 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 18 1977 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 19 1978 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 20 1979 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 21 1980 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 22 1981 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 23 1982 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 24 1983 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 25 1984 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 26 1985 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 27 1986 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 28 1987 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 29 1988 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 30 1989 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 31 1990 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 32 1991 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 33 1992 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 34 1993 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 35 1994 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 36 1995 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 36 1995 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 37 1996 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 38 1997 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 39 1998 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 40 1999 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 41 2000 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 42 2001 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 43 2002 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 44 2003 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 45 2004 American Vacuum Society board minutes 1 46 2005 American Vacuum Society board minutes 2 1 2006 Annual business meeting minutes 1956-2005 Committee on Vacuum Techniques business meeting minutes 2 2 1956-1957 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 3 1958-1965 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 4 1966-1970 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 5 1971-1976 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 6 1978-1985 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 7 1986-1990 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 8 1991-1995 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 9 1996-2000 American Vacuum Society business meeting minutes 2 10 2001-2005 Executive session minutes 1981-2006 Executive session minutes 2 11 1981-1987 Executive session minutes 2 12 1988-1989 Executive session minutes 2 13 1990-1991 Executive session minutes 2 14 1992-1993 Executive session minutes 2 15 1994-1995 Executive session minutes 2 16 1996-1997 Executive session minutes 2 17 1998-1999 Executive session minutes 2 18 2000-2006 Rosters 1953-2006 List of Committee on Vacuum Techniques meeting attendees 2 19 1953-1954 Board and committee rosters 2 20 1957-1964 Board and committee rosters 2 21 1965-1969 Board and committee rosters 2 22 1970-1975 Board and committee rosters 2 23 1976-1980 Board and committee rosters 2 24 1981-1985 Board and committee rosters 2 25 1986-1990 Board and committee rosters 2 26 1991-1995 Board and committee rosters 2 27 1996-2000 Board and committee rosters 2 28 2001-2006 Governance documents 1954-2002 and undated Articles of incorporation and name change 2 29 1954 and 1958 Committee on Vacuum Techniques and American Vacuum Society constitution and bylaws 2 30 1958-1968 and undated Constitution and bylaws 2 31 1969-2002 Election records 1955-2006 and undated Election materials 2 32 1955-1964 Election materials 2 33 1966-1970 Election materials 2 34 1971-1975 Election materials 2 35 1976-1980 Election records 2 36 1981-1985 Election materials 2 37 1986-1991 Election materials 2 38 1992-1995 Election materials 2 39 1996-2001 Election materials 2 40 2002-2006 Tables of election results 2 41 undated Correspondence and subject files 1956-2006 Resident agent certificates 2 42 1981-2004 Materials on tax exemption 2 43 1967-1975 Materials on tax exemption 2 44 1984-1989 Board of directors manuals 2 45 2000-2001 Budget procedures 2 46 1972 Society Services Committee report 2 47 1979 Fred Dylla letter on proposed guidelines for non-AVS short courses announcements in AVS newsletters 2 48 1986 Proposal for creation of Executive Director position 2 49 1969-1973 Memoranda of agreement and related materials between AVS and the American Institute of Physics 2 50 1971-1985 Proposal to move AVS from AIP to the American Society of Metals 2 51 1970-1971 Materials on hiring AVS meetings manager 2 52 1981 John Thornton briefing to Board of Directors 2 53 1982 Materials on AIP move from New York to Maryland 2 54 1987 John Singleton (AVS Secretary) correspondence 2 55 1984 Committee on Vacuum Technique memorandum on sponsor membership 2 56 1956 Publicity materials and correspondence 2 57 1962-1964 Correspondence on obituaries 2 58 1998-2003 Clippings and correspondence concerning the arrest of Alfred Zehe at the 1983 AVS symposium 2 59 1983-1984 Correspondence with the Chinese Vacuum Society 2 60 1985-1987 Correspondence with SPIE 2 61 1986 Correspondence and materials on International Organization For Vacuum Science And Technology and International Union for Vacuum Science, Technique and Applications 2 64 1960-2001 Correspondence on travel planning for conferences 2 62 1973-1974 Memorandum of agreement with the Korean Vacuum Society 2 63 1991 Membership 1953-2006 CVT and AVS membership rosters and directories 2 65 1953-1969 AVS membership rosters and directories 2 66 1971-1979 Membership directories 2 68 1993-1995 Membership directories 2 67 1981-1989 Membership directories 2 69 1997 Membership brochures 2 70 1971-2006 and undated Membership cards circa 1965-1990 A 2 71 B 3 1-2 C 3 3 D 3 4 E-F 3 5 G 3 6 H 3 7-8 I-J 3 9 K 3 10 L 3 11 M 3 12-13 N-O 3 14 P-Q 3 15 R 4 1 S 4 2-3 T-V 4 4 W 4 5 V-Z 4 6 CD-ROM of membership files from Slack, Inc. 16 54 2003 Scope and Contents

Contains two CSV text files with membership data.

 Subgroup 2: Publications 1960-2006 Newsletters 4 7 1960-1977 Newsletters 4 8 1978-1982 Newsletters 4 9 1983-1986 Newsletters 4 10 1987-1988 Newsletters 4 11 1989-1990 Newsletters 4 12 1991-1992 Newsletters 4 13 1993-1994 Newsletters 4 14 1995-1996 Newsletters 4 15 1997-1999 Newsletters 4 16 2000-2002 Newsletters 4 17 2003-2005 Newsletters 4 18 2006 CD-ROM of electronic copies of newsletters 16 54 1961-1989 Marketing Programs brochures 4 19 2001-2006 Buyers' Guide brochures 4 20 undated Prospectus 4 21 2006 Subgroup 3: Committee records Committee liaison lists 5 1 2002-2006 Awards Committee records 1985-2006 Calls for nominations 5 47 1991-2006 Awards reception brochures 5 48 1985-2006 Correspondence on initial funding of John Vossen Memorial Grant Awards 5 49 1996-1998 Nomination packages 5 50 1996-1997 Nomination packages 5 51 1998 Nomination packages 5 52 1999 Nomination packages 6 1 2000 Nomination packages 6 2 2001 Nomination packages 6 3 2002 Nomination packages 6 4 2003 Nomination packages 6 5 2004 Nomination packages 6 6 2005 Nomination packages 6 7 2007 Chapters, Groups and Divisions Committee records 1969-1988 Policy manuals 5 29 1982-1988 Newsletters 5 30 1984-1988 Correspondence on reorganization of sections into chapters and regional administration groups 5 31 1969-1970 Chapter and division membership information 5 32 1969-1979 Distinguished Lecturer Committee brochures 6 8 1999-2004 Education Committee records 1967-2006 Correspondence on creation of AVS calendar 5 33 1973 Calendar and related production materials 5 34 1991-1992 Materials on AVS film and video 5 35 1967-1997 and undated Science Educators Workshop release forms 5 36 1991-1995 Science Educators Workshop release forms 5 37 1996-2000 Science Educators Workshop release forms 5 38 2001-2006 Permission forms for reproducing graphics in Robert Waits' Thin Film Deposition and Patterning 5 39 1994-1998 Correspondence 5 40 1967-1980 Reports 5 41 1975-1993 Bibliographies 5 42 1974-1987 Monograph drafts 5 43 1987 Roster 5 44 2000 Publication pricelists 5 45 1967-2006 Contract with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on videotaping short courses 5 46 1981 Exhibitors and Manufacturers Committee newsletters 6 9 1999-2006 Future Symposium Sites Committee correspondence on 1974 Vacuum Show in Anaheim, California 10 9 1969-1970 History Committee records 1960-2005 Minutes 5 26 1987-2005 Correspondence on AVS history 5 27 2002 and undated Correspondence and materials on the 1996 Thin Film History exhibit 5 28 1960-1997 Thin Film History exhibit materials 17 circa 1996 CD-ROMs of AVS history monograph and drafts 16 54 circa 2003 Local Arrangements Committee records 1961-2004 Minutes 10 10 1961 Records on 1968 Symposium 10 11 circa 1968 Reports 10 12 1968-1988 Manuals 10 13 2002-2004 Publications Committee records 1962-2006 Materials on the creation of the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology (JVST) 5 2 1962-2006 JVST tables of contents 5 3 1965-1966 Correspondence on amalgamating JVST and Vacuum 5 4 1969-1970 Correspondence on donating copies of JVST to India 5 5 1972-1975 Correspondence on complementary symposium registration 5 6 1976 and 1986 Correspondence on chapter and division dues 5 7 1972 and 1986 Liability disclaimer opinion for use in AVS publications 5 8 1975 Publications pricelist 5 9 circa 1975 Correspondence on availability of United States Air Force appropriations to pay publication fees 5 10 1978 Reports 5 11 1970-1977 Reports 5 12 1985-1989 Calls for papers for Biointerfaces 5 13 undated Correspondence to AVS members about JVST Online 5 14 1997 Copies of JVST on CD-ROM 16 54 1993-2001 Short Course Executive Committee records 1965-2006 Minutes 6 10 1999-2006 Some reflections on my time with the AVS (Len Beavis) 6 11 undated Beavis, Leonard C. National Short Course Program report 6 12 1997 Correspondence 6 13 1984-1985 Policies 6 14 1979-1985 Report 6 15 1984 Market research proposal 6 16 1991 Marketing study 6 17 1999 Agreement for online courses with SemiZone 6 18 2002 Completion certificates 6 19 1974-2006 Programs and brochures 6 20 1968-1985 Programs and brochures 6 21 1998 Programs and brochures 6 22 1999 Programs and brochures 6 23 2000 Programs and brochures 6 24 2001 Programs and brochures 6 25 2002 Programs and brochures 6 26 2003 Programs and brochures 6 27 2004 Programs and brochures 6 28 2005 Programs and brochures 6 29 2006 Short course notes 1965-1997 Vacuum Technology for Technicians (Yeager) 6 30 1965 Basic Vacuum 6 31 1970 Vacuum Processes 6 32 1971 Vacuum System Technology 6 33 1971 Vacuum Technology 6 34 1971 Atomic Composition I (Musket) 6 35 1972 Evaporation Techniques (Bunshah) 6 36 1972 Fundamentals of Sputtering Technology (Mattox) 6 37 1972