SVC Fellow-Mentor Award

In 2001 the SVC Award Committee established the Mentor Award to recognize outstanding contributions to the development of vacuum coating technology or for special contributions to the Society. In 2022, the Mentor Award was expanded in scope and definition; renamed the “SVC Fellow-Mentor Award”.  

The Fellow-Mentor Award recognizes outstanding, sustained technical contributions to the advancement of vacuum coating, surface engineering, and related technologies through research, development, and technical leadership, as well as long-term contributions to the evolution of the SVC. The SVC Fellow-Mentor title is a lifetime recognition of distinction, rather than an award for a specific achievement. Recipients will exemplify the highest ideals of accomplishment and sharing of information embodied by the SVC community.

Eligibility

Nominees must have a record of sustained and outstanding scientific and technical contributions as a professional in research, engineering, technical advancement, education, and/or managerial leadership for at least 10 years. They will be evaluated based on sustained technical contributions to fields and areas of interest to the SVC, characterized by highly cited papers and/or disruptive innovations. Awardees are valued intellectuals valuing continued engagement with SVC leaders and members.  The title is a lifetime appointment, and it is expected that recipients will continue membership and engagement with the SVC Community. Board of Directors and Awards Committee members are ineligible but encouraged to nominate and/or support any qualified individuals.  Nominations are active up to three years after submission. 

Application Format

The following application materials are emailed to the Awards Committee Chair by December 15:

• Nomination by a current SVC member, maximum 5 pages describing technical achievements and contributions of the candidate
• Two supporting letters from SVC members, maximum 3 pages               
• 5 years consecutive SVC membership of the candidate immediately prior to nomination
• Curriculum Vitae of the nominee

Selection Process

Recipients are announced at the SVC TechCon, their names listed on the website, appropriate literature, and the Awards display featured at subsequent TechCon meetings.  With the Fellow-Mentor's permission, other information may also be included, such as photo, citation, brief biography, affiliation, and contact information. Each recipient is presented a certificate and pin. The Society maintains contact with awardees, who are given opportunities to provide and discuss ideas with SVC leadership regarding SVC affairs.

2024 Mentor Award Recipient

Scott Walton Head of the Plasma Applications Section in the Plasma Physics Division at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington DC.  For his leadership and multiple contributions to plasma source development, characterization, and fundamental understanding of surface evolution during plasma processing.

2023 Mentor Award Recipient

Wolfgang Diehl Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa and a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences ACES at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom and Chair Professor at Fung Chia University in Taichung, Taiwan For his leadership and multiple contributions to research, development and manufacture, in the fields of coatings and surface technology and for his dedicated service to the SVC.

2023 Mentor Award Recipient

Andreas Pflug Head of Group Simulation and Digital Services at Fraunhofer IST (Braunschweig, DE). For his outstanding contribution in understanding plasma processes and technology by simulation and modeling.

2022 Mentor Award Recipient

Professor Aryasomayajula Subrahmanyam (“Manu”) Dean of Science Faculty at Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management, Visakhapatnam, India For his contributions to thin film technology in bio-medical applications and his engagements as an Indian representative in the SVC International Advisory Committee.

2020 Mentor Award Recipient

Ju-Liang (John) He Feng Chia University, Taiwan For his contributions as an SVC ambassador in Taiwan and Asia, and his scientific leadership in ionized sputtering (HIPIMS, GFS) on flexible substrates.

2019 Mentor Award Recipient

Ronald R. Willey Willey Optical Consultants, Charlevoix, Michigan USA For providing over 50 years of technical and educational leadership to the international optical coating community.

2017 Mentor Award Recipients

Gary L. Doll Ph.D Timken Professor of Surface Engineering, The University of Akron For his educational and technological contributions in the areas of surface engineering and tribology.
Papken Hovsepian Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK For his valuable contributions to the development and industrialization of High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS) technology.

2016 Mentor Award Recipients

David J. Christie Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., Fort Collins, CO For his contributions to the understanding of, and power supply technology supporting, reactive magnetron sputtering
Paolo Raugei Deposition Technology Innovations, Jeffersonville, IN For his key roles in championing a SVC strategic plan, as a founder of the SVC scholarship program and the SVC Foundation, for service on both boards of directors, and as Foundation Chair.

Below are the 2001-2015 Mentor Award Recipients (alphabetical)

Collin Alexander (1917-2014) Technical Enterprises Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his contributions to the development of early commercial optical coatings.
André Anders Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Mentor Award Recipient 2011 For his contributions to the field of plasma science and technology and his education of the vacuum coatings technical community through books, courses, and articles.
David Erik Aspnes North Carolina State University Mentor Award Recipient 2011 For his contributions to ellipsometry of thin films.
Charles A. Baer Charles A. Baer Associates Mentor Award Recipient 2007 For his numerous innovations in vacuum roll to roll, air-to-air, fiber, and particle coating technology at many companies, and for his mentoring activities both at home and overseas.
Ralf Bandorf Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST Mentor Award Recipient 2014 For his remarkable development of the High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS) process at an industrial scale and establishing the HIPIMS community in Europe and worldwide.
Hana Baránková Angstrom Laboratory, Uppsala University Mentor Award Recipient 2006 For the development of numerous novel plasma sources and her many efforts on behalf of the SVC.
Ladislav Bárdos Angstrom Laboratory, Uppsala University Mentor Award Recipient 2010 For his leading research in plasma processes and contributions to the technical program of the SVC.
Charles Bishop C.A. Bishop Consulting Ltd. Mentor Award Recipient 2008 For his contributions to web coating technology by sharing through books and publications much of what he has learned from the development of many web-based deposition processes and products.
Clark Bright 3M Company Mentor Award Recipient 2009 For his worldwide mentorship in transparent conductive coatings and for his leadership in the SVC at all levels.
Tony Broomfield General Vacuum Equipment (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2007 For his contributions to the roll coating industry through product and equipment development, especially vacuum metallized packaging, and to his sponsorship of roll coating technology within the SVC.
Adriana Creatore Eindhoven University of Technology Mentor Award Recipient 2014 For her pioneering work on "ultrathin" organic films for moisture permeation barriers.
Arutiun P. Ehiasarian Sheffield Hallam University Mentor Award Recipient 2012 For his technical contributions to the development and the industrialization of High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering.
Harold Gadon Providence Metallizing Company, Inc. (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2004 For his support of those new to vacuum coating technology, and his contributions to industry and the SVC.
Claes G. Granqvist Uppsala University, Sweden Mentor Award Recipient 2011 For his contributions to research and education in coating technologies that help enable displays, solar cells, and electrochromic windows.
Joe Greene University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne; Linköping University; National Taiwan University of Science and Technology Mentor Award Recipient 2015 For his seminal scientific and educational contributions to the evolving technologies of vacuum deposited coatings and thin film materials.
Albany Grubb ADG Associates, LLC Mentor Award Recipient 2002 For his role in the development and commercialization of large-scale planar and cylindrical magnetron sputtering.
Michael Hansen (1948–2000) Donnelly Corporation and Hansen Enterprises Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his years of leadership and support to the SVC as an effective means of promoting commercial uses of vacuum coating.
Bernard M. Henry (1965-2007) University of Oxford Mentor Award Recipient 2008 For his contributions using unconventional approaches to the manufacture and characterization of barrier and non-ITO transparent coatings through effective international collaboration between many international companies and his Oxford University research laboratory.
Russ Hill VON ARDENNE Coating Technology Mentor Award Recipient 2004 For his leadership in the technology and development of the industrial applications of large area coating technology including the training of others.
Richard A. Hoffman (1937–2001) Northwestern University Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For improving our understanding of the effects of ion bombardment during the growth of thin films.
Norbert Kaiser Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, Germany Mentor Award Recipient 2014 For his many contributions to optical coating technology and his continuing efforts to attract young professionals to this field of science.
Harold R. Kaufman (1926-2018) Kaufman & Robinson, Inc. Mentor Award Recipient 2010 For his research and innovation in ion gun technology.
Jolanta Klemberg-Sapieha École Polytechnique de Montréal Mentor Award Recipient 2009 For her contributions to tribological coating technology and strong leadership with the Tribological Coatings TAC.
George Lane (1935–2005) American Vacuum Process Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his early leadership and support of the SVC Education Program.
Rainer Ludwig Applied Films GmbH & Co. KG Mentor Award Recipient 2005 For his contributions to sputtering and electron beam coating, especially as it relates to web coating.
John Marcantonio Singulus Technologies, Inc. Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his leadership in helping the SVC evolve into a stronger international society
Peter Martin Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratory Mentor Award Recipient 2003 For his work in optical coating materials and processes and contributions to the technical programs of the SVC.
Ludvik Martinu École Polytechnique Mentor Award Recipient 2005 For contributions to the SVC by his leading research in the area of optical and functional coatings, his organization activity, and by his dedication to promote students' participation in the SVC community.
John Matteucci (1938–2000) Flex Products, Inc. Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his achievements in designing and building large-scale, commercially successful, optical multilayer evaporative and sputter coating machines.
Allan Matthews University of Sheffield Mentor Award Recipient 2015 For his contributions and broad technical leadership in the field of vacuum coatings, for strengthening the quality of the SVC technical program especially focusing on peer reviewed contributions, and his efforts in bringing academia and industry together.
Donald M. Mattox Sandia National Laboratories (retired) Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his development of the ion plating process and long-term commitment to education in the vacuum coating community.
Leon McCrary Denton Vacuum (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2006 For his contributions to the commercialization of large scale optical coating technology and his service to the SVC.
Carlo Misiano Romana Film Sottili SRL Mentor Award Recipient 2005 For his wide ranging contributions to all aspects of vacuum coating technology and for his many services to the community of vacuum users.
Dale E. Morton (1937-2018) Denton Vacuum, LLC (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2002 For his early development work on IR coatings and his pioneering of automated optical monitoring systems.
John O’Hanlon University of Arizona (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2007 For his book “A User's Guide to Vacuum Technology,” which guided and inspired many within the SVC and the entire vacuum technology community.
Doug Pelleymounter Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. Mentor Award Recipient 2009 For his outstanding mentorship to sputtering professionals through process design, applications engineering, and problem solving in real world applications.
Roger Phillips Flex Products, Inc. Mentor Award Recipient 2003 For his achievements in multilayer thin film optical anticounterfeiting devices.
Neil M. Poley (1934-2015) IBM Corporation (retired) Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For leading the SVC beyond the early decorative processes into other PVD disciplines.
Jim Seeser JDS Uniphase (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2006 For his contributions to the field of sputtering, particularly as applied to precision optics, and his leadership as a member of the SVC.
Syed Ismat Shah University of Delaware Mentor Award Recipient 2012 For his leadership of the SVC Education program and his effort in expanding it internationally through innovative uses of the internet.
Ric Shimshock MLD Technologies Mentor Award Recipient 2012 For his contributions to the SVC's efforts to develop relationships with other domestic and international society, and his dedication to the Experts Corner and informal networking to assist SVC Members.
William D. Sproul Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. Mentor Award Recipient 2003 For his contributions to high-rate reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering of hard and superhard coatings.
Richard Swisher Sheldahl, Inc. Mentor Award Recipient 2004 For willingly sharing his extensive and valuable experience in vacuum technology with others during his long involvement with the SVC.
Bernd Szyszka Technical University of Berlin and Fraunhofer Institute of Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST Mentor Award Recipient 2013 For his many contributions to the understanding and implementation of industrial scale reactive sputter deposition processes.
George Thompson Commonwealth Scientific (retired) Mentor Award Recipient 2008 For his leadership in the development and application of broad-beam ion sources.
John Thornton (1933–1987) University of Illinois Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his achievements in magnetron sputtering.
Roel Tietema Hauzer Techno Coating BV Mentor Award Recipient 2008 For his leadership in the development of the Decorative and Tribological Coatings TAC and for his contributions to multiple cathode closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering systems.
Ted Van Vorous (1929–2004) Vac-Tec Systems (retired) Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his achievements in the development and commercialization of planar magnetron sputtering.
John Vossen (1937–1995) David Sarnoff Research Center Inaugural Mentor Award Recipient For his achievements in thin film physics, his leadership of the SVC, and his commitment to education within the Society.
Kimo M. Welch Kimo Welch Consultants Mentor Award Recipient 2002 For his contributions to high vacuum pumping by cryopumping and for the education of vacuum technologists.
William D. Westwood Northern Electric/Bell Northern Research Mentor Award Recipient 2013 For his contributions to the development of mid-frequency dual-cathode sputtering.