Ralf Bandorf - Head of Group Sensoric Functional Coatings, Fraunhofer IST, Braunschweig, Germany
Area of Expertise: Focus on highly ionized pulse plasma processes (HIPP processes) like HiPIMS and MPP,
additionally Gas Flow Sputtering, PACVD, reactive deposition, plasma characterization (OES, RFA) sputter strain gauges, magnetic films, electrical films, and MAX-Coatings.
E-mail: ralf.bandorf@ist.fraunhofer.de

Ralf Bandorf received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2002 from Fraunhofer IST / Carolo-Wilhelmina Technical University Braunschweig, Germany.  Ralf continued at Fraunhofer IST as a scientist, specifically as Project leader in Group Micro and Sensor Technology with a Focus on PVD and PACVD coatings.  Since 2007, he has worked as Head of Group Sensoric Functional Coatings at Fraunhofer IST, with a focus on highly ionized pulse plasma processes (HIPP processes) like HiPIMS and MPP, additionally Gas Flow Sputtering, PACVD, reactive deposition, plasma characterization (OES, RFA) sputter strain gauges, magnetic films, electrical films, and MAX-Coatings.

In addition to his work at Fraunhofer IST, Ralf is Action Chair of COST Action MP0804: Highly ionized pulse plasma processes (HIPP processes, 2009-2013, www.hipp-cost.eu). He is the Chair of the HIPIMS Sessions at ICMCTF and SVC TechCon, and Conference Chairman of the International Conference on Fundamentals and Industrial Applications of HIPIMS (www.inplas.de/hipims).

Adriana Creatore - Associate Professor and Sustainable Energy Technology Fellow in Solar Energy at the Applied Physics Department, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Area of Expertise:  Plasma Processing Technology
E-mail: M.Creatore@tue.nl
 

Adriana Creatore is Associate Professor and Sustainable Energy Technology Fellow in Solar Energy at the Applied Physics department of the Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. She received her M.Sc. in Chemistry and PhD degree in Chemical Sciences from the University of Bari (Italy) in 1997 and 2001, respectively. Her work covers the field of low pressure and atmospheric pressure plasma deposition of thin organic and inorganic films, complemented by fundamental studies of plasma-polymer surface interaction and inorganic/organic interphase generation and amorphous and crystalline thin film growth by means of in situ real time surface diagnostics for a wide variety of applications such as solar cells, flexible electronics and functional (optical and tribological) coatings. She is the chair (since 2009) of the Plasma Processing TAC and she leads the Technology Forum Breakfast on the topic of “Gas/moisture Permeation Barrier Layers” since the SVC TechCon 2008.  She is also chair for the SVC Young Members Group.

Arutiun P. Ehiasarian, Professor at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, is a pioneer of industrial high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) technology. HIPIMS book chapter author, SVC short course instructor, and session organizer, Arutiun is a founding member and chair of the International Conference on HIPIMS, receiving many awards, including the AVS's Peter Mark Award and the Hüttinger Industrial Accolade.

Dale Morton - Process R&D Manager, Denton Vacuum, LLC (retired)
Area of Expertise:  Design, Production and Characterization of Thin Film Optical Coatings
E-mail: dmorton@dentonvacuum.com

Dale Morton has 36 years of experience designing, producing and characterizing thin-film optical coatings. His last job prior to retiring was as Process R&D Manager at Denton Vacuum, LLC. Dale was responsible for customer-specific process implementation and overseeing all corporate research in ion source technology and in situ optical monitoring. Dale has played a significant role in the development of optical thin film course materials for the Society of Vacuum Coaters and has published extensively in the field. He has a BSc in Ed. and MEdu. from Ohio State University.

Summary of Research Experience
Dale's early research work concentrated on the nucleation and growth of vacuum deposited thin films (1967–1972) at General Dynamic, Pomona. While at Texas Instruments in Dallas (1972-1987) he was involved in developing computational techniques for characterizing optical thin films, he designed and supervised optical coatings for the multi-spectral spectrophotometer included on the Voyager spacecrafts, and developed an automated thin-film optical coating system for optical coatings. He also developed filter production processes for Optic Electronic Corp’s Optical Improvement Program (1987-1994). His last employment include continuing work on optical thin film monitoring and ion assisted deposition of optical thin films.

Paolo Raugei - Executive Vice President, Galileo Vacuum Systems, Inc.
Area of Expertise:  Web Coating
E-mail: praugei@att.net

Paolo Raugei’s involvement in the Society dates back to 1989. His has served as Chair of the Web TAC, in the SVC Board of Directors (six years) and has been one of the founders of the original SVC Scholarship program and the SVC Foundation. He is currently the Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the SVC Foundation. He is looking forward to supporting young SVC members who wish to get involved in our industry and the Society.

Ric P. Shimshock - Program Manager, MLD Technologies, LLC
Area of Expertise:  PVD and CVD Deposition Technologies and Precision Metrology -including Thermal Evaporation E- Beam, Magnetron Sputtering, Ion Beam Sputtering, LPCVD, PECVD and ALD for Optical Coating Applications
E-mail: rshimshock@mldtech.com

Ric is currently serving as Co-Chair of the SVC International Relations Committee and has served as Chair of a number of SVC Committees including Program Chair of the 2006 and 2007 TechCons, Publications and the Web. He was also elected to and has served on the SVC Board of Directors. As an Industrial Researcher, he has supported initiatives in both the Large Scale Commercial Coating Markets and Precision Coating for Custom Applications.

Volker Sittinger - Senior Scientist, Fraunhofer IST, Braunschweig, Germany
Area of Expertise:  Thin Film Photovoltaics
E-mail: volker.sittinger@ist.fraunhofer.de

Volker Sittinger is Head of Group Large Area Electronics at Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films (IST). He works on magnetron sputtering for photovoltaic and electronic applications. Formerly he was a scientific assistant at the Institute of Solar Energy Research GmbH (ISFH) at the branch office in Hannover. He received his doctoral degree in optical and electrical characterisation of electrodeposited CuInSe₂ solar cells from the University of Oldenburg in 2003 and studied physics at the University of Karlsruhe.

Scott Walton - Plasma Physics Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Area of Expertise:  Plasma Production and Plasma Processing
E-mail: scott.walton@svc.org

Scott Walton is a member of the SVC Board of Directors. Since joining the SVC, he has served on both the Technical Conference Program Committee (he is currently Assistant Program Chair) and the Plasma Processing Technical Advisory Committee, serving as chair for four years. He also serves on the Strategic Planning and Education Committees and was a member of the SVC’s 50th Anniversary Committee. He is a staff member in the Plasma Physics Division at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC, where he manages several research programs investigating various topics related to plasma production and plasma processing. He has over 50 publications, numerous conference presentations and several received and pending patents.

Frank has been active in the thin film community for over 25 years and a member of the SVC since 1991. As the current President of the SVC, Frank has served over eight years as a SVC Board member and is also the chair of the SVC's Strategic Planning Committee. Currently employed by Angstrom Sciences, a leading manufacturer of sputtering cathodes, Frank is responsible for developing new markets and applications along with improving internal business methods. Prior to joining Angstrom Sciences Frank served as VP-Operations of Reactive NanoTechnologies after a long career with Denton Vacuum (17 years with the last five serving as President-CEO).