Florida Chapter

In 1971, the South East RAG was formed and covered Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. The Florida Chapter, which covered both Florida and Georgia, was formed in 1971.

Chapter Chairs were:

History of the Florida Chapter of the AVS

(1970-2002)

by

James Lyn Provo

The Florida Chapter of the American Vacuum Society had its beginning 32 years ago in 1970, when the founding father, C.R.”Claude” Winkelman transferred from the Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Neutron Devices Department of the General Electric Company in Largo, Florida. The Florida Chapter began as an off-shoot of the very successful New Mexico Chapter of the AVS with the help of L.C. Beavis and at the time represented the Southeastern Region of the United States. The founding Officers included C.R. Winkelman as the first Chair, C.C. Eichman as Vice-Chair, D.R. Lewis as Secretary/ Treasurer, and Committee members P.W. Barnes, W.C. Brown, B. C. Goode, D.M. Holloway, J.L. Provo, and E.J. Rice. Other founding members include D.H. Ahmann, L.C. Beavis, J.C. Carter, R.A. Kubach, N.H. Parsons, and H.C. Starling, All except D. R. Lewis who was from the Varian/ Vacuum Division and L.C. Beavis from the Sandia National Laboratories, were from the General Electric Company.

The first two day Symposium on “Applied Vacuum Science and Technology”, was held in February, 1972, at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida, and included Sessions on “Thin Films and Semiconductor Technology”, “General Vacuum Technology”, “Surface Science”, and “Analytical Techniques”. The Symposium was supported by 9 Vendors at a table top show and a Short Course on Vacuum Technology taught by Ron Outlaw. The AVS BoD also held its winter meeting at this Symposium.

During the Chapter’s first four Symposiums, its Symposium Topics remained the same. Chapter activities were financed by its Vendor supporters through payment for a business card printed in the Chapter Newsletter edited by J.L. Provo, and by income from short courses given at each year’s Symposium. The Symposium site was changed to the International Inn in Tampa , Florida, for 1973 and 1974, and to the Host Airport Hotel at the Tampa International Airport in 1975.

In 1976, when J.L. Provo was Chair, and the energy crisis was upon us, the format of the Symposium was changed to include two additional sessions on Energy Research and Development, and the Symposium was extended from 2 to 3 days. The technical symposium remained at three days until 1997 when it was reduced to two days, where it has remained to date. Also in 1976, the United States Energy Research and Development Administration (USERDA), which later became the U.S. Department of Energy(USDOE), became a co-sponsor of the Symposium, which continued for19 years until the closing of the Pinellas Plant of DOE in 1995.Another tradition for the Symposium was a keynote speaker, as well as an address by the current President of the AVS. In 1978 a special Evening Program for Vendor presentations was added, and in 1979 the Symposium site was changed to the Holiday Inn- Airport, in Tampa, Florida, where it remained through 1982. The format with Energy Session Topics remained in effect through 1980 and again in 1982. In 1982, a Session on Electronic Materials and Processing was added. The energy sessions were dropped in the mid 90’s with the decline of the energy crisis.

In 1983, the symposium site was changed to “the beach” at the Holiday Inn Surfside, in Clearwater Beach, Florida. In 1984, the Symposium site was changed again to the Sheraton-Sand Key Resort on Clearwater Beach, Florida, where it remained for the next 11 years, through 1995. In 1997, the Symposium location was moved to Orlando, with strong support from Bell Labs personnel, and faculty from the Universities of Florida, Central Florida, and South Florida. The Symposium was held in mid February until 1999, when it was changed to March to coincide with spring break on the University of Central Florida campus, where the meeting was held.

In 1984, Florida Chapter began a special Student Session, coordinated by N.H. Parsons, where students from Universities and Colleges in Florida and the Southeast were encouraged to present Poster Papers, initially supported by a 5-minute talk. All student expenses were paid and the student with the best paper was given an all expense paid trip to that year’s AVS National Symposium. This idea was very successful and popular with the students and has been copied by other AVS Chapters. Another innovation of the Florida Chapter was the awarding of door prizes at the Vendor Exhibit, based on a random drawing of a form signed by 3 Vendors. In the 80’s, the Florida Chapter also helped to start the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the AVS by preparing a description on how to start a Chapter, with examples of documents that were used to solicit Vendor support, invite speakers to Symposia, Short Course instructors, etc.

Over the years, the Vendors have been the mainstay support for the Florida Chapter and the Symposium, starting with 9 in1972 and reaching a high of 93 in 1992. For 18 years prior to 1996, an average of 63 Vendors participated in our Symposium each year. To encourage communication, a list of Symposium attendees was sent to each Vendor every year. Short Courses also supported the Symposium, and 2 or 3 were typically offered each year, with registration fees kept as low as possible. In 1995, 6 AVS National Short Courses were offered for the first time. An offering of National AVS short courses is now a regular part of the meeting. A highlight of many Symposia was the Social Mixer and Luau held each year. Between 1991 and 1998, J.L. Provo introduced a 5k Run at the Symposium which proved popular. The Florida Chapter Annual Symposium proved to be a popular host for many National AVS Board of Directors meetings, along with National AVS Division and Committee meetings. Three meetings of the International Union for Vacuum Science Technique and Applications (IUVSTA) Executive Council were also held at this Symposium.

Besides the annual Symposium, the Florida Chapter held local meetings, usually monthly, except during the summer months. Many well known speakers were invited to present talks on either technical or general interest subjects. These meetings and dinners, which were underwritten by the Chapter, became an anticipated social event by most participants.

No Symposium was held in 1994, due to the fact that the 40^th AVS National Symposium was held in Orlando, Florida, in early November, 1993. A.O. Fuente, Jr. and J.L. Provo were co-Local Arrangement Chairs and many Florida Chapter members supported their team.

In 1995, the Pinellas Plant of DOE closed its doors and many of the key leaders of the Florida Chapter based in the Tampa Bay area retired, changed employers and/or moved to other locations. In 1996, the 24^th Florida Chapter Symposium moved to Orlando, Florida and was held at the Sheraton World Resort. Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies became a co-sponsor, and provided leadership personnel in addition to the University of Florida. The 25^th Annual Symposium of the Florida Chapter was also held at the Sheraton World Resort in Orlando, Florida, in February, 1997.

Since 1998, the Florida Chapter Symposium has been held, at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando. The Florida Chapter of AVS and the Florida Society for Microscopy have co- sponsored the meeting since 1998. The format remains two days and a highlight is the Student Poster Paper session, which averaged 42 papers over the last three years. The topics for the other sessions have been expanded to include Microscopy, Focused Ion Beams, Optical Materials, Nanotechnology, and Biomaterials to accommodate changes in the foci of technology interests. For 2001, the meeting was expanded to three days to add Surface Analysis 2001 to the Florida Chapter of the AVS and the Florida Society of Microscopy Symposium. Tremendous support by our Vendors and the Short Course program has continued, and since 1999 no registration fee has been charged for attendance to the Symposium.

After 32 years, the Florida Chapter of the AVS – The Science and Technology Society remains an active and vibrant part of the National AVS. Several of its members have been active in National AVS activities and have represented the Florida Chapter well as National Officers, including President and Directors, Division Chairs, Committee Chairs and Members, Newsletter Editor, and Trustees.

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