Winners of the Medard M. Welch Award
The Medard W. Welch Award was established in 1969 to commemorate the pioneering efforts of M.W. Welch in the founding and support of the American Vacuum Society. Its purpose is to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental research in the fields of interest to the AVS. The Award consists of a cash award, currently $10,000, a solid gold medal struck with a profile of Mr. Welch on one side and the classic Magdeburg hemispheres scene on the other, a certificate and an honorary lectureship at the International Symposium Nominees must have accomplished outstanding theoretical or experimental research within the ten years preceding the year in which the award is given.
1970 Erwin W.
Mueller
“For work including the development of field electron and field ion
microscopy.”
1971 Gottfried K. Wehner
“For his pioneering work in the field of sputtering, which has profoundly
influenced many other scientists and engineers.”
1972 Kenneth C.D. Hickman
“For his contributions in the development of condensation pumps and their
working fluids and, in particular, for his discovery of the self-fractionating
principle which has made these pumps possible.”
1973 Lawrence A. Harris
“For his pioneering work in the field of Auger electron spectroscopy. Dr.
Harris was responsible for the key publication recognizing the potential of
Auger electron spectroscopy as a surface analytical tool which he developed
and demonstrated. His contribution has had far-reaching impact on the field of
surface science and related technical activities.”
1974 Homer D. Hagstrum
“For pioneering contributions to ultrahigh vacuum studies of solid surfaces,
especially the incorporation into a single vacuum chamber of multiple
experimental measurements on controlled, individual surfaces; the development
of an experimental technique to measure with high precision the energy
distribution of electrons ejected from surfaces by the neutralization of slow
ions; and the conversion of this technique into a spectroscopy of the electronic
structure of well-characterized solid surfaces by virtue of his elucidation of
the nature of the physical mechanism of this neutralization process.”
1975 Paul A.
Redhead
“In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the science of low
pressure measurement and his far-reaching research on the properties and
behavior or absorbed species.”
1976 Leslie Holland
“In recognition of his many important contributions to vacuum technology and
to thin film and surface sciences.”
1977 Charles B. Duke
“For far-reaching theoretical contributions to surface science and solid
state physics in the areas of low energy electron diffraction, electron
tunneling and the electronic structure of large organic molecules.”
1978 Georg H. Hass
“For techniques of preparation and characterization of thin films for
optical coatings of importance to solar energy, space technology, and
electro-optics.”
1979 Gert Ehrlich
“For contributions to our understanding of the microscopic force laws by
which atoms residing on solid surfaces interact with the substrate and with each
other.”
1980 No Award
1981 Harrison E. Farnsworth
“For his pioneering studies of the preparation, structural characterization,
and properties of atomically clean surfaces.”
1982 No Award
1983 H.H. Wieder
“For his contributions to growth of thin semiconductor single crystal films
and, most importantly, for research leading toward III-V MOS technology.”
1984 William E. Spicer
“For his contributions to the development and application of photoelectron
spectroscopy in the study of the electronic structure and chemical properties of
solids and their surfaces and interfaces.”
1985 Theodore E. Madey
“For his investigation of surface processes at a fundamental atomic and
molecular level, especially the determination of absorbed molecule bonding
geometries.”
1986 Harald Ibach
“For the development of high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy
and its applications to the characterization of surfaces and absorbates.”
1987 Mark J. Cardillo
“For his innovative and pioneering research on the interaction of molecular
beams with surfaces.”
1988 Peter Sigmund
“For theoretical contributions to the field of physical sputtering and
related phenomena.”
1989 Robert Gomer
“For pioneering contributions to surface science, including definitive
studies on the theory and application of field emission, chemisorption, and
desorption phenomena.”
1990 Jerry M. Woodall
“For seminal contributions to compound semiconductor science and
technology.”
1991 Max G. Lagally
“For outstanding contributions to the quantitative understanding of defects
with respect to ordering and growth of surface structures.”
1992 Ernst Bauer
“For his contributions to the fundamental understanding of thin film
nucleation and growth and for his invention, development, and use of multiple
surface characterization techniques to study those thin films.”
1993 George Comsa
“For seminal discoveries and investigations in vacuum
and surface science, in particular the extensive development of thermal-energy
atom scattering for the structural analysis of surfaces.”
1994 John T. Yates, Jr.
“For the development and use of modern measurement methods to provide
insights into the behavior of chemisorbed species on metal and semiconductor
surfaces.”
1995 Gerhard Ertl
“For excellence in the use of modern methods for developing key concepts important in surface chemistry.”
1996 Peter J. Fiebelman
"For his insightful predictions and explanation of surface phenomena based on first principles calculations."
1997 Phaedon Avouris
"For his seminal contributions to the understanding of the chemistry of semiconductor surfaces and for his development of the STM as a tool for probing and inducing surface chemical reactions with atomic scale resolution and control."
"For novel applications and creative development of optical methods and effects for research on thin films, surfaces and interfaces which have significantly advanced the understanding of electronic materials and processes."
1999 John H. Weaver
"For his seminal contributions to the atomic-level understanding of thin film growth, interfacial interactions, and etching."
2000 D. Phillip Woodruff
"For contributions to the understanding of the geometric properties of clean and adsorbate-decorated surfaces, and for innovative development of surface science techniques."
2001 Ward Plummer
“For the development of novel instrumentation, its use to illuminate new concepts in the surface physics of metals, and the mentoring of promising young scientists.”
2002 Buddy D. Ratner
“For innovative research on biomaterial interfaces and establishing the field of biomaterials surface science.”
2003 Matthias Scheffler
“For developing Density Functional Theory methods to describe surface chemical reactions and enabling their widespread use.”