Message from the 2011 Chair -
Vincent Smentkowski

I wanted to start my appointment as the 2011 ASSD chair by posting a message to our division outlining the ASSD 2011 strategy; many of these items are continuations of the objectives initiated in 2010 under the leadership of Ian Gilmore. I also want to use this opportunity to thank 2010 chair Ian Gilmore, 2010 past chair Lucille Giannuzzi and 2008-2010 member-at-large Brian Holloway for their contributions towards improving ASSD. I am certain that Ian, Lucille and Brian will continue to provide guidance and remain a critical part of ASSD. I am also excited to announce that a new ASSD web page will be posted early in 2011 – we plan to update the web page frequently so check the ASSD web page frequently! I would like to thank Amy Walker for redesigning the ASSD web page.

The ASSD of AVS formed in 1985; the mission was (and still is) "to provide a forum for research and education in the preparation, characterization, modification, and utilization of surfaces and interfaces in practical applications". From the above description, it is clear that ASSD encompasses many fields of research. The ASSD continues to be a very strong division, and is poised for excellence and continued growth. In 2011, ASSD would like to:

  • Increase membership – especially students and post-docs by further promoting student awards and providing more travel support to students,
  • Promote the opportunities and benefits of ASSD,
  • Increase revenue/decreasing expenses,
  • Bring in new ideas,
  • Attract new scientists to serve on the ASSD Executive Committee (EC),
  • Strengthen ASSD sponsored symposia: Surface Analysis XX, and Quantitative Surface Analysis.

Over the past few years, core attendance at ASSD symposia offered at the AVS International Symposium and Exhibition has been from researchers who are specialist in their technique(s); researchers interested in sector based talks often attended other symposia. Our core ASSD sessions at future AVS international symposia will therefore focus on techniques, however we will serve our sector based clients by co-sponsoring relevant Focus Topic symposia.

To facilitate the above objectives, ASSD will circulate a questionnaire early in Jan 2011 to get feedback from you, the ASSD membership. Please take the time to honestly fill out the survey as this will give us a better idea as to what we should be doing different to achieve our goals. Remember the main objective of ASSD is to serve the needs of our current and future members – YOU. ASSD remains healthy and vibrant however we do want/need to grow and attract new people with new ideas. We also want to be certain that the ASSD is active in devising best practices, reference data, tutorials, and instructional materials in the area of applied surface science.

An important benefit of ASSD is that our community works as a team to help each other. People working as an analyst in an industrial setting do not have many (if any) colleagues which know as much about an analytical technique as they do. For new hires, especially for those starting right out of school, this is a drastic change since in an academic setting they have many colleagues they can talk to about a technique including their research advisor. Being involved in ASSD increases the number of people who understand techniques – and you can "bounce" ideas off of them. The AVS annual symposium and exhibition continues to be a key part of my professional development. The meeting gives me an opportunity to have candid discussions with others working in various fields of science and technology. Many of my successful scientific collaborations (including the collaboration I have in place with Sandia National Laboratories in order to perform MVSA of ToF-SIMS data sets) originated from discussions at past AVS International Symposia. Many AVS researchers mentored me during my professional development, and I strongly encourage everyone (especially students and post-docs that are entering the workplace) to seek a senior AVS member which can serve as their mentor.

I look forward to serving ASSD in the coming year by working with both the EC and the division members to implement the objectives listed above and to devise very strong ASSD programs for future AVS International Symposia.

Please contact me (or other ASSD Executive Committee members) directly if you wish to participate in ASSD activities, share ideas, offer suggestions, or voice concerns.

Sincerely,

Vincent Smentkowski
Surface Analyst/Chemist
General Electric Global Research Center
Chemical Technologies & Materials Characterization
T +1 518 387 5467
smentkow@ge.com
www.edisonsdesk.com

A printable version of this message can be found here.