Aspnes Set to Be Next President of AVS

David Aspnes is the AVS Science and Technology Society’s president-elect for 2004. Aspnes, who will become president of the society in January 2005, succeeded Robert Childs, who is president effective this month (see Physics Today, January 2003, page 61 ).

Aspnes received his BS in 1960 and his MS in 1961, both in electrical engineering, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his PhD in physics in 1965 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and spent the next two years doing postdoctoral research at Illinois and at Brown University.

In 1967, he became a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories (now Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs) in Murray Hill, New Jersey, where he spent the next 17 years. Aspnes then moved to Bellcore, an R&D and telecommunications company in Piscataway, New Jersey, in 1983. There, he managed the interface physics department and later headed the optical physics department, before joining North Carolina State University (NCSU) faculty in 1992. Also a member of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America, he is currently a Distinguished University Professor of Physics and head of the real-time diagnostics and control Group at NCSU. His research spans a broad spectrum of subjects, including semiconductor and surface physics and optical spectroscopy.

When asked about his vision for AVS, Aspnes said, “AVS and its members have a more than 50-year history of identifying relevant technologies and expediting their implementation through a unique mix of science and technology. I will work toward promoting these interactions by encouraging volunteer participation, particularly by younger members, and by strengthening relationships with the international community and with sister organizations such as the APS.”

In other AVS election results, Joseph Greene (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) retains his position as secretary and John Coburn (University of California, Berkeley) remains the society’s treasurer. Also taking office this month are two new AVS directors: Neal Shinn (Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico) and Anne Testoni (Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc in Gloucester, Massachusetts). Fred Dylla (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia) and Paula Grunthaner (NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech) are AVS’s new trustees.