The Western PA region has vibrant interest in vacuum technology, and the local AVS chapter is invested in helping high technology progress in our area. We sponsor dinner / poster sessions with prizes, high school student and teacher prizes, and short courses for professionals in the industry. Please contact us to get involved with other interested local members. Please also let us know if you would be interested in a short course on a vacuum-related topic.
Pittsburgh's immediate region houses two campuses (Pitt and CMU) with nanotechnology fabrication and analysis centers.
State College houses the Penn State main campus with a very strong material science and vacuum component, to the north of Pittsburgh.
To the south of Pittsburgh are Washington & Jefferson College's school of Physics and the main campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, again with strong interests in the physics and engineering aspects of vacuum deposition, plasmas, and nano and micro devices.
You can email us through the national AVS; or to the local W. PA chapter Chair Evan Sawyer, at
evan_sawyer@avs.org.