September 16, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier
Sydney has won a bid to host the 23rd International Vacuum Congress (IVC-23) in 2025, with the gathering expected to bring 1,300 delegates to Sydney over five days, generating $7.5 million in expenditure.
The event will spotlight Sydney’s expertise across the vacuum science sector, which takes in material science, nanotechnology, biotechnology and life science, including institutions like the $150 million Sydney Nanoscience Hub and the University of NSW’s Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology.
“The science and technology of vacuum has, over the last 80 plus years, been an enabler of many crucial modern technologies: without vacuum science and technology, most of the high-tech pieces of equipment and devices that we rely on today, such as computers, phones, televisions, electronics etc, would not be possible,” said Anton P.J. Stampfl, president of the Vacuum Society of Australia and senior instrument scientist at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), who led the bid for the meeting.
“We believe IVC-23 will be a real game changer in terms of bringing our community together.
“The congress takes a strong stance on inclusion and diversity and is seeking out balance within all its invited speakers and contributors and will make a special program for students in STEM,” he said.
BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith emphasised the opportunity the conference presented for Sydney.
“This event is the perfect opportunity to showcase Sydney’s frontier research in quantum science and nanophotonics,” she said.
“Business events are key to global talent attraction and IVC-23 will profile the laboratories and research facilities in the Sydney Nanoscience Hub which, in themselves, serve as a top recruitment and retention tool for the world’s best academic researchers.”
