For 2026, the DVG is once again inviting applications for the Vacom Sustainability Award. Eligible applicants include graduates with bachelor’s, master’s, diploma, or doctoral theses that use vacuum-based technology to implement sustainable applications.
Award ceremony at the DVG Members’ Networking Day
The award ceremony will take place as part of the DVG Members’ Networking Day 2026 on June 23 and 24, 2026, at Bosch Manufacturing Solutions GmbH in Stuttgart. There, the award winners will have the opportunity to present their research in a 15-minute technical talk to an audience from academia and industry. The award thus serves not only as recognition but also as a platform for scientific exchange and for increasing the visibility of young talent within the vacuum community.
The award was established in 2022 by Vacom Vakuum Komponenten & Messtechnik GmbH and is endowed with €15,000, earmarked for research activities. It recognizes outstanding theses by early-career researchers who use vacuum-based technology to develop sustainable applications or enable circular processes. In doing so, the award combines two key objectives: promoting excellent scientific work and highlighting the contribution of modern vacuum technology to the sustainable transformation of industry and society.
A prize committee appointed by the DVG evaluates the submitted work and selects the winners. In addition to the monetary award, recipients receive a certificate and the opportunity to participate in a familiarization day at Vacom.
Sustainability requires vacuum technology
Vacuum technology is now indispensable in numerous future-oriented fields—from semiconductor manufacturing and energy technology to medical technology. At the same time, it plays a central role in the development of resource-efficient processes and materials.
The Vacom Sustainability Award honors qualification theses from disciplines such as vacuum physics and vacuum engineering, surface physics and engineering, thin films, the production and processing of electronic materials, nanostructure science, and quantum technology. A prerequisite is that the work demonstrates a clear link to sustainability or circular economy concepts—for example through energy-efficient processes, new materials, resource-efficient manufacturing, or contributions to future energy systems.
Previous award winners illustrate the thematic breadth of sustainable research in the field of vacuum technologies. The first award-winning works ranged from photocatalytic concepts for using sunlight in chemical reactions and simulations of plasma-assisted coating processes to improving the mechanical properties of physically deposited thin films. In subsequent years, the honored work has reflected key future topics: developments for hydrogen-related technologies, new approaches to the precise control of sputtering processes, and thin-film materials for energy storage. Fundamental studies on the physical properties of relevant materials also contribute to a better understanding of future energy and material systems.