Dave Castner, UW professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering, was recently elected president of the American Vacuum Society (AVS).

Castner will serve a three-year term. He will serve as president-elect in 2009, president in 2010 and immediate past-president in 2011.

"I am honored to be elected president of AVS for 2010," Castner said. "As president, one of my top priorities will be to ensure the annual AVS International Symposium is of the highest quality and vitality, delivering value to all AVS members in academia, industry and national laboratories."

AVS is a non-profit professional society of academic, government laboratory and industrial researchers that is focused on the science and technology of materials, interfaces and processing. For more information, visit the AVS Web site.

Castner is the director of the National ESCA and Surface Analysis Center for Biomedical Problems (NESAC/BIO). He joined the UW faculty in 1990 and has co-authored more than 150 refereed publications. He has an active research program in the areas of surface analysis, surface modification, biomaterials and organic thin films.