AVS International Symposium 2026

The AVS International Symposium and Exhibition is the annual weeklong meeting of AVS, the American Vacuum Society, covering vacuum technology, thin films, plasma science, surfaces and interfaces for researchers from industry, government labs and academia, with an equipment and vendor exhibition.

AVS International Symposium 2026

AVS International Symposium runs November 8–13, 2026 at David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh.

What it is

The AVS International Symposium and Exhibition is the weeklong annual meeting of AVS (the American Vacuum Society). The society describes it as a platform for advances in atomic-scale processing, characterization, measurement and simulation of materials, surfaces, interfaces and devices. Attendees come from industry, government labs and academia.

Research areas include vacuum technology, thin films, plasma science, microelectronic devices, quantum computing, 2D materials, nanostructures and biomaterials. An exhibition of equipment, tools, materials, chemicals, services and technical literature runs alongside the technical program.

The program chair for this year's meeting, AVS 72, is Mark Losego of Georgia Tech. The plenary speaker is Dr. Akihisa (Aki) Sekiguchi of Tokyo Electron. Presentations come from over 25 AVS divisions, technical groups, focus topics and mini-symposia.

The week

• Sunday: special workshops and plenary sessions on quantum sciences, biomaterials interfaces, and nanoscale science and technology.
• Monday: plenary session at 8:30 a.m. Oral sessions then run in nine parallel sessions until noon Friday, with a welcome mixer that evening.
• Wednesday evening: tutorials. Thursday evening: poster session.

Exhibit hours

• Tuesday, November 10: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 11: 10:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
• Thursday, November 12: 10:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (the exhibit closes early on its last day)

All symposium registrants can visit the exhibit. Professionals and students in the covered fields can also pre-register for the exhibition alone for free.

Registration and hotels

• Registration comes as full-week, one- or two-day, and exhibits-only options. AVS Platinum members get a discounted rate on full-week registration.
• The early registration deadline is October 5, 2026, and the housing deadline is September 30, 2026.
• Attendees must both book a room and register for the conference. Maritz is the official housing provider, with room blocks at the Westin Pittsburgh and the Omni William Penn Hotel.