To IUVSTA Councillors, Officers, Committee Chairs, Division Chairs

April 8, 2002

The next Executive Council Meeting, ECM-91, and associated meetings will be held at the Smolenice Castle, Slovakia, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 13-15, 2002 just before the 12^th International Conference on Thin Films (ICTF-12) which begins on Monday, September 16 in Bratislava. Information on the ECM location can be obtained from the web site: http://www.elf.stuba.sk/~rredham/ECM91/index.html
and information on ICTF-12 from http://www.ictf12.savba.sk.

Smolenice village is located 60 km Northeast of Bratislava. The present-day castle was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century and, since 1953, it has been the Congress Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Smolenice is accessible from Bratislava by car or bus. The Slovak Vacuum Society can arrange bus or car assistance for ECM attendees individually according to requirements and actual arrival connection to Bratislava or Vienna. The price for this car or bus service will be also reasonable, depending on the actual situation. You should contact Robert Redhammer (rredham@elf.stuba.sk) to make arrangements.

The nearest international airports are Bratislava and Vienna. Bratislava airport is 20 min from the center of the city and is well served by local bus transport. Vienna airport is 50 km from Bratislava; the trip usually takes 50 minutes by regular bus, including passport control at the Austria-Slovak border. The bus timetable is attached. Bratislava is also easily accessible by train.  

The committee meetings will be held on Friday and Saturday with the ECM on Sunday morning. The preliminary meeting schedule is attached.  The ECM 91 agenda will be distributed later. The Slovak Vacuum Society will host a dinner on Saturday evening for attendees. Other attractions are also available for attendees or companions; these are listed on the web site http://www.elf.stuba.sk/~rredham/ECM91/index.html

 Please do the following:
1) Inform me by e-mail whether you plan to attend ECM-91 or not.

2) COMPLETE A PROXY FORM EVEN IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND but have not already provided a proxy for the triennium. Note that the following countries have already provided proxies for the triennium: Belgium, France, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and USA. The proxies are, of course, invalid if the Councillor or Alternate Councillor is at the ECM. I have attached a blank Proxy form. You may specify up to 3 proxies, in order of preference. I suggest that one of the officers be one of these proxies since they are most likely to attend. The proxy forms should be send to the President; please also send me an e-mail to inform me a) that you have sent a proxy form and b) the names of the proxy holders.

3) make your HOTEL reservation . Accommodation is in the castle or buildings round the castle quad. The majority of the rooms are single and double, but large rooms and apartments are also available. The cost for one person per day is approx. 70 Euro; this includes room, full board, and taxes. Reservations should be made with Mrs. Matusikova, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Ilkovicova 3, 812 19 Bratislava, I will send you an e-mail address later, or you can contact Robert Redhammer (rredham@elf.stuba.sk).

For your forward planning, ECM-92 will be held in Beijing on March 23, 2003 with the committee meetings and the triennial Highlights Seminars on March 20-23. Invitations from member societies to host ECM-93 in September, 2003 should be sent to me by September 6, 2002 so that a decision can be made at ECM-91. Invitations to host ECM-94 in early February, 2004 should be sent to me before March 14, 2003.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need more information.

Sincerely,

William D. Westwood