News from VS15, Harwell Campus, 16–17 June 2026
The 15th Vacuum Symposium (VS15) was held over two days at the Harwell Campus, principally at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Visitor Centre and Diamond House. The event once again brought together researchers, engineers, students and industrial practitioners to promote vacuum science and technology through a technical meeting, a comprehensive programme of vacuum training courses, the presentation of the Harry Leck Memorial Medal, a poster competition, technical tours and a major exhibition of vacuum-related products and services.
The technical meeting, Quantum Enabled Vacuum, featured an excellent programme of presentations exploring the role of vacuum technology in enabling emerging quantum technologies. The sessions were well attended throughout and stimulated lively discussion between speakers and delegates, reinforcing the Symposium’s role as an important forum for scientific and technical exchange.
The eight Vacuum Technology Training Courses again formed the cornerstone of VS15. Around 180 delegates attended the Symposium, with well over 120 participating in the training programme and collectively enrolling on more than 400 individual course modules—representing a significant increase over the previous year. Demand was strong across the full range of courses, demonstrating the continuing need for high-quality, practical vacuum education and confirming the Vacuum Symposium as the UK’s leading provider of practitioner-level vacuum training.
The 2026 Harry Leck Memorial Medal was awarded to Professor Mark Baker of the University of Surrey in recognition of his outstanding contribution to vacuum science and technology. Pictured right is Mark holding the 2026 Medal received from Robin Hathaway, VS Committee Chair (R). During the Symposium Reception, delegates also enjoyed an engaging keynote presentation from Mark Burrows, Head of Business Incubation at UK Research and Innovation, who highlighted opportunities for collaboration between UK research organisations and industry.
The VS15 Poster Prize was awarded to George Miller (STFC Daresbury Laboratory) for his outstanding poster presentation. The photograph is George (L) receiving his certificate from Raj Das, representing both the award sponsor, Leybold Vacuum, and the Vacuum Symposium Committee.
The Harwell Campus provided an excellent setting for the event, enabling delegates to take part in guided tours of four world-class facilities: Diamond Light Source, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, the Space Cluster and the Central Laser Facility. These visits were extremely well received and showcased the breadth of world-leading science and engineering undertaken on the campus.
The co-located exhibition, organised by Nu-Tech Associates, featured 47 exhibitors representing the vacuum industry. The exhibition was busy throughout, attracting both Symposium delegates and a large number of visitors from across the Harwell Campus, creating valuable opportunities for networking and collaboration between academia, research organisations and industry.
Planning is already underway for the 16th Vacuum Symposium, which is expected to return to Daresbury Laboratory in 2027. We look forward to welcoming our sponsors and supporters once again for another successful event.
