Bill Sproul Award

2024 Gregory Abadias

CNRS-Université de Poitiers, France

 For pioneering contributions to the fundamental understanding of intrinsic stress generation and evolution in thin films and coatings
2023 Paul Mayrhofer

Technische Universität Wien (TU Wien), Austria

 For seminal contributions to materials-science-based guidelines for improved thermal stability, strength and toughness of nitride and boride based thin films
2022 Diederik Depla

Ghent University, Belgium

 For his persistence to unravel the fundamental processes during reactive magnetron sputter deposition
2021 Daniel Gall

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), USA

 For seminal contributions to furthering the understanding of thin film growth of transition metal nitrides and their electronic, optical, mechanical, and tribological properties
2020 Jochen Schneider

RWTH Aachen University, Germany 

 For seminal contributions to the quantum mechanically guided design of coating materials