DigiVac @ AVS NIST Meeting
DigiVac recently had the opportunity to bring some of our latest tools and experiments to the AVS conference at NIST. As with any AVS meeting, it was filled with science, students, and some seriously impressive facilities.
What We Brought
We set up with three of our key educational and technical tools:
- Catalyst Kit – Always a standout, appreciated for its mix of form and function with easy portability and extensive calibration/validation tools.
- Syrius Vacuum Controller – A crowd favorite, especially among educators.
- Balloon Bell Jar with SNAP – A fun, visual way to explain vacuum principles in real time.
Who We Talked To
The show floor was full of energy and brilliant minds. Some of the folks we chatted with included:
- Agilent – Always great discussions about instrumentation.
- Trillium, AllScientific, and Lesker – Great feedback and excitement, especially from the Lesker crew (one of their engineers was visibly thrilled to see the Syrius in the wild—even though they hadn’t worked on it directly).
- NIST scientists – Deep expertise and some really inspiring work.
- A whole lot of students – Engaged, curious, and working on seriously advanced topics like plasma colorimetry and sputter chambers.
What We Talked About
The Syrius as a Teaching Tool
The Syrius turned heads. People immediately saw its value as an educational tool, especially for teaching the fundamentals of vacuum systems to students and early-career researchers. The simple interface and visual feedback made it a hit with both students and instructors.
The Bell Jar Experiment
Our balloon-in-a-bell-jar demo, powered by the SNAP, was a surprise hit. It’s a simple yet powerful visual that showcases basic vacuum principles—and seeing a balloon expand in real-time as air pressure drops really made the concept “pop” (pun intended). Both professors and students loved it.
Catalyst Kit
The Catalyst Kit got some solid attention for its unique approach to demonstrating catalytic reactions in a compact, usable format. Great conversations around how it can be used for lab setups and student projects.
A Conversation That Stuck
One of the most unexpected and fascinating moments was talking to Jacob Ricker from NIST, who was part of the team that worked on protecting the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment at a DC museum. His work combines science and history in such a compelling way. We highly recommend looking this up, it’s super cool and a great show of what vacuum can do that most people wouldn’t think about!
The National Center for Neutron Research
One of the highlights was getting to tour the National Center for Neutron Research. While we didn’t get to see the massive reactor in action, we did explore their impressive setup for thermal and cold neutron beam instrumentation. NIST not only conducts research there but also opens its facilities to students and researchers who apply—something worth looking into if you’re doing neutron-based materials testing.
Final Thoughts
The AVS meeting at NIST wasn’t just a showcase. It was a powerful reminder of how important hands-on tools, good conversation, and a little creativity can be in the world of science and education. We’re walking away inspired, informed, and ready to keep innovating.
Until next time!
