SVCF NEWS

In 2009, AIMCAL and the SVC, with support from many donors, established The Bernard Henry AIMCAL-SVC Scholarship Fund to honor the memory of Bernard Henry who died in 2007 at the age of 42.

Bernard worked on high performance cements and then on textured superconducting materials, but the major contributions for which he will be remembered as a scientist really started with his work on flexible gas barrier materials.  From 2000, he began work on polymer solar cells with special interest in transparent conducting materials like TiO₂ and ZnO. Bernard also maintained a very active interest in the thin film barrier field and in 2006 became project manager for the production-scale web coater facility at Oxford University Materials Department.  While at Oxford Materials Department, Bernard combined his long-standing interest in the science of thin films with the development of new commercial materials.

Bernard was a contributor to both the SVC and AIMCAL, the latter of which had a deep interest in his research into barrier technology.  Bernard and Wolfgang Decker coauthored a paper on “Basic Principals of Barrier Technology” that won the inaugural John Matteucci Award in 2006 from AIMCAL.

He was an avid runner, cricket coach and mentor to the Wolfson College Boat Club.  Wolfgang Decker recalls Bernard as “very health conscious – avoiding red meat and alcohol.  In fact, during the Whisky Tastings organized by John Reading, another active member of both SVC and AIMCAL Bernard always participated, but with his nose only (we used to “fight” over who could devour his sample).”

With Bernard’s passing, AIMCAL wondered how best to honor his memory and contributions to the Association.  The idea of a sponsored scholarship was born, and since AIMCAL did not have its own scholarship structure in place they reached out to the SVC to see whether a joint scholarship, managed by the SVC Foundation, could be established.

Apply today to be considered for the 2025 Academic Scholarships from the SVC Foundation