The main purpose of the European Working Group for Glow Discharge Spectroscopy (EW-GDS) is to promote the development of GDS Technologies for both surface and bulk analysis of materials. The aim is to achieve this by information exchange, round robin tests and other related activities. It is expected that the EW-GDS will be influential in the establishment of standards (ISO and others) related to this field.
One of the main aims of EW-GDS is to promote liaison and cooperation between Industry and Academia. This can always be seen by the projects that are undertaken, with both manufacturers and universities gaining from the work, as do the commercial end-users, of course.
A natural by-product of this work is the development and knowledge of young scientists within the GDS field. The EW-GDS rewards the most promising young scientists with awards dedicated to the memory of Richard Payling and Professor Edward Steers, two very influential driving forces in the field. More details of these awards can be found elsewhere on this site