Co-hosted with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), IUVA gathered a diverse and global group for their event, Advancing UV Germicidal Efficacy Measurement: Metrology, Standards, Data and Protocols. The workshop, which took place March 18-20, 2025 in Washington, DC, was designed to improve measurement and standardization of GUV efficacy for air and surface disinfection. Eighty attendees participated in the highly interactive event, which cumulated in a presentation of ideas and initiatives to clarify technical needs and improve public communication around GUV. A summary of the workshop was published in UV Solutions magazine.

ICFUST 2025

The third annual International Congress on Far-UV Science and Technology (ICFUST) took place June 15-18, 2025 in Boulder, CO. The event boasted an incredible lineup of invited speakers and dozens of presentations expressing the state of the art in research and applications of Far-UVC for protection of public health. In addition, several exciting networking events showcasing the best of Boulder were scheduled around the technical program for attendees to catch up with colleagues, old and new.

2025 IUVA Asian Pacific Regional Symposium

This symposium, which took place July 7-8, 2025 at the National University of Singapore, served as a pivotal platform for the presentation and discussion of cutting-edge UV technology developments and applications. Attendees had the valuable opportunity to network with academics, scientists, engineers and industry peers across the Asian Pacific region, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in the field of UV technology.

IUVA 2025 World Congress

The premier event of the year, the IUVA 2025 World Congress, took place September 7-10, 2025 in Lisbon, Portugal. This record-breaking event brought together more than 200 participants from over 25 countries, marking a milestone gathering for the global UV community. 

The three-day Congress featured over 100 presentations from leading researchers, manufacturers, and industry leaders. Discussions spanned new technologies and the latest innovations advancing ultraviolet disinfection for water, air, surfaces, and food safety. A summary of the successful congress can be found here.  

AWARDS

IUVA Achievement Awards

Presented at the World Congress in Portugal, the 2025 IUVA Achievement Awards recognized those members making significant contributions to the advancement of GUV and to the IUVA community. 

Student Travel Awards

After a competitive review process, the IUVA Young Professionals (YP) group presented the student travel awards to Eman Zuhair Alhamdan (Clemson University) and to Amin Hadizade (Western University). These awards support the professional development of student members and build valuable connections between YPs in the broader IUVA community.

Jim Bolton Award for Outstanding Student Presentation

Named in honor of the late Jim Bolton, the "grandfather” of UV disinfection research, this prize is awarded to students with exceptional conference talks and decided by a panel of judges. First place prize was awarded to Karlye Wong (University of Toronto) and second place prize to Ricardo Jorge Nunes Santos (CITAB).  

Emerging Economy Microgrant

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), one of IUVA's MOU partners, awarded IUVA member Sara Beck (University of British Columbia) a microgrant to support her team's work with decentralized UV water disinfection in Kenya. The ongoing project is an important stepping stone towards clean water around the world.

UV Solutions Magazine

IUVA's affiliative publication, UV Solutions Magazine, had another banner year in 2025. Currently, the quarterly magazine exceeds 9,500 distributed copies with print and digital distribution. Each month, the digital edition of the magazine attracts 6,000+ views, the enews letter reaches 3,800+ industry professionals, and the website garners 3,000+ visitors.

This year the Editorial Board began a technical review process that will continue into 2026. Reviewing all submissions for technical accuracy and promotional materials required the addition of four new Editorial Board members to ensure steady turnaround.  

Task Force Accomplishments

IUVA Young Professionals (YP)

In addition to judging the student travel awards, the IUVA YP group has spent the year expanding the reach of UV communication. In 2025 they launched a dedicated seminar series aimed at fostering knowledge exchange and professional growth among emerging leaders in UV, including academia, industry, government, and consulting. The group also published a new episode of the IUVA Podcast, Wavelength, in which Dan Spicer and Molly McManus sat down with Rich Joshi, a seasoned expert in the UV industry. Listen to their conversation on career development, work-life balance, and continuous self-improvement on all podcast platforms. 

IUVA UN Sustainable Development Goal Task Force

The IUVA UN Sustainable Development Goal Task Force published Decentralized UV disinfection systems in rural areas or low-resource contexts: a case study compilation in the journal Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. The paper profiled 19 case studies of small, decentralized UV water disinfection systems implemented within the past 30 years across 4 continents. By compiling and comparing these widely variable systems, their work provided a unified baseline for measurement and tracking.The research team found supporting evidence for the utility of UV technologies for improving safe water access in low-resource settings and provided recommendations for implementation and engineering of future systems.

The IUVA was pleased to announce new leadership of our Materials Degradation Task Force, with Nabiha Ben Sedrine, Senior R&D Scientist and Project Coordinator at Castros S.A. (Portugal).  The Task Force received funding from IUVA to submit their paper, "Development of a Standard Method of Exposing Polymer Materials to Quantify the Effect of UV-C Radiation," to the MDPI journal, Standards.

The IUVA Board voted to establish a Task Force on the UN Minamata Convention on Mercury in recognition of the fact that the UN Convention is in force through full ratification by nation states.  As the global UV Association, the IUVA will strive to serve as a trusted source of information and stakeholder education on the Convention, based on the best available science, including relevant issues and their potential implications.

A new IUVA Task Force has been established: Examining Photon Counting techniques for in-field UV Measurement and UV Monitoring.  This task force is intended to fill a recognized gap in the use of UV solutions; and the lack of accepted UV Monitoring methods and approaches outside of lab work.