March 1, 1946

Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics

Minutes of Meeting

1. The Governing Board met at the Institute Building, 57 East 55 Street, New York at 10:10 a.m.

Present: Messrs. Paul E. Klopsteg (Chairman), L. A. DuBridge, W. F. Fair, Jr., Harvey Fletcher, F. A. Firestone, R. C. Gibbs, K. S. Gibson, W. H. Markwood, Jr., G. B. Pegram, A. H. Pfund (for part of meeting), J. T. Tate, L. W. Taylor, Wallace Waterfall, A. G. Worthing.

Absent: Mr. R. B. Dow.

Guests Present:

• Mr. G. P. Harnwell, Editor, The Review of Scientific Instruments
• Mr. Elmer Hutchisson, Editor, Journal of Applied Physics
• Mr. J. E. Mayer, Editor, Journal of Chemical Physics

Associated Societies of AIP

• Professor I. Fankuchen, Representing the American Society for X-Ray and Electron Diffraction
• Mr. Glen Ramsey, Representing the Physics Club of Chicago
• Mr. J. C. Peters, President, Physics Club of Philadelphia
• Miss Mary E. Warga, President, Physical Society of Pittsburgh

AIP Administrative Staff

• Mr. Henry A. Barton, Director
• Miss M. S. Griffin, Publications Manager
• Mr. T. Vorburger, Assistant Treasurer

2. Report of Elections to Governing Board:

The Secretary reported the elections to membership of the Governing Board at the Annual Meeting of the Corporation on February 23, 1946 as follows:

On nomination of
American Physical Society	George B. Pegram to succeed himself – term to 1949
Optical Society of America	A. H. Pfund to succeed R. C. Gibbs – term to 1949
Acoustical Society of America	Wallace Waterfall to succeed himself – term to 1949
Society of Rheology	R. B. Dow to succeed himself – term to 1948
	W. F. Fair, Jr. and W. H. Markwood, Jr. to succeed Hermann Mark and N. W. Taylor – terms to 1948
American Association of Physics Teachers	R. C. Gibbs to succeed T. D. Cope – term to 1949

The full membership of the Governing Board until the 1947 Annual Meeting of the Corporation is:

Nominated by		Term Expires
American Physical Society	J. T. Tate	1947
	L. A. DuBridge	1948
	G. B. Pegram	1949
Optical Society of America	A. G. Worthing	1947
	K. S. Gibson	1948
	A. H. Pfund	1949
Acoustical Society of America	Harvey Fletcher	1947
	F. A. Firestone	1948
	Wallace Waterfall	1949
Society of Rheology	R. B. Dow	1948
	W. F. Fair Jr.	1948
	W. H. Markwood Jr.	1948
American Association of Physics Teachers	L. W. Taylor	1947
	P. E. Klopsteg	1948
	R. C. Gibbs	1949

3. Minutes:

On motion, the minutes of the Governing Board meeting on March 9, 1945 were approved as distributed, except that under Item IX, Page 6 the name “Mr. Gibbs” was substituted for “Mr. Cope” as having presented the report therein mentioned.

4. Report of the Chairman:

The Chairman offered no report.

5. Report of the Secretary:

1. The Secretary reported concerning a Mail Ballot of an amended resolution authorizing the Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer, and the Director of the Institute to conduct specified banking business on behalf of the Institute with the Irving Trust Company. Fifteen favorable ballots were received; none opposed.

2. The Secretary reported concerning a Mail Ballot of an amended resolution authorizing the Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer, and the Director of the Institute to conduct specified business relating to the custodianship of AIP securities with the Irving Trust Company. Fifteen favorable ballots were received; none opposed.

3. The Secretary reported concerning a Mail Ballot appointing Mr. Theodore Vorburger as Assistant Treasurer of the Institute from May 16, 1945 to the end of the Governing Board meeting to be held the following March. Fourteen favorable ballots were received; none opposed; one missing ballot.

4. The Secretary reported that by Mail Ballot suggesting 15% as the fraction of the dues collected by each Member Society in 1945 which will constitute that society’s contribution to the Institute in 1946, thirteen favorable ballots had been received; none opposed; two missing ballots.

On motion it was voted that the Mail Ballots as stated in a., b., c., and d. be ratified.

6. Report of the Treasurer:

1. The Treasurer presented the Auditor’s Report for the year ended December 31, 1945 by Pasley & Conroy, and stated that copies of this report had been on hand for examination at the Annual Meeting of the Corporation on February 23, 1946 and had been mailed to the Secretary of each Member Society.

2. The Treasurer reported changes in investments made on advice of the Finance Committee as follows:

   Purchases

   $55,000.00 U.S. Treasury Bonds 2 ½% due 1959/62

   462.50 U.S. Savings Bonds (Purchased from Building Fund)

   Sales

   $15,000.00 U.S. Treasury Notes – Series “C” due January 1, 1946

Items of the Auditor’s Report were discussed and explained and on motion it was voted

To approve the Treasurer’s report as presented.

7. Report of the Director:

Mr. Barton reviewed his report on the activities of the Institute, copies of which were distributed to the members of the Board. A copy is attached to the official copy of these minutes. Discussion of this report centered mainly on paragraph C. entitled “Functions of Organization.” It was debated as to whether in view of rapidly changing conditions the Institute could properly perform the functions mentioned in sub-paragraph B. in addition to those given in sub-paragraph A., or whether such functions should be undertaken by an organization independent of the Institute and its Member Societies. After a great deal of discussion it was on motion voted:

That the Director of the Institute be empowered and directed to bring paragraph C. “Functions of Organization” of his annual report for 1945 to the attention of the councils and boards of the Member Societies for their discussion.

Following the motion a suggestion was made that in presenting the Board’s action to the councils of the Member Societies, the Director should call attention to the effect of such activities therein mentioned on the tax-exempt status of the Institute.

At the request of the Director, the Publications Manager, Miss Margaret S. Griffin, summarized her report (which is attached to and made a part of the Director’s Report), pointing out that although wartime paper restrictions had been lifted the acquisition of printing paper is proving difficult. Attention was called to Fig. 1. of this report charting the number of pages published each year since 1933.

Again at the Director’s request, the Assistant Treasurer, Mr. Theodore Vorburger, reviewed his report of Finances for the year (also attached to and made a part of the Director’s report) and called the Board’s attention to the fact that the Institute Building had been declared tax exempt for the fiscal years 1944/45, 1945/46, and 1946/47, and that the Institute’s net operating income had shown a substantial increase amounting to $29,063.49 for 1945.

On motion it was voted to approve the Director’s report as presented in its several sections.

(The following members of the Policy Committee joined the meeting at approximately 11 a.m.: Messrs. R. H. Bolt, H. L. Dodge, D. L. MacAdam.)

8. Recommendations of the Executive Committee based on the Report of the Policy Committee:

At the request of the Chairman, Mr. Gibbs (Chairman of the Policy Committee) presented and reviewed in considerable detail the Report of the Policy Committee as amended by the Executive Committee on February 28, 1946, copies of which were distributed to the members of the Board and their guests, and a copy of which is attached to the official copy of these minutes. Mr. Gibbs explained that the Policy Committee’s recommendations were divided into two parts, as follows: (a) Changes in By-laws of the Institute, and (b) Proposed New Journal Plan.

1. Changes in By-laws: after reviewing the proposed By-laws the Board suggested the following additional changes:

   Page 2, Article V. Section 2: Line 1 to read – “Each person who is a member of a member society” etc.

   Page 2, Article V. Section 2: Line 3 to read – “and each life member and each honorary member of a member society” etc.

   Page 5, Article VIII. Section 2: Delete the last sentence of paragraph 2: “The nominees of each society shall be members of that society.”

   Permission was granted by the Board to make such additional editorial changes as may be deemed necessary.

2. Proposed New Journal Plan: Mr. Gibbs then reviewed the report of the Sub-committee on Journal Plan which suggests the creation of a new journal and described its proposed contents.

   He stated that the Sub-committee had recommended, among other things, that “instrumentology” articles now published in the Review of Scientific Instruments should be combined with the Journal of Applied Physics, and the remaining parts of the RSI would be absorbed in the proposed new journal, thus discontinuing the publication of the RSI as such. Some questions were raised as to the desirability of the procedure in view of the present sound financial status of the RSI and its increasing circulation. It was made clear to the members, however, that the primary purpose of the RSI, i.e., the publication of articles on instrumentology, had been rather lost sight of in recent years due to the lack of such material being offered for publications.

(the meeting adjourned for luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Mr. A. H. Pfund joined the meeting for the afternoon session.)

After further discussion of the Report of the Policy Committee the recommendation of the Executive Committee was heard and on motion of Mr. Taylor the following resolution was unanimously adopted

RESOLVED that the proposed Constitution and Rules submitted by the Policy Committee be approved and that the Constitution be transmitted to the Member Societies for approval as required by the present By-laws.

Then followed further discussion of the Policy Committee’s recommendation regarding the Journal plan. Certain questions were raised regarding the financing of the journal. It was explained that eventually the income from advertising and subscriptions should support the journal but that a sum of from $50,000 to $100,000 may be necessary to launch and carry it for the first few years. It was recommended that outside financial help be obtained but that also the Institute draw from its surplus account some funds for the partial financial of the new journal.

Upon hearing the recommendation of the Executive Committee the following motion was unanimously carried

That the journal plan as proposed by the Policy Committee be approved and that the Executive Committee be authorized to proceed with the plans.

9. Budget:

Mr. Barton presented a proposed budget for 1946, recommended by the Executive Committee, which budget includes provision for the employment of an assistant at the annual salary for approximately $5,000. A copy of the budget is attached to the official minutes.

On motion it was voted to adopt this budget for 1946.

10. Other Recommendations of the Executive Committee:

On motion of Mr. Gibbs it was voted to approve the following recommendations of the Executive Committee:

1. New Banking Facilities: The opening of new bank accounts with the Bankers Trust Company at 57th Street and Madison Avenue, New York, and the resolutions appended to the official minutes be adopted as a part of the minutes as having been voted, these resolutions covering a custodian account and a general depository account.

2. Percentage of Supporting Contributions from the Member Societies for 1947: That the contributions of the Member Societies for 1947 again be set as 15% of the funds received by each society as dues.

3. Appointment of Editors: That the Editors of the Journal of Applied Physics and the Journal of Chemical Physics be re-elected for a three-year term beginning January 1, 1947.

4. Appointment of Counsel: That the law firm of Bate, Loeb, Klein, and Churchill be appointed counsel for the Institute for the year beginning March 1, 1946 and ending February 28, 1947 at a fee of $500.00 (Five hundred dollars), with Mr. Robert E. Lawther of that firm conducting the legal business of the Institute.

5. Committee on Physics Monographs: That the Report of the Committee on Physics Monographs be approved. (Copy attached to the official minutes.)

11. Report of Editors of Institute Journals:

1. Journal of Chemical Physics:

   Mr. Mayer reported that this journal slightly increased its number of pages published in 1945, that judging by the receipt of papers at present it appears as if the journal may get up to the pre-war number of 1200 pages per year. That the increase in papers indicates that condensation of papers may have to be considered. That in the past year the journal had contained a large number of articles dealing with high polymers and which did not belong properly to the journal, but that these may in future be included in the new Journal of Colloid Chemistry and the new Journal of High Polymer Research.

2. Review of Scientific Instruments:

   Mr. Harnwell reported that he had recently returned to the editorial office of the RSI from his war duties and is therefore not as thoroughly familiar with various editorial problems as he will be shortly; that the journal did not contain last year many instrumentology articles but that he believes in the course of the coming year the journal will have as many articles on instruments as it originally had.

3. Journal of Applied Physics:

   Mr. Hutchisson reported that this journal had been limited in the publication of papers for the past two or three years because of restrictions on paper quotas; that it would have been very thin if it had not borrowed paper from the JCP and RSI. He expects to publish more material during the coming year. He had no doubt that there will be more than enough material to meet the budget of 1000 pages.

12. Additional Recommendations of the Executive Committee:

The Chairman stated that in connection with the work of the Committee to Study a Retirement System for the AIP Staff there was a recommendation which had been approved by the Executive Committee that the salary of the Director be increased as of March 1, 1946 by $1,000 per annum and that the Director be authorized to proceed with such other changes in the salaries of the Institute Staff as he considers advisable.

On motion of Mr. Fletcher it was voted:

To approve the recommendations of the Executive Committee that the salary of the Director be increased as of March 1, 1946 by $1,000 (One thousand dollars) per annum and that the Director be authorized to proceed with such other changes in the salaries of the Institute Staff as he considers advisable.

13. Report of AAPT Representatives on American Council on Education:

No report was offered.

14. Report of the Nominating Committee:

Mr. Gibson, chairman of the Nominating Committee, of which the other members were Messrs. H. Fletcher, and J. T. Tate, reported the following nominations of officers for 1946:

Chairman	Paul E. Klopsteg
Secretary	Wallace Waterfall
Treasurer	George B. Pegram
Assistant Treasurer	Theodore Vorburger
Adviser on Publicatoins	John T. Tate

Mr. DuBridge was asked to take the chair.

It was moved and unanimously voted that the nominees be declared elected.

Mr. Klopsteg resumed the chair.

15. Cooperative Committee on Science Teaching:

Mr. Taylor reported on the present activities of the Cooperative Committee on Science Teaching, emphasizing the magnitude of the task before the Committee and the importance of continuing its work. A copy of his report is attached to the official minutes.

On motion of Mr. DuBridge it was voted

That the Board express its appreciation to Mr. Taylor and that he be requested to continue in his capacity as the Institute’s representative on the Cooperative Committee on Science Teaching for another year with expenses paid.

16. Appointment of Committees:

The following committees for 1946 were recommended by the Chairman and approved by the Board:

Finance Committee:

• E. H. Colpitts
• L. Green, Jr.

Editorial Committee:

• J. W. Buchta
• F. A. Firestone
• G. P. Harnwell
• G. R. Harrison
• E. Hutchisson
• J. E. Mayer
• D. Roller
• J. T. Tate
• H. A. Barton
• Mrs. Madeline Mitchell Tate
• Miss Margaret S. Griffin

Executive Committee:

• Paul E. Klopsteg (Chairman)
• L. A. DuBridge
• G. B. Pegram
• K. S. Gibson
• W. Waterfall

Policy Committee:

• R. C. Gibbs (Chairman)
• R. H. Bolt
• H. L. Dodge
• J. B. Fisk
• G. R. Harrison
• F. Seitz
• P. E. Klopsteg (ex-officio)

17. Adjournment:

The Board adjourned at 4:15 p.m.