Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics
Minutes of Meeting
1. The Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics met at the offices of the Institute, 335 East 45th Street, New York 17, New York.
Present: Ralph A. Sawyer – Chairman, Stanley S. Ballard, Laurence Batchelder, Malcolm Correll, S.A. Goudsmit, W.W. Havens, Jr., James Hillier, R.B. Lindsay, Richard C. Lord, David L. MacAdam, John C. Miller, Leonard O. Olsen, Vincent E. Parker, S.L. Quimby, Paul M. Routly, Horace M. Trent, Frank Verbrugge, Mary E. Warga, Elizabeth A. Wood
Absent: Herbert A. Erf, John D. Ferry, N.S. Gringrich, W.V. Houston, Frederick Seitz, C.G. Suits
Guest: Francis W. Sears
AIP Staff Present: Elmer Hutchisson, Wallace Waterfall, Henry A. Barton, W.C. Kelly, Eugene H. Kone, Hugh C. Wolfe, Mary M. Johnson
Chairman Sawyer convoked the meeting at 9:35 a.m. and introduced the new members present: Messrs. Batchelder, Lord, Parker, Routly, Trent and Verbrugge, and Mrs. Wood.
2. Minutes
On motion made, seconded and carried, the minutes of the meeting of 28 September 1962 were approved as distributed.
3. Report of Annual Meeting
The Secretary reported that the annual meeting of the Corporation was held on 21 February 1963 with all Member Societies represented by proxy. He explained it was a routine meeting required by New York State law and that no business of importance was transacted.
4. Report of Chairman (Review of Executive Committee Actions)
The Chairman state that, since the last meeting of the Governing Board on 28 September 1962, there had been three meetings of the Executive Committee, on 8 December 1962, 25 January 1963, and 15 March 1963. Minutes of the first two have been sent to Board members.
The Chairman reported briefly on the dedication of the Niels Bohr Library on September 1962, on subscription handling operations and the rebate to Societies, and on the publication charge increase. The Chairman also mentioned some of the items which had come before the Executive Committee on the preceding day, details of which will be found in the minutes of that meeting.
5. Report of Nominating Committee
The Secretary read the report of the Nominating Committee, consisting of Wallace R. Brode, Chairman; James G. Baker. and W. V. Houston, which nominated Ralph A. Sawyer to succeed himself as a member-at-Iarge for a three-year term to 1966, and also nominated him as Chairman of the Board for the coming year.
The Nominating Committee recommended that the following Board members be appointed as the Executive Committee for the coming year:
Ralph A. Sawyer, Chairman
S.A. Goudsmit
W.W. Havens Jr.
R.B. Lindsay
Vincent E. Parker
S.L. Quimby
Mary E. Warga
Upon motion made, seconded and passed without dissent, the report of the Nominating Committee was accepted and nominations for members-at-large and Chairman of the Board were closed.
Another motion was made, seconded and passed without dissent that the Secretary cast a unanimous ballot in favor of the above nominations. The Secretary reported that the vote had been so cast.
The Director reported that the list of proposed committees and representatives, which had been distributed to all Board members, had been recommended for appointment at the Executive Committee meeting on the previous day. Some suggestions for additional appointments were made and noted, after which the following motion was made and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the proposed committees and representatives be approved, with the modifications suggested, and that the Director, in consultation with the Chairman, be authorized to make such other appointments as are needed during the coming year.
A list of AIP committees and representatives which were appointed for the current year is attached.
- Election of Chairman and Director-at-Large
- Appointing of Executive Committee
- Appointment of Committees and Representatives for Coming Year
6. Typical Current Projects
The Director invited Governing Board members to acquaint themselves with Institute operations by spending whatever time they might have available at our headquarters building whenever they are in New York City.
Mr. Wolfe, Director of Publications, reported on the status of archive journals and described activitiea on a current awareness journal, new typesetting methods including photon and Merganthaler linofilm, an experimental citation index, resource letter reprints on behalf of AAPT, the Russian Translation Program, the annual magnetism conference, and early explorations of the need to translate Chinese physics journals.
Mr. Kone, Director of Public Relations, spoke on press and public information, seminars for science writers including a forthcoming session on biophysics to be held in Washington in April, publicity for the Visiting Scientist, Regional Counselor and other Education Department projects, distribution of career booklets, and the new program for publicizing journal articles in the popular press.
Mr. Kelly, Director of Education and Manpower, discussed the new Center for Educational Apparatus to provide improved equipment for college teaching, the Regional Counselor Program and national meeting of 44 counselors, and the Committee on Physics Faculties which is seeking means for attracting more physics professors to the small colleges.
The Secretary, speaking for G.F. Gilbert, who was unable to attend the meeting, outlined the current status of dues collection and subscription handling activities. Sheets showing the complexities of our dues and subscription rate structure were distributed. In the five Societies for which AIP collects dues, there are some 36 classes of membership and the 26 journals for which AIp handles subscriptions have over 100 subscription rates. The complexity continues to grow and operating costs and difficulties increase. The Secretary appealed to Society officers for help in simplifying operations and his appeal appeared to arouse interest. At the suggestion of Board members, copies of the sheet illustrating the complexities will be made available to governing bodies of Member Societies after it has been revised.
- Publication
- Public Information
- Education and Manpower
- Society and Special Services
7. Annual Report for 1962
Copies of a draft of the Director's annual report had been distributed to all Board members prior to the meeting. The Director mentioned very briefly some of the activities which were emphasized in the report. He said it is customary to publish the report in PHYSICS TODAY as the annual report of the Board to members and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Director’s annual report for 1962 be accepted and published (with minor editorial changes) in PHYSICS TODAY as the report of the Board to members.
Copies of a financial statement for 1962 had been sent to all Board members prior to the meeting along with an explanatory letter from the Treasurer. The Treasurer said that the auditors had made some minor changes in the statement and he also pointed out a couple of inaccurate statements in his covering letter. He said that corrected copies of the statement and letter would be attached to the minutes of this meeting.
The meeting adjourned for luncheon at 12:40 p.m. and reconvened at 2:30 p.m.
- Financial Statement for 1962
8. Dues Percentage to be Paid by Member Societies in 1964
The Secretary stated that the Executive Committee, at its meeting on 15 March, recommended that the Governing Board set 10% as the amount of dues to be paid by Member Societies for the support of the Institute in 1964. The following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissent:
MOVED that the ten percent (10%) of the dues collected in 1963 be set as the amount to be contributed by each Member Society for the support of the Institute in 1964.
9. Current Situation on Grants
A list of current grants and contracts under which the Institute is operating, as well as grants requested, was distributed (copy attached). The Secretary said that the money involved in current grants and contracts totals $1,398,410 and the amount of grants request d is $577,255. The Secretary stated that it has always been our practice to keep accurate accounts on all grants and we are in a position at any time to return unexpended funds to the grantors if requested to do so. It was felt by some members of the Board that 15% is not adequate to cover overhead. The Secretary said the Institute auditors are now studying this matter and he plans to discuss it with NSF when he is in Washington in the near future.
10. Membership Applications
The Secretary reported that the Executive Committee, at its meeting the previous day, had recommended election of the following organizations as Affiliated Societies of the Institute:
American Vacuum Society
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Physics Club of Milwaukee
The Secretary answered some questions about each of the applicants, and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissent:
MOVED that the above-named three organizations be approved as Affiliated Societies of the Institute.
11. Report of Committee to Study PHYSICS TODAY
Mr. Havens, Chairman of the subject Committee, read the report of his Committee, copy of which is attached. Upon motion made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote, the report was accepted with the strong recommendation that the PT Editorial Advisory Board be reconstituted as suggested in the report.
Mr. Havens then made the following motion which was seconded and passed without dissent:
MOVED that, in order to implement action recommended in the report, selection of the initial reconstituted Editorial Advisory Board be delegated to the Chairman and the Director.
Mr. Havens pointed out that, if the recommendations in the report are adopted, the increased cost to the Institute will be of the order of $15,000 to $20,000 per year. The Director said the findings of the Committee confirm his own judgment as to the weakness of PHYSICS TODAY and that management is pleased to have the Committee’s report as the basis for instituting the changes suggested.
Upon motion made, seconded and passed, the Governing Board discharged the Committee to Study the Objectives and Performance of PHYSICS TODAY with thanks for its comprehensive and thoughtful report.
12. Plans for Fall Meeting
The Director stat d that, although the Institute bas made a tentative reservation for Arden House on 27-29 October, we are aware it is difficult of access, especially for the Corporate Associates. He said the staff felt a meeting in New York City would attract the greatest attendance, and Board members agreed. Mr. Goudsmit suggested the Rockefeller Institute and agreed to discuss the possibility of our using their meeting facilities with his contacts there. Dates for the proposed meeting were discussed and it was felt that late September or early October would be moat convenient for the largest number. The Director said he will consult with the Advisory Committee on Corporate Associates Program about suitable dates when it meets in the near future.
It was the consensus of the Board that the fall 1963 meeting of Society officers, Governing Board members and Corporate Associates should be held in New York City at a time and place to be selected by the staff.
The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.