Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics
Minutes of Meeting
The Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics met in the offices of the Institute, 335 East 45 Street, New York, New York 10017.
Present: Ralph A. Sawyer – Chairman, Arnold B. Arons, Stanley S. Ballard, H. Richard Crane, Herbert I. Fusfeld, Ronald Geballe, S.A. Goudsmit, W. W. Havens, Jr., Karl G. Kessler, A.I. Mahan, Vincent E. Parker, S.L. Quimby, Paul M. Routly, Robert G. Sachs, Robert S. Shankland, Thor L. Smith, A. Francis Turner, Mary E. Warga, Wallace Waterfall, Elizabeth A. Wood, Clarence Zener
Absent: Luis W. Alvarez, John Bardeen, E. Creutz, R. Bruce Lindsay, Isadore Rudnick, Frederick Seitz, A.E. Whitford
AIP Staff Present: H.W. Koch, Wallace Waterfall, G.F. Gilbert, Lewis Slack, Mary M. Johnson
Chairman Sawyer called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. and introduced the new members, Messrs. Geballe, Kessler, Sachs, Smith and Turner.
1. Minutes
Chairman Sawyer made, seconded and carried, the minutes of the meeting of October 3, 1967, were approved as distributed.
2. Report of Annual Meeting
The Secretary reported that the annual meeting of the Corporation was held on February 23 and all seven Members Societies were represented by proxy. He explained that each Member Society has one vote at the annual meeting but is asked to name two proxies in the event one is unable to attend. This meeting is required by New York State law, and the date of the meeting is that date on which new Board members elected by the Member Societies officially take office. At the meeting, reports on AIP activities for the preceding year were given by the Director and by the Treasurer, and the Secretary reported on the election of new Board members by the Member Societies.
3. Report of Chairman
The Chairman reported briefly on the following subjects which had been discussed by the Executive Committee in meetings held since the last Board meeting on October 3, 1967:
The Executive Committee, on December 19, 1967, and January 31, 1968, respectively, passed resolutions expressing sorrow on the deaths of Alan T. Waterman, latest recipient of the Karl T. Compton Award, and Herbert A. Erf, former member of the Governing Board.
On December 19, 1967, following a discussion of rising editorial mechanics costs and costs of authors’ alterations, a committee consisting of R.B. Lindsay – chairman, S.L. Quimby and R.A. Sawyer was appointed to study current practices of the Editorial Mechanics Section. The situation was improved since that time and we are hopeful that costs will continue to go down. The committee is continuing its study.
A personnel survey was undertaken by Smyth & Murphy and we hope the recommendations made will help us reduce employee turnover.
At the December meeting the budget for 1968 was adopted although there are still some uncertainties regarding our possible liability to the National Science Foundation on income from back numbers of the translation journals and about the effect of the Internal Revenue Service ruling on taxation of advertising income. Both of these subjects are on the agenda and will be taken up later in the meeting.
4. Report of Nominating Committee and Election
In the absence of Mr. Lindsay, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, the Secretary read the report of the Committee submitted by the chairman on behalf of himself and the other two members, Messrs. Arons and Townes. The Committee nominated Mr. Sawyer as Chairman of the Board of the coming year, J.E. Goldman of Ford Motor Company as director-at-large for a three-year term to succeed E. Creutz, and the following Executive Committee:
Ralph A. Sawyer, Chairman
Ronald Geballe
S.A. Goudsmit
W.W. Havens, Jr.
R. Bruce Lindsay
S.L. Quimby
Mary E. Warga
There were no other nominations and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the report of the Nominating Committee be accepted, and that the candidates nominated for Chairman, director-at-large and members of the Executive Committee for the coming year be declared elected.
5. Publication and Information Programs
The Director described the relationships of the AIP Publication and Information Programs with the aid of a chart, copy of which is attached. The chart itemizes on two columns remarks on organization, staff studies, funding, and input charges in these two programs.
The Publication Program is the responsibility of Hugh Wolfe as Director of the Publications Division. This Division deals with the complete manuscripts that are processed for final publication in the AIP and Society journals. The Information Program under Arthur Herschman, who is Director of the Information Division, does not presently deal with the complete manuscript but only with derivatives of the manuscript. The derivatives involved are the titles, authors, abstracts, classifications, indexing, and citations of each article. Because the Information Program, as presently conceived, will process derivatives and not the manuscripts or final journal documents owned by the Societies, the Program should not have an adverse effect on the Society properties. Indeed, the AIP looks to the Information Program to advertise and sell more effectively the physics journals and the documents contained therein.
In-depth studies are being made of both the Publication Program and the Information Program. The Publication study is being conducted by the staff of the Publications Division with AIP funding. The part of the study dealing with cost analysis and comparisons with the operations of four companion professional societies should be completed in time for the June meeting of the Executive Committee. The societies assisting in our study are the American Mathematical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Chemical Society.
The Publication study of costs and operations has prompted other examinations such as the microforms and typewriter composition. Recommendations in which AIP will handle microform subscriptions for AIP and Society-owned journals will be made at the next meeting of the Executive Committee. The recommendation will include consideration of the appropriate pricing structure to permit the separate sale of microforms and hard copies without pricing competition of one with the other. Proposals from several microform contactors are being solicited. At the Executive Committee meeting on the preceding day, a motion was passed strongly endorsing this venture.
The problems of typewriter composition are also being studied. The Institute views with interest and enthusiasm the experiment under discussion by the American Physical Society to compose one section (Section 1) of THE PHYSICAL REVIEW by typewriter. The Director asked APS representatives about the timing of this experiment and whether APS was going to present a formal request the waiver so as to allow the experiment to commence as early as the August 1 issue. (The Waiver was subsequently requested and approved by mail ballot of the Governing Board.)
The study of a National Information System for Physics is being undertaken simultaneously with the Publication study. The study of an information system is under way with NSF funding and is benefiting from the advice of an advisory committee of Society representatives. The Information study should be completed by January 1970.
The chart attached also lists the source of the monies required to cover input costs in the publication and information areas. In the publication area the input cost is covered by the voluntary publication charge which is nominally $60 per page. In the information area, the AIP is exploring the analogous charge, the so-called abstract charge fund to be used to develop secondary information services. It is the intent of the Institute to use these funds to guarantee the title of AIP to any income-producing secondary services.
6. Financial Matters
The Treasurer reported that, because of journal printing delays and the consequent lateness of some 1967 printing bills, our year-end audit has not been finished. Copies of the auditors report will be sent to all member Society Secretaries and Treasurers as soon as it is completed.
Copies of an estimated summary statement were distributed by the Treasurer and a copy is attached to these minutes. (The completed financial statement for the 1967 calendar year is being distributed to all Board members with a letter from the Treasurer dated May 7, 1968. Copies are enclosed for others who should have them.)
The Secretary stated that a ruling by the Internal Revenue Service last December makes taxable the advertising income of tax-exempt organizations on the basis that advertising is a business unrelated to their tax-exempt purposes. This ruling had been forecast for several years and was not unexpected. It had been urged by commercial publishers who claim unfair competition. The Institute’s position that advertising in our journals is not “unrelated” was stated in Chairman Ralph Sawyer’s article in PHYSICS TODAY in May 1965 but has not been accepted by IRS.
Mr. Gilbert and the Secretary attended a conference on “Federal Tax Problems of Non-Profit Organizations” in Washington on February 26 and 27 at which it became apparent that a real fight is brewing and that litigation is probable and countermanding legislation possible.
Accounting procedures to be followed by IRS is determining the tax liability are not completely clear but, on the basis of information given, we believe we may have no tax to pay if we group all our AIP journals together and consider publication charges as the voluntary contributions they really are, not include them as journal income. Our legal counsel and auditors have both approved this procedure and we propose to follow it in the report for 1968 which we must file with IRS in March 1969. Our intentions were explained in detail to the Executive Committee on the preceding day and were approved by that Committee. Of course, it is possible the situation may change between now and March 1969.
The Treasurer reported that, as a result of audit by NSF during the fall of 1967, we received a letter in March of this year requesting us to account for income from the sale of all copies of translation journals on hand on June 30, 1964, as well as all reprints of journals translated under NSF subsidy. The NSF subsidy of our translation was covered by 31 different grants over a period of nine years ending June 30, 1964. None of these grant instruments made any mention of the disposition of back numbers.
We estimate that approximately 77,000 copies were in inventory as of June 30, 1964, and that the cost of producing those copies was approximately $25,000. Many of the copies are still in inventory but the income from those sold (inventory plus reprints) may approximate $150,000.
Based on the wording of the grants involved, we feel that we have no legal obligation and have referred the matter to our legal counsel. We believe we have religiously followed the requirements of all NSF grants and it is our contention that they are now trying to make retroactive some requirements introduced in grants after 1964.
- Report for the 1967 Calendar Year
- Taxation of Advertising Income
- Contingent Liability for Income from Sale of Translation Journal Back Numbers
7. Status of Proposed Revision of AIP Constitution and Service Contract
The Secretary recalled that the Governing Board, at its meeting on October 3, 1967, had approved revisions in the AIP Constitution and in the service contract with Member Societies. The proposed revisions were formally submitted to the Societies on October 6 for their consideration. Both documents have now been approved by all Member Societies except the American Astronomical Society which will consider them in April. (By letter dated April 24, 1968, the American Astronomical Society notified the Institute it had approved both documents.) Inasmuch as our present Constitution may be amended by “favorable action of all but one of those Member Societies which take action within one year, provided it has the approval of at least a majority,” the revised Constitution has been officially approved and could become effective as of the date of the sixth approval. Because of the changes it will make in our financial arrangements with Member Societies, it would be more convenient to wait until the first of next year to commence operating under the revised Constitution, and the staff recommends that the Governing Board authorize a delay until that time.
The following motion was made by Mr. Parker, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the revised Constitution be made effective as of January 1, 1969.
The Secretary stated that he Rules will now have to be changed to make them conform with the new Constitution, and the staff will have proposed changes ready for presentation to the Governing Board at its fall meeting. The Rules may be changed by the two-thirds vote of the Board.
The Secretary reported receipt of a letter from the American Crystallographic Association requesting consideration of a change in the formula given in the Constitution for representation of Member Societies on the Governing Board. Mr. Kehl, Secretary of ACA, pointed out that the increment required for each additional director on the Board is greater than the increment required for each additional director, and he requested the Board to consider changing the increments so they will be more equitable. The Secretary pointed out that such a change would require another Constitutional amendment which would probably take another year, and it was the consensus that this can be taken into account the next time the Constitution is changed for other reasons.
8. Financial Handling Charge to be Paid by Member Societies in 1969
The Secretary said it has been customary at the spring Board meeting to fix the percentage of dues to be contributed by Member Societies for support of the Institute during the ensuring year. This percentage has been 10% for a number of years. Under the new Constitution, there has been substituted a fixed dues per Society member plus a financial handling charge, not to exceed 1%, which must be fixed each year by the Board. The staff recommends that one-half of 1% be fixed as the financial handling charge to be paid the Institute by Member Societies in 1969. The Secretary said this member dues and financial handling charge would have amounted to about $4,000 less than the 10% of dues for the 1966 calendar year.
The following motion was made by Mr. Routly, seconded by Mr. Havens and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the financial handling charge to be paid the Institute by Member Societies in 1969 by one-half of one percent (0.5%).
9. Reorganization of Education and Manpower Division
The Director reported that, because of the difficulties encountered in employing professional personnel for the Education and Manpower Division, the staff had explored the possibility of moving many of these activities to an institution which would offer an academic climate. The State University of New York at Stony Brook has offered to house AIP education activities under a proposal whereby Mr. Strassenburg would continue as director of the Division devoting approximately three-fourths of his time to it while being fully paid by Stony Brook. AIP would make a suitable grant to the Stony Brook Foundation which would be used for various education projects. All other AIP staff located at Stony Brook would be on the AIP payroll. Stony Brook would make no charge to us for space. Activities which would remain at Institute headquarters are manpower, register, visiting scientists and placement. The proposed arrangement has been approved by officers of AAPT and it was approved by the AIP Executive Committee on January 31, 1968.
Mr. Sachs said there is a general feeling that the physics establishment is too highly concentrated in the New York area and he suggested that, since a move was being planned, it might be well to consider moving these operations further away from New York. The Director stated that the proposed arrangement would be for a two-year period only and we can consider relocating at the end of the time if there is considerable sentiment for it and if we can find a suitable arrangement elsewhere.
The meeting was adjourned for luncheon at 11:40 a.m. and reconvened at 1:55 p.m., after Board members were shown the 9300 Univac computer which had recently been installed.
10. Matters Pertaining to Physics History Division and COMPAS
The Director reported that a joint proposal with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences had been submitted to NSF on February 9 requesting $286,000 for a three -year period to carry on activities of the History Division. He said we have acquired a tremendous collection of material under this program and will continue to seek outside support at the rate of $30,000 to $90,000 per year. He called attention to the Farraday Exhibit, currently on display in the Niels Bohr Library, and said we might consider lending such exhibits to other institutions around the country and to Member Societies for their meetings if they wish.
Mr. Slack reported that John Wheeler, Chairman of COMPAS, had recently reminded the Director that this commitment to serve as Chairman of COMPAS was for one year only. The Director and Mr. Wheeler have recommended to the Chairman of the Board that H. Richard Crane be appointed.
Since he previous meeting of the Governing Board COMPAS has met twice, once during the New York meeting of APS in November and once at the Chicago meeting. The next meeting will be in Washington on April 24. The impact of its initial activities is already being felt in several areas. Although the final ruling on deferment of graduate students was not the one hoped for, the letter to Hershey did have an effect. The session on physics in the 70's organized at the Chicago meeting came about as a result of the Subcommittee on Image. Harvey Brooks' talk at the session will be published in a coming issue of "Science" and Branscomb's in PHYSICS TODAY in abbreviated form. Interest by the Subcommittee Concerned with Support resulted in our having the Education and Manpower Division prepare a report on the support of physics which was distributed to the Board in the February mailing. It was also distributed to the chairman of all physics departments and the Public Relations Division’s mailing list, as well as to a substantial number of Government officials and agency heads in Washington. The third Subcommittee, that on Physics and Technology in Industry, is developing plans for producing a report that will deal with how physics contributes to the solution of various technological and social problems.
Mr. Slack then reported in greater detail on the activities of COMPAS regarding the draft situation which has been one of its abiding concerns. He summarized the discussion at the January meeting when the COMPAS group was joined by two members of the APS Council, C.H. Townes and Owen Chamberlain, for discussion of the then anticipated ruling about the draft. Following the Security Council memoranda to the Selective Service office and the hearings conducted by Congresswoman Green, the Scientific Manpower Commission and the Council of Graduate Schools of the U.S. published a study on the effect of the new draft rules on the graduate schools which is summarized in the special issue of the “Washington Office Newsletter” sent to the Manpower Commission, the Commission instructed Mrs. Vetter to prepare position papers on the present and future draft situation stating the Commission’s view of the need for a permanent and independent office in the Executive Branch dealing with all aspects of manpower problems. These will be sent to the Scientific Manpower Commission member societies for such further action as they see fit. In view of the widespread interest in these questions Mrs. Vetter was invited to give an invited paper at the Washington meeting of APS and to join COMPAS at its meeting.
The Director emphasized that any statements issued by COMPAS should, like the letter to Hershey, be reviewed by the Governing Board. After discussion about the occasional need for rapid action, the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Executive Committee by empowered to approve issuance of a position statement subject to the understanding that the entire Board would be informed before a statement on this subject was issued and that authorization of the Board itself would be sought if time permitted.
Mr. Crane raised a question about the autonomy of COMPAS. It was pointed out by the Director that this Committee is advisory to the Governing Board and any statements which it issues should have Board approval.
- AIP Center for the History and Philosophy of Physics
- Committee on Physics and Society (COMPAS)
- The Draft Situation
11. Classes of AIP membership
The Director recalled that the Executive Committee, at its meeting on June 9, 1967, had requested the staff to prepare a statement setting forth the requirements for Affiliated Society membership in the Institute. As a result, he had drafted a statement containing proposed criteria for all classes of membership and copies had been sent to all Board members. The Director asked Board members to study the document so that action on it can be taken at the fall meeting. When a decision is reached and criteria are approved, they may be included in the Constitution the next time it is amended.
The Director mentioned inquiries which had been received from the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and the Society for Non- Destructive Testing, as reported in Items Nos. 8 and 9 of the March 22 executive Committee meeting minutes.
The Director reported that collection of 1968 Corporate Associate dues continues to lag. We have 137 Corporate Associates paid for this year compared with 143 at this time a year ago. There have been twelve formal withdrawals. In answer to a question, the Director gave the dues scale for Corporate Associates, as follows:
| Number of Physicists | Annual Dues |
| Up to and including 15 | $500 |
| 16 through 25 | 750 |
| 26 through 50 | 1,000 |
| 51 through 200 | 2,000 |
| 201 through 300 | 3,500 |
| 301 and over | 5,000 |
EG&G Inc.
The Director reported that the subject company had requested to become a Corporate Associate at the dues rate of 1,000. EG&G Inc. is located in Bedford, Mass., and is engaged in research, development, manufacturing, managing and operation of electronic systems, instruments and components. Upon motion made and passed without dissent, EG&G Inc. was elected a Corporate Associate of the Institute.
Mr. Slack recalled that at the Assembly of Society Officers and Governing Board members last fall, it was suggested that a program for academic associates, similar to that we now have for Corporate Associates, be considered. At the joint APS-AAPT meeting in Chicago earlier this year, a number of physics department chairmen from representative universities and colleges were invited to a meeting to discuss the desirability of such a program.' It was their consensus that there would be many ways in which departments could benefit. They felt meetings of academic associates could probably be most profitable if organized on a regional rather than national basis, but they did not want to be committed for dues nor did they want to set up a formal organization which would result in the proliferation of meetings. The staff has decided to defer consideration of the academic associates idea until some later time.
Mr. Slack reported that, at the June 9, 1967, meeting of the Executive Committee, a mail ballot of the Governing Board was authorized on the question of a merger between Sigma Pi Sigma and AIP Student Sections. The merger was approved and further negotiations with officers of Sigma Pi Sigma were undertaken. From the discussions three documents have emerged: (1) A Constitution for the Society of Physics Students, (2) a Constitution of Sigma Pi Sigma, and (3) Articles of Agreement between AIP and Sigma Pi Sigma. These three documents were approved by the national convention of Sigma Pi Sigma in December 1967 and they are now being presented to the AIP Governing Board for its consideration. (Copies of the three documents were distributed to Board member sand a copy of each is appended to the official copy of these minutes.)
Mr. Slack said the separate constitution for Sigma Pi Sigma is to enable it to operate as an identifiable entity within the total framework of the Society of Physics Students. He then called attention to several minor changes which had been made in the constitution of the Society of Physics Students since it was approved as part of the Articles of Agreement in the above-mentioned mail ballot.
The following motion was then made by Mr. Parker, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Constitution for the Society of Physics Students, the Constitution for Sigma Pi Sigma, the Articles of Agreement be approved subject to minor editorial changes, and that the Director of AIP be authorized to sign the Articles of Agreement on behalf of the Institute.
The Secretary reported that a request for affiliation had been received from the subject organization, and had been discussed at several meetings of the Executive Committee since last June. At its meeting on December 19, 1967, the Executive Committee recommended that the Division of Physical Chemistry of ACS be elected an Affiliated Society.
The Secretary explained that this application was the result of correspondence and conversations which began about two years ago when ACS inquired about the possibility of securing member rates to JCP for members of their Division of Physical Chemistry. Under consideration was an exchange arrangement whereby our members would be entitled to subscribe to their “Journal of Physical Chemistry” at their member rates but this did not materialize. Their formal request for affiliation with AIP then was received but action was deferred by the Executive Committee because it appeared that some kind of joint division with APS division of Chemical Physics was being contemplated. The proposed joint division did not materialize.
In the discussion which followed, the opinion was expressed that the Institute should encourage interdisciplinary efforts, as has often been stated in the past, and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Division of Physical Chemistry of ACS be elected an Affiliated Society of the Institute, effective immediately.
It was recommended that the staff check further into the possibility of securing special subscription rates on the ACS “Journal of Physical Chemistry” for our members.
- Philosophy of Classification
- Corporate Associates
- Academic Associates
- Society of Physics Students
- Application for Affiliation from the Division of Physical Chemistry of the American Chemical Society
12. Annual Report for 1967
Copies of a draft of the Director’s annual report for 1967 had been distributed to all Board members prior to the meeting. There was no discussion of the report itself, but the hope was expressed that the summary in PHYSICS TODAY would be better than it had been the year before. The following motion was made by Mr. Goudsmit, seconded by Mr. Quimby and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the annual report of the Director for 1967 be accepted as the report of the Governing Board to members, that a summary be published in PHYSICS TODAY.
The Director gave assurance that the summary will be more acceptable than it was last year.
13. Appointment of Committees and Representatives
The Secretary reported that the list of proposed committees and representatives for the coming year, which had been sent to all Board members in advance of the meeting had been recommended by the Executive Committee on the previous day for approval by the Board. The following motion was made by Mr. Goudsmit, seconded and passed without dissenting vote;
MOVED that the proposed list of committees and representatives for the coming year be approved, and that the Chairman and Director be authorized to make such changes and addition as may be necessary during the year.
A list of the committees and representatives as approved is attached.
14. Plans for Fall Meeting of Governing Board, Society Officers and Corporate Associates
The Director reported that he Advisory Committee on Corporate Associates had recommended the dates of September 25 through 27 for the annual meeting. He said the location was discussed and a poll of Corporate Associates proposed. The choices offered were New York, Washington and Airlie House in Warrenton, Virginia. Replies were received from only 49 of 155 Corporate Associates and their preference was for New York.
There was discussion of sites in the metropolitan New York area, and the consensus favored Arden House in Harriman, New York. It was agreed that the Assembly should be held in the New York area on the dates indicated, preferably at Arden House, but if that is unavailable, the choice should be some nearby hotel with the Corporate Associates program at Rockefeller University.
15. Science Writing Award in Physics and Astronomy
Mr. Slack recalled that the subject award had been established with support from the U.S. Steel Foundation, as reported at the Executive Committee meeting of October 3, 1967. The Director stated that 70 entries had been received and the Committee of Judges, consisting of H. Lewis Hyde – chairman, Dennis Flanagan, John Foster, Patrick McGrady and Earl Ubell, had selected William J. Perkinson as the winner of the 1968 award. His prize of $1,500 will be presented to him at the APS meeting in Washington in April
16. Washington Office Newsletter
The Chairman called attention to the third issue of the “Washington Office Newsletter,” copies of which had been distributed to Board members. He explained that it is compiled by Dwight Gray and is sent periodically to all Board members and Society officers. Mr. Slack said the third issue contained statistics on the draft and graduate schools gathered by the Scientific Manpower Commission and the Council of Graduate Schools of the United States and, for that reason, it was also sent to chairmen of all physics departments offering graduate work.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.