Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics
Minutes of Meeting
Present: George R. Harrison (Chairman), F. Wheeler Loomis, George B. Pegram, Wallace Waterfall
Guest: John T. Tate, Adviser on Publications
AIP Staff: Henry A. Barton, B. Hofstadter, David A. Katcher, T. Vorburger
1. Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting of August 16 and 17, 1949 were approved as distributed.
2. Executive Secretary:
On motion made, seconded, and carried, it was
RESOLVED that Wallace Waterfall be appointed Executive Secretary of the American Institute of Physics as of November 1, 1949 at a salary of $9000.00 per year on a two-thirds time basis.
In connection with Mr. Waterfall’s appointment, the following motions were made, seconded, and carried:
MOVED that the Institute pay up to $500 of Mr. Waterfall’s moving expenses from Chicago to New York.
MOVED that the Director be authorized to sign an agreement with Wallace Waterfall embodying an amendment to the Retirement Trust Agreement and providing insurance and retirement income as set forth in the proposal submitted October 13, 1949 by E. Lester Goodrich.
MOVED that officers of the Institute and the Trustees of the pension plan be authorized to apply for such supplementary insurance as is required by the contract between the Institute and Wallace Waterfall.
3. Physics Today:
It was reported that as of October 24, 2119 members had subscribed to PHYSICS TODAY for 1950 at $4.00, that there are 1781 outside subscriptions, and 495 associate members.
Several comments had been received regarding the new subscription plan for PHYSICS TODAY and copies of these were distributed along with budget estimates on various bases (copy attached). There was considerable discussion of these comments and the alternative plans suggested for PHYSICS TODAY. It was the consensus of the Committee that another communication should be sent to members inviting them to subscribe and that subscriptions at a group rate of $2.00 should be offered to member societies. Accordingly, the following motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried:
MOVED that the Director be authorized to offer to each member society the opportunity of subscribing to PHYSICS TODAY for all of its members at the group rate of $2.00 per member per year, with the understanding that the offer is not contingent on acceptance by other societies.
4. Journal of Chemical Physics:
It was reported that the printer could not handle this year the publication of the backlog of Journal of Chemical Physics papers which the Committee had authorized but that as much as possible had been done. Accordingly, the following motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried:
MOVED that the Publication Manager be authorized to continue the publication of Journal of Chemical Physics backlog papers at as high a rate as possible in the January and February issues.
5. Journal of Applied Physics:
On recommendation of the staff the following motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried:
MOVED that the Publication Manager be authorized to publish in Journal of Applied Physics up to 177 pages in December, 128 in January, and 128 in February.
6. Advertising in Society Journals:
It was reported that a majority of the member societies has approved the plan for advertising in society journals and new contracts should be prepared. The following motion was made, seconded, and unanimously carried:
MOVED that whereas three member societies have approved of the principle of advertising in Society Journals as presented in the Executive Committee minutes of March 12, 1949, the Executive Committee authorizes the staff to proceed to make such modifications as are required in the contracts with the Societies which are interested in having advertising placed in their journals.
7. Student Sections:
Mr. Barton stated that comments by members of the Governing Board on the report of the Committee on Student Sections, which was attached to the minutes of the last meeting, indicate that further action should be deferred until the meeting of the Governing Board. The Committee agreed.
8. Displaced Professionals:
Mr. Barton reported that he had received a letter from the Emergency Council for Displaced European Professionals asking that the Institute cooperate with the council on behalf of displaced physicists. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously carried that the Chairman be authorized to appoint a committee to work with the Emergency Council for Displaced European Professionals.
9. Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Bureau of Standards:
The National Bureau of Standards is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 1951, the year of the Institute’s twentieth anniversary. The possibility of a joint celebration was discussed but no action was taken.
10. Next Meeting:
The time for the next meeting was set for 9:30 a.m., Thursday, December 15.