October 29, 1980

Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics

Minutes of Meeting

Roll Call

The meeting was called to order at 7:45 p.m. by Chairman Ramsey.

Executive Committee Members Present

Norman F. Ramsey, Chairman of AIP; Robert T. Beyer, ASA; Peter B. Boyce, AAS; William W. Havens, Jr., APS; John C. Johnson, Secretary; H. William Koch, Director; Arnold A. Strassenburg, AAPT

Absent

Charles B. Duke, AVS; Jarus W. Quinn, OSA

Nonvoting Representative Present

Yih-Ho Pao, MAL

Guest

Harold F. Weaver, Chairman of the AIP Audit Committee, for Item No. 3e.

AIP Staff Present

Gerald F. Gilbert, Treasurer; Robert H. Marks, Assoc. Dir. for Publishing; Lewis Slack, Assoc. Dir. for Educational Services; Mary M. Johnson, Assistant to the Secretary; John Auliano, Manager of the Data Processing Division

1. Resolution Regarding John Hasbrouck Van Vleck

Immediately following the call to order and roll call, Chairman Ramsey proposed a resolution noting the death of John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, with recommendation that it be approved for submission to the Governing Board for its action. This proposal was accepted by consensus.

2. Minutes

  1. b. Executive Committee Meetings of 31 July 1980; 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.

    The Secretary reported that minutes of the 31 July meeting held at 11:00 a.m. were previously approved on 5 September; however, the minutes of meetings held immediately prior and following were now being brought before the Committee for approval.

    It was MOVED by Havens and seconded by Ramsey to approve the minutes of the 10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Executive Committee meetings. The MOTION was passed without dissent.

  1. Executive Committee Meeting of 5-7 September 1980

    Upon MOTION made by Havens and seconded by Strassenburg, the minutes of the 5-7 September 1980 Executive Committee meeting were approved without dissent (but with one abstention due to non-attendance at the subject meeting by the abstainer).

3. Review of Governing Board Agenda

General

The proposed resolution noting the death of John H. Van Vleck was reread, and it was reaffirmed that it should be submitted to the Governing Board for adoption. Also, Havens called attention to the Director's monthly letter of 3 October 1980. It was pointed out the letter implies the Executive Committee felt that subscription fulfillment was to receive first priority, while this is not the case.

  1. Confirmation of Mail Ballot on Furniture Purchase

    A telephone ballot of the Executive Committee was taken for approval to conduct a mail ballot of the Governing Board. Since no "nay" votes were received, although not every Board member has returned a ballot, and the vast majority voted in favor of the furniture purchase proposal, it was generally agreed to ask for Board confirmation of this vote, authorizing the purchase.

  2. Formation of Two Ad Hoc Computer Committees and Review of One Advisory Committee Report

    1. Fiscal Reporting – J. W. Quinn, Chairman

      The Secretary distributed a memorandum, dated 23 October 1980, from Quinn, which affirmed acceptance of this assignment. The ad hoc Financial Reports Committee will expect to start its review during the latter part of calendar year 1980.

    2. Subscription Fulfillment – J. Auliano, Chairman

      Auliano distributed a document, dated 15 October 1980, entitled “Computer Equipment at Society Offices.” Since the 5-7 September meeting of the Executive. Committee, he had conferred with Society officers, except those of SOR and ACA, and the results are formalized in the report. The one common thread was that the Societies wanted more data to be maintained in the subscription files.

    3. Society Services – A. A. Strassenburg, Member

      Strassenburg reported on a meeting of the Committee on Society Services which was held on 22 October 1980. The exchange of information was effective and computer services turned out to be the primary focus. It was the only issue on which the Committee had some reservations. Some members expressed serious doubts about the ability of Business Controls Corporation to conduct an adequate study.

  3. Approval of Subscription Fulfillment Feasibility Study

    Auliano briefly reviewed the existing subscription fulfillment system, noting that it was designed and put into operation more than ten years ago. Today's computer technology makes it possible to have faster on-line input and access to data with a lot less manual labor. Four software vendors were interviewed to evaluate their capability of being able to design a new fulfillment system for AIP. After careful study and contacting their former clients for references, AIP staff decided that Business Controls Corporation (BCC) had the best proposal. In return for a fee of $2,500, DCC agreed to prepare a fixed-price software design and hardware proposal for a new subscription fulfillment system.

    After a long discussion of priorities and conversion costs, the following motion was made by Beyer, seconded by Ramsey, and passed by a vote of 3 to 2, with the Chairman casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of the motion:

    MOVED that the Executive Committee authorize the AIP staff to spend $2,500 for a subscription fulfillment system proposal from Business Controls Corporation.

  4. Recommendation on Physics Briefs Agreement with FIZ

    Koch reported that the governing body of FIZ (Fachinformationszentrum) are very positive on this. AIP sends to FIZ a tape twice per month which they put into their composition equipment. However, the Germans have had pressure put on them to stop producing this publication, and they would like to have AIP become the publisher of Physics Briefs, while they continue to produce the tapes. We would like to do that.

    The following motion was made by Havens, seconded by Beyer, and passed without dissent:

    MOVED that the Executive Committee recommend the Governing Board approve in principle the proposal for AIP to become the publisher of Physics Briefs and authorize the Director of AIP to negotiate and sign a suitable agreement with FIZ, subject to approval by the Executive Committee.

  5. Report of Audit Committee

    Weaver reported the Audit Committee met earlier that afternoon. AIP got a clean bill of health from the auditors, Touche Ross & Co. Points brought out were where improvements are needed and whether accounting functions are being adequately performed. Timeliness must be improved; this is to be pursued with the greatest possible speed. Pao, a member of the Audit Committee, stressed the need for control, i.e., a "czar" of accounting; a person to push this ahead on a timely basis. In response to questions regarding "audit" versus "plan," it was pointed out by Koch that the whole December meeting of the Executive Committee each year is devoted to the budget.

  6. Resolution on Proposed Age Limitation for Officers and Editors

    It was MOVED by Havens, seconded by Strassenburg, and passed with no objection and one abstention, to recommend for Governing Board action: “No person may serve as a compensated officer of the Institute of as an editor of an Institute journal beyond the age of seventy.”

  7. Future Meetings

    1. Executive Committee

      It was agreed to hold the next Executive Committee meeting, the annual budget meeting, on Thursday, 18 December, in New York. It was also agreed to tentatively schedule another meeting of the Executive Committee for Thursday, 19 February 1981.

    2. Governing Board

      It was noted that the spring Governing Board meeting is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, 27-28 March 1981.

    3. Annual Corporation Meeting

      There will be an annual meeting of the AIP Corporation during the period of the spring Governing Board meeting in 1981.

4. Proposal for Monitoring Quoted Prices

This item had been assigned to Quinn; however, he advised that he would not be present for this meeting and it would be premature to send a report at this time.

5. Increase in Advertising Page Rate for Applied Physics Letters

It was MOVED by Havens, seconded by Strassenburg, and passed without dissent to increase the rate for advertising in Applied Physics Letters from $250 per page to $350 per page (in black and white) effective 1 January 1981.

6. Approval of Agreement for Production and Sale of Bibliographies

Koch reported that the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the Department of Commerce has offered to generate and sell bibliographies at $30 per copy and pay AIP, as the data base owner, 15% or $4.50 per copy.

It was MOVED by Havens, seconded by Strassenburg, and passed without dissent to authorize the Director to enter into an agreement with NTIS to generate and sell bibliographies from data bases owned by AIP.

7. Absorption by AIP or Costs for Part of JASA Cumulative Index

This issue was raised at the 5-7 September Executive Committee meeting but it has not been resolved. Beyer reported that sales of the JASA Cumulative Indexes were far below what they had been five years before. AIP staff has made a counterproposal which Beyer will discuss within the Acoustical Society Executive Council at its meeting in November.

8. Appointment of Committee to Select Candidates for Tate and Compton Awards in 1981

After discussion with the Executive Committee, the Chairman was authorized by consensus to make the following appointments:

Committee to Select Candidates for the 5th John T. Tate Award

  • L. M. Branscomb, Chairman
  • P. M. Morse
  • Peter Franken

Committee to Select Candidates for tge 8th Karl T. Compton Award

 

  • W. A. Fowler, Chairman
  • A. A. Bartlett
  • Geoffrey Burbidge

Koch reported the following prices for the two medals in 14k gold: $2,594.88 to $2,367.88 for the Tate medal, and $2,790.72 to $2,563.72 for the Compton medal, plus engraving, bronze replicas, and cases. Based upon this information,

 

It was MOVED by Havens, seconded by Strassenburg, and passed without dissent that the stipends for these two awards be increased from $1,000 to $3,000 each, and that the medals be made of bronze rather than gold.

9. Other Business

  1. Sakharov Conference

    Koch reported on a request for AIP to be a sponsor of a scientific conference in honor of the 60th birthday of A. D. Sakharov. It was the consensus of the Executive Committee not to take action on this request, but rather to ask the Governing Board to act on this, if it wishes.

  2. Joint Society Membership Promotion Mailing

    Koch distributed samples of the mailing that is going to be sent to all those listed in the “Directory of Physics & Astronomy Staff Members,” as authorized at the 5-7 September Executive Committee meeting.

  3. Traveling Exhibit

    Slack reported that APS and AAPT are participating in the Traveling Exhibit. Quinn has stated that OSA would also like to participate on the second level ($50 per item), and Boyce reported that AAS will participate on the second level.

  4. Financing of Woodbury Addition

    Gilbert reported he had received earlier in the day three and one-half pages of resolutions that have to be approved by the Board in connection with the Woodbury financing. While there were resolutions adopted by the Board at the March 1980 meeting, there are inconsistencies with the resolutions just received. Gilbert offered to make copies of resolutions approved last March, copies of the new proposed resolutions, and a road map showing the route AIP has to follow to the closing for study by the Governing Board and possible action at the Board meeting scheduled for the next two days.

10. Next Meeting

It was reconfirmed that the next meeting of the Executive Committee is to be held on 18 December 1980.

11. Executive Session

At 10:25 p.m. the staff was excused, and the Executive Committee met in executive session. A report of that session as prepared by the Director is attached to the official copy of these minutes.

12. Adjournment

The executive session was adjourned at 11:30 p.m., 29 October 1980.