October 29, 1982

Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics

Minutes of Meeting

1. Convene – Roll Call

The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. by Chairman Ramsey.

Executive Committee Members Present

Norman F. Ramsey, Chairman of AIP; Robert T. Beyer; Joseph A. Burton; Roderick M. Grant, Secretary; William H. Kelly; H. William Koch, Director; David Lazarus; Theodore E. Madey; Ann E. Wright

AIP Staff Present

Gerald F. Gilbert, Treasure; Robert H. Marks, Associate Director for Publishing; Lewis Slack, Associate Director for Educational Services; Lawrence T. Merrill, Assistant to the Director; Nathalie A. Davis, Assistant to the Secretary

For clarity in presentation with reference to the printed agenda, events recorded here are not necessarily in the same chronological order in which they occurred.

2. Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting of 10-12 September 1982

Secretary Grant noted that a summary of actions taken at this meeting was distributed shortly after the meeting. The minutes will be presented for approval at the next meeting.

3. Review of Governing Board Agenda

Ramsey and Koch noted that the agenda seemed long because it included a lot of detail; however, many of the items will go quickly or are covered by written reports. The plan is to call attention to the highlights and to the committee reports but not to discuss them in detail unless there are questions. The items labelled ACTION will be discussed in depth.

1. Report of Chairman

   Ramsey said most of the material for his report would be covered in the committee reports and other reports. He would welcome suggestions for the Chairman of the Committee for Public Policy, as Morse does not want to continue in this position.

2. Report of Corporate Associates Meeting – W. H. Kelly

   Kelly reported that the meetings were enjoyable, well attended, and the speakers generally good.

   1. Selection of New Chairman as of 1 January 1983

      The new Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Corporate Associates is to be Edward McIrvine, who is with Xerox at Stamford, CT. The time for his assuming office is to be 1 January 1983 so that he may assist in the planning of the 1983 meeting.

   2. Recommendation on Location of 1983 Meeting

      The proposed site for the October 1983 meeting is Xerox Corp., making use of their new auditorium in Palo Alto, with the Governing Board meeting there also. The proposed date for the Corporate Associates Meeting is 25 and 26 October, with the Governing Board meeting to begin on the evening of 23 October (Sunday) and continue through 24 October. He noted that air rates are much cheaper to San Francisco than to Albuquerque.

      Kelly said that one suggested theme is “Interaction Between National Labs and Industry”; Koch said that another theme idea is “Science Communication”.

   3. Development of Affiliates to Corporate Associates Program

      Kelly said the Advisory Committee had discussed the matter of having affiliates to the Corporate Associates Program, such as national labs or academic institutions; the consensus was that the Advisory Committee would look on this idea with favor. Koch noted the draft proposal for this program in Attachment A.

      Ramsey felt that industry should be dominant in the Corporate Associates, but the affiliate status would still permit this. Burton noted that the restrictions on affiliate membership are given only at the end of the proposal. Lazarus wondered what the advantages to this status would be if they pay nothing and get nothing. Ramsey noted that this proposal is to be considered by the Advisory Committee before the Executive Committee acts on it. Koch suggested having the Governing Board approve the concept so that the Committee may develop it.

      The following motion, worded by Ramsey, was made by Madey, seconded by Burton, and unanimously carried.

      MOVED that the Executive Committee recommend to the Governing Board that they encourage the Advisory Committee on Corporate Associates to develop a specific proposal for a Federal and Academic affiliates category to the Corporate Associates Program.

      Attendance at Corporate Associates meetings was discussed. Koch said that due to the popularity of recent meetings, there may be a need to restrict attendance to include only the Corporate Associates members and affiliates, if an affiliate program is established. He felt that the present number is a good working one; more attendees may tax the resources of the potential host organizations. Ramsey noted that generally a number of people from the local area do attend, which allows for participation of a different sort. Grant thought it appropriate to have people with a variety of backgrounds attend.

3. Status Report of Committee on Constitution and Bylaws – H. R. Crane

   Koch reported that Crane, the Committee Chairman, has a document concerning matters under consideration which he will discuss at the Governing Board meeting.

4. Reviews of AIP Policy on Journals and Copyright – King and Lieb Reports

   Koch said that Charles Lieb, who spoke to the Governing Board five years ago and whose recommendations helped AIP develop the concept of the copyright form, has been invited to address the Governing Board on present copyright matters. We are interested in his reactions to how AIP has evolved our copyright philosophy.

5. Report of Committee on Publishing Policy Meeting – D. Lazarus

   Lazarus briefly reviewed the items discussed at the 8 October 1982 meeting. The ATEX system is now working well; the problems were hardware, not software, and they have been corrected. Release 3 has a capacity of 36,000 pages a year; with upgrading, the total capacity will be about 70,000 pages, which will be adequate for some time. JCP and RSI can be moved onto Release 3 next year. Release 4 hardware is available and the software is now being developed. Disk storage is greater and automatic page make-up is promised, although it is not yet available. Release 3 software can be run on Release 4 hardware.

   Matters relating to the Subcommittee on Electronic Publishing were also discussed. John Seybold, the consultant, was very helpful. One suggestion for saving money was considered and is being observed: a separate process now under development for printing proofs which doesn't use silver film. APS is going to start taking manuscripts in UNIX Compuscript format in the next few months on an experimental basis; the drawback is that it currently can handle only UNIX formats. Compuscript will eventually have to handle many other formats in addition to Compuscript. Marks noted that this will be discussed at the next Publishing Policy meeting.

   A new proposal from Plotkin of Comtex with which Koch believes AIP could work was discussed. Plotkin proposes to take an advance abstracts tape of all journals (AIP and Member Societies, with their approval). We could have advance abstracts in digitized form for all the journals. Only Physical Review is now on an advance tape, but it would be no problem to compile the others, as is presently done for APS. Comtex would couple it with the NTIS tape and would provide learning services to their customers who wish to access the information. They would give us 20% of the gross income from the total tape. It would be a non-exclusive arrangement and Koch proposes negotiating such an arrangement with them, as we are interested in developing this type of secondary service. We would hope to couple such a tape with the Physics Briefs tape if it materializes. Lazarus said we should be sure it will be income-producing; Koch thought the income would be significant, as there would be a number of users of the NTIS tape.

   Ramsey's inquiries on Plotkin and Comtex yielded opinions that this venture might be a reasonable bet, as these are important things to be done, although there are reservations about his company. Marks added that there is no firm offer from them as yet, but the concept is interesting. Lazarus asked if this would affect interaction with FIZ; Marks said it would have no connection. There was a consensus that Management should proceed and come back to the Executive Committee with a formal proposal. Koch said we could propose that such an arrangement start in January, and seek approval from the Executive Committee in December. A two-year period has been proposed for the initial contract.

   Regarding the use of our tape, Koch reported that at a meeting of 20 publishers at the Library of Congress which he and Marks just attended, one of the speakers was from the National Library of Medicine, which has a big abstracting service. The speaker told them privately that he felt that cooperation between publishers for advance information services was important in order to have these services available simultaneously with publication of the journals, and he is interested in our tape.

   Lazarus reported that he has received responses to two-thirds of the 110 letters he wrote concerning illegal use of member subscriptions. Some say they are switching to non-member subscriptions. Lazarus has instructed DiCaro not to accept member subscriptions from agencies. Marks mentioned, however, that in some countries, notably Japan, the only way members can get their subscriptions is through agencies.

   1. Proposed New Function on Information Services

      Koch stated that AIP presently has seven functional assignments. He said that the Committee on Publishing Policy at their recent meeting recommended that the production and distribution of secondary services be designated as an AIP function, and he suggested broadening this function to include Information Services, as these will be more fully developed. He noted the non-AIP materials supplied in Agenda Attachments B-D, which highlight the importance of this proposed function. A statement on the proposed new function, with other relevant material is included in the Governing Board Agenda Attachment H. The concept is the same, but the title is more descriptive; it includes everything but publishing services. A recommendation to the Governing Board for approval of this change is needed from the Executive Committee.

      The following motion was made by Lazarus, seconded by Kelly, and unanimously carried.

      MOVED that the adoption of this function, with the substitution of the word “Information” for “Secondary”, be approved.

   2. Proposed Contract with FIZ

      Koch reported that no request is being made at the present time for formal approval of a contract with FIZ. Rittberger recently said that the Germans were not prepared to send a tape of their literature which we would market outside Europe; they now want a single source for this material to be a computer in Karslruhe. AIP Management does not find this proposal suitable; we would insist on being the exclusive marketer in the Americas, at least, as well as getting the royalty from the gross income of the total marketing of this combined SPIN and FIZ tape. Part of the whole design of the proposed contract is to ensure that we don't assume the prerogatives of the Member Societies, and the attempt is to structure a plan we can live with, not to have access through Germany. Marks added that he thinks FIZ doesn't understand the whole picture as yet; they would get no income in the U.S. if they followed their proposed course.

   3. Proposed Contract with North-Holland

      Koch said that the Committee on Publishing Policy had recommended approval of an arrangement with North-Holland for licensing of our Datapoint software so North-Holland can produce a tape of abstracts for their journals. It is a non-exclusive arrangement from which AIP will get some income. He noted the draft proposal letter to P. Bolman of North-Holland, included in the Governing Board Agenda Attachment N.

      The following motion was made by Kelly, seconded by Beyer, and carried, with abstentions by Burton and Lazarus.

      MOVED that the Executive Committee recommend that the Governing Board approve an arrangement with North-Holland for licensing of AIP's Datapoint software to develop a publications data processing system similar to that of AIP.

   4. Report of Committee to Review JAP/APL Plus Stout Letter

      Koch noted that this item is for information only with no action planned for now. He referred to the report of the Review Committee, with the dissenting letter from Stout, contained in the Governing Board Agenda Attachment L. He said that Stout wants to protect JAP from a split. Lazarus said he is sympathetic to Stout's dissent on the split; there are ramifications and problems involved, and we might lose more than we gain. He noted that the AIP journals are doing well and maintaining their strong position and suggested referring this matter to the APS Committee on Applications of Physics.

   5. Establishment of New Journals and Books Subcommittee

      Marks reported that the Committee on Publishing Policy is establishing these subcommittees, the one on books to be chaired by Beyer. Names are being considered for the one on journals. The AIP staff is happy with these committees and thinks good things will result.

6. Suggestions for Washington Office

   Koch commented that the previous efforts in this area were not too successful; however, the need has recently been seen for more efforts here. Ramsey, who has made inquiries on this matter, said it is a question of what can properly be done; the most effective action is for individuals to speak to their Congressmen, but there is a need for an alerting system and a mechanism for doing this. APS is interested and is developing a plan. Neal Lane, the upcoming Chairman of the APS Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) thinks the physics community should have representation in Washington DC. APS now has a proposal pending to employ a person half-time for a one-year experimental period. Robert Park (U. of MD) is about to take a sabbatical and would be interested in doing this.

   Ramsey suggested that AIP authorize the expenditure of up to $20,000 to help support the APS person with the goal of alerting various Societies on their particular interests. Areas in which AIP could be of special help would be editorial expertise and providing a mechanism for publicizing things that need to be announced. If the plan goes through, Park would be very interested in close interaction with the Member Societies. Space is available in the Joseph Henry Building. Ramsey and Koch agreed that the AAU is the best informed group in DC on this sort of thing. The APS budget has been planned at $40,000 for six months to the end of fiscal year 30 June 1983, but if the Joseph Henry Building were used, it would go up. This figure doesn't include publicity.

   Grant said that science education is also of concern. The newsletter idea has been considered; other ideas might be a column or half-page in a journal, perhaps PT. Burton felt that at least one page per issue would be needed.

   Madey said he thinks the concept of a DC office is very important, needed, and commendable and he would encourage the Executive Committee to take any actions necessary in support of APS. He suggested that in terms of disseminating information, it might be more useful to circulate a newsletter, which would have a quicker turnaround than PT.

   The following motion was made by Madey, seconded by Wright, and carried unanimously.

   MOVED that the Executive Committee authorize the Chairman to conduct negotiations with APS on behalf of AIP in support of a Washington, DC, office.

   AIP would intend to support such a plan up to $30,000, but Koch suggested that it would be better not to include a dollar magnitude in the motion at this time.

   Wright said that AAPM members are greatly affected in their daily practice by legislation and regulations, and they find it important and necessary to have current information. AAPM has established and pays for a Washington hotline with an 800 number to give information on what the current and proposed legislation or regulation is. Input is from people in the DC area, with use of the American College of Radiology office in Chevy Chase. Reaction of the Executive Committee was very favorable to this idea. Burton asked for written information on the plan so that he may make it available to the APS Committee. Ramsey said he would report on this to the Governing Board.

7. Policy on Use of New AIP Computers

   Koch noted the Governing Board Agenda Attachment R, which refers to application of the new AIP computer. AZTECH wonders if the eight Societies involved might elect to do their own processing. It is important that it be understood that during the first year of operation, AIP will do all the processing of the source documents; it could be disastrous if the Member Societies tried to do this themselves initially. On the other hand, AZTECH will design the system so that after the first year the Societies can do it if they so desire.

8. Balance Sheet and Statement of Revenue Expense for Six Months Ended 30 June 1982

   Gilbert reviewed the complete financial statement of the Institute for this period (Attachment F, attached herewith). At the end of June the Institute had cash and short term investments of $6.4 million. Most of this figure represents subscriptions applicable to the last half of the year. Current assets arehealthy: $8.7 million; current liabilities are $2 million. This is a healthy condition if we ever wanted to borrow money. The statement of revenue and expense shows the budget figures and the actual figures for the first six months.

   Under Other Operations, the anticipated net investment income for 1982 was $400,000; the actual six months figure was $509,828. The large increase over budget is attributable to the prevailing high interest rates and cash management income plan. The revenue over expense figure is $770,828, which is higher than anticipated. There will be a large net from publishing in the second six months because of the way Soviet journals have to be entered. The General Fund figure is $1,040,000, which is an important figure, since the money for capital appropriations for 1983 comes out of the General Fund. A nominal amount to leave in the General Fund would be about $150,000, but the rest will go into other funds, mainly a publication fund, with some for an equipment fund. All funds are now zero.

   In response to Madey's question, Gilbert explained Restricted Funds and Doubtful Accounts. Restricted funds are funds that carry with them specifically designated uses and cannot be mingled with other operations. Doubtful Accounts are amounts that have been on the books for a long time and could become bad debts. They must be entered thus for accounting purposes, but they are mainly from academic institutions which are very slow payers.

9. Establishment of Committee on Finances

   Recommendation for this Committee came out of the August meeting of the Advisory Committee on Fiscal Policy, and will be made to the Governing Board. Their report will ask for the appointment of such a Committee. Ramsey and Burton thought the Committee would welcome a recommendation by the Executive Committee.

   The following motion was made by Burton, seconded by Lazarus, and carried unanimously.

   MOVED that the Executive Committee recommend to the Governing Board the establishment of a Committee on Finances, as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Fiscal Policy.

10. Workshop on Prorations

    Gilbert read the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Fiscal Policy concerning a workshop on prorations. He is now compiling material on this to send to the appropriate people in the Member Societies. The workshop, if it is desired, may be held in January at the time of the Advisory Committee on Fiscal Policy. No action is required from the Executive Committee on this.

4. Proposed Employee Dental Plan

Gilbert noted the need to upgrade the employee benefits package, as the Institute's present benefits lag behind those of sister organizations. One-half of the present staff is under 30 years of age, and they view benefits differently from older employees. The most requested benefit has been a dental plan. Gilbert made a comparative analysis of dental plans and selected the Equitable Life Assurance Society Plan, which the AMS has also recently adopted (copy of proposal, as distributed to Executive Committee members, attached to official minutes). He reviewed details of the plan and recommended approval by the Executive Committee as of 1 January 1983. The three important factors to consider in such a plan are: deductible ($50.00 per calendar year); coverage (up to $1,000 per calendar year); and co-insurance (involves major dental work, for which the plan pays 50% and the insured pays 50% (for other coverages, 80/20)). The annual cost to the Institute for the present staff will be approximately $40,000. Dependent coverage is to be borne by the employee.

The following motion was made by Lazarus, seconded by Kelly, and carried unanimously.

MOVED that the Executive Committee approve the establishment of a dental insurance plan for AIP employees as proposed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S.

5. Proposed 1983 Increased Ad Rates for PT

Gilbert referred to Agenda Attachment H, a proposal from Greeley giving the proposed increases in the 1983 ad rates, an average of 8% (copy attached to official minutes).

The following motion was made by Beyer, seconded by Madey, and carried unanimously.

MOVED that the 1983 ad rates for Physics Today be increased per the proposal of 20 October 1982.

6. Journal Subscriptions for Polish Physicists

Koch referred to Agenda Attachment I, a memo from Scott, head of Publishing Branch I (copy attached to official minutes) which discussed the questions raised by the difficulties of Polish physicists in paying for our journals. APS provides free APS membership and journal subscriptions to a few Polish physicists. He read the stated policy of Nature which has a set procedure if someone wants to subscribe on behalf of a colleague. He suggested that AIP might follow this procedure or a combination of procedures.

Lazarus noted that APS has a Committee on the International Freedom of Scientists (CIFS) which decides where free memberships are appropriated. APS Council allows $2,000 for Polish scientists, $2,500 for Russian scientists. Burton felt that those who get free subscriptions to APS journals get enough and that AIP should not send additional journals to them. He felt that it would be a good idea for a colleague to pay one-half of the journal subscription, and for AIP to pay the other half.

7. Non-Discriminatory Conditions on PT Advertisements

Marks noted Agenda Attachment J, a statement proposed by the Management Committee to be published every month along with the other descriptive material at the top of the “Information Exchange” page of PT. Our lawyers advise that it can be legal to state in an ad a religious restriction, and it is helpful for candidates to know such restrictions before applying. Slack has checked this statement again with our lawyer; it takes account of the provision in the law that institutions controlled by religious bodies can use this as a basis for employment decisions. In response to a question from Wissbrun, Slack said this does not require us to check with the employer. The policy of Science magazine is that they assume advertisers are in compliance; if it is documented that they are not, the journal will take action. Slack noted that the ad which prompted the original complaint letter was within the law.

There was extended discussion on the philosophy and wording of this statement. Wright felt that the purpose of such a statement is to show that if there is a law, we expect people to be in compliance with it. Madey felt that the statement is acceptable because it covers the law. Lazarus felt that ours is an international marketplace and we should not eliminate possible ads from special sorts of people who have considerations other than ours. Koch added that we cannot reform the world by our ad statement, but we can save members from applying to ads that they aren't right for.

The following motion was made by Wright, amended and seconded by Beyer, and discussed in detail. Ramsey felt that we would invite trouble on this wording. The motion was defeated.

MOVED that we accept the proposed statement (as given in Attachment J), but strike everything after the word “laws” and add at that point “of the U.S.”.

Madey then moved that the wording as originally stated be accepted. This was seconded by Lazarus, with the substitution of the word “presumed” for “expected” and transposition of the qualifying phrase. The motion was carried, with one no vote (Wright).

The final wording of the statement is as follows:

“It is presumed that the following advertisers are in full compliance with EQUAL OPPORTUNITY laws, and unless otherwise stated in the advertisement, wish to receive applications from qualified persons regardless of Race, National Origin, Religion, Sex or Physical Handicap.”

8. New Purpose and Program Statement

Koch stated that Ramsey thought the wording of our purpose and program was in need of revision in some of our literature, and that the wording in the “Handbook for Member Society Officers” was better. The AIP staff has revised the statement (draft revision included in Agenda Attachment K). Gilbert noted that in the first line, “tax-exempt” should be changed to “not-for-profit”. Ramsey said the statement should convey the sentiment that AIP is serving and aiding the Member Societies. Burton questioned the phrase “integrity of proposed papers.” After discussion, it was agreed to delete this phrase.

Ramsey proposed that if Executive Committee members have suggestions for changes, they should give them to Koch or the Secretary’s Office within the next week.

9. Other Business

1. Letter from J. N. Bojarski Regarding Multiple Memberships

   Koch referred to Agenda Attachment L, a 29 September 1982 letter from J. N. Bojarski, attorney for N. B. Bojarski, concerning his membership in several Member Societies and the confusion and problems caused him by individual billings. Koch noted that a few years ago the Societies went to separate billings and this policy was at that time protested by Alvarez (then APS President). It does make matters more complicated for people with multiple memberships.

2. Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics

   Koch noted Agenda Attachment M, a copy of his letter to Martin D. Kruskal of Princeton University, who has been chosen as the recipient of this prize for 1982.

   Kelly noted in this regard that it was felt at the Advisory Committee on Corporate Associates meeting that we should try to get more contributors to prizes. Koch added that there is also some feeling that the upper limit on prizes, established by custom at $5,000, should be raised.

10. Executive Session

Attached to official copy of the minutes in the Secretary’s Office.

11. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.