December 11, 1959

Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics

Minutes of Meeting

Members Present: R. A. Sawyer, Chairman; J. W. Beams; J. W. Buchta; S. A. Goudsmit; R. B. Lindsay; W. C. Michels

Absent: W. S. Baird

Board Members Present: J. G. Baker; John Strong

AIP Staff Present: Elmer Hutchisson; H. A. Barton; Wallace Waterfall; Mary M. Johnson

The Chairman called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.

1. Minutes

The minutes of the meeting of September 30, 1959, were approved as circulated.

2. Financial Statement for Third Quarter and 1960 Budget

Copies of the financial statement and proposed budget for 1960 were distributed and discussed in some detail by the Treasurer. (Copy attached to these minutes includes modifications made and 1960 budget as finally adopted at this meeting.) The principal points made were the following:

1. The projection for the balance of 1959 (Page 3) indicates a much larger net income ($85,623 before appropriation of $50,000 to Building Reserve at this meeting) than budgeted for 1959. The difference is largely accounted for by unexpected revenue from advertising, Corporate Associates, AIP journals and special projects.

2. Because the financial position of AIP at the end of 1959 is good and the 1960 picture is favorable, the staff attempted in preparing the 1960 budget to allocate costs so as to reduce charges to Member Societies to a minimum consistent with good accounting practice.

3. Of the total Administrative Cost of $144,000 budgeted for 1960 (Page 4) less than $7,500 will get charged to Member Societies through their journals or otherwise.

4. None of the $43,400 budgeted for the Public Information Department in 1960 (Page 5) will be charged to Member Societies although much of the time of that Department is spent in publicizing the meetings and activities of the Societies.

5. The activities of the Education and Manpower Department (Page 6) continue to grow and the 1960 budget anticipates a net expense about 40% greater than for 1959. The work of this Department is presumed to be of interest and value to all physicists but has been particularly encouraged by AAPT. For that reason AAPT offered $5,000 toward secretarial services, included in the 1959 budget. $2,500 was paid for the first half of 1959 but payment for the second half was waived by AIP and no amount has been included in the 1960 budget. Thus no part of the costs of this Department will be charged to Member Societies in 1960.

6. Advertising in AIP journals (Page 7) was unexpectedly good in 1959 and promises to be still better in 1960. The present AIP service charge on advertising in Member Society journals is 30% (25% commission plus 5% handling). AIP proposes to reduce this charge to 25% (20% plus 5%) and the 1960 budget has been prepared accordingly.

7. Institute-owned journals (Pages 8, 9, 10) performed generally better than budgeted in 1959 and are budgeted to do still better in 1960. Recently increased subscription rates and publication charges become fully effective in 1960 and account for this. It should be remembered that publication costs and number of pages increase annually whereas it is not usually considered advisable to increase subscription rates and publication charges so frequently. This means that net income from publications may decrease for several years following 1960. This anticipated sawtooth net income pattern justifies accumulation of a surplus when possible. Publication of conference proceedings as supplements to JAP issues has spurred interest in JAP subscriptions and advertising and, although the conference issues were not self-supporting in 1959, a formula has been worked out which should make them so in the future.

8. Income from "Physics Today" advertising (Page 7) showed a substantial increase in 1959 and, if that income is credited to the cost of producing and distributing PT (Page 11), the journal can be said to cost nothing for 1959. On the same basis PT is budgeted to show a net income of about $10,000 in 1960.

9. "The Physics of Fluids" (Page 12) is on a break-even basis in 1959 and is budgeted on the same basis in 1960 because of the Air Force subsidy. 1960 is the end of the 3-year subsidy period and plans are being made to make it self-supporting in future years.

10. The new "Journal of Mathematical Physics" is likewise budgeted on a break-even basis because of the NSF subsidy which is expected to cover 3 years of operations.

11. Income from special projects (Page 3) includes royalties on books, revenue from exhibits, administrative fees on grants, etc. The amounts comprising this total income item cannot be regarded as net profits on the various projects because the General Administrative expense item on the same page mostly represents administrative expense chargeable against these projects.

12. Attention should be called to the Machine Operation Conversion item of $15,000 included in the 1960 budget. This is the estimated cost for machine time and manpower during the 5 or 6 months period when AIP will be converting to punch card operation in the Circulation Department. This conversion must be going on while our present system continues to operate and at the end of the period the new system will take over and replace the old. Normal accounting procedure would dictate that the cost of conversion be charged to the operation it is intended to benefit, either in one lump sum or over a period of years. That is what the AIP staff had planned but Mr. Quimby, Treasurer of APS, remonstrated and suggested AIP bear the whole cost. Unbusiness-like as it may seem, the AIP staff proposes to adopt the suggestion and has included the full cost of conversion in the 1960 budget. (This budget item was implicitly approved by adoption of the 1960 budget.) Costs to date of the Accounting and Circulation Survey which led to the decision to adopt a punch card system have been wholly paid by AIP and AIP proposes to bear all 1960 and future costs, although part of those could also logically be charged to the Societies.

13. Total charges to all Member Societies for editorial mechanics, circulation handling and dues collection will be about $153,000 in 1959. The 1960 budget for these same items is about $163,000, an increase of only 6. 5% in spite of anticipated increase in work load.

14. $5,000 has been included in the 1960 budget (Page 3–"Architects Fees") to start planning for future expansion of AIP housing. Present rate of growth may make this necessary sooner than anticipated and we should have fairly definite plans well in advance. Such plans might help attract the needed funds.

15. The Balance Sheet as of September 30, 1959 (Pages 1, 2) shows AIP to be in sound financial condition with a good cash position. Land, building and equipment are unencumbered and reserves more than offset the negative accumulated earnings figure.

16. 1960 promises to be another good year for the Institute financially. During such years it seems wise to plan to set aside funds which can be allocated later for specific purposes as the Board or Executive Committee may wish. To this end the 1960 budget includes an expense item (Page 3) of $40,000 to be put in an "Operating Reserve."

After brief discussion of various items presented, the Chairman said that, at his suggestion, the 1960 budget included funds for salary increases for the Director and the Secretary. The Secretary said that, although it had been agreed that general staff salaries should be handled by the administrative officers without Executive Committee action, it would be preferable to have specific action for the increases proposed. Accordingly, the following motion was made and passed without dissenting vote:

MOVED that the annual salaries of the Director and Secretary each be increased by $2,000 effective January 1, 1960.

In discussing the anticipated net income for 1959, Mr. Beams suggested that in good years AIP should add to its Building Replacement Reserve, As we anticipate needing additional space it might be appropriate to change the name of this fund to Building Reserve and place in it funds obtained by depreciation of our present property as well as funds which may be available for expansion. This suggestion was favorably received and the following motion was passed without dissenting vote:

MOVED that $50,000 of the anticipated net income for 1959 be placed in the Building Replacement Reserve and that the name of this fund be changed to Building Reserve.

To complete action on the financial statement and proposed budget for 1960 the following motions were made and passed without dissent:

MOVED that the service charge on advertising in Member Society journals be reduced from 25% commission plus 5% handling charge to 20% plus 5%.

MOVED that the proposed 1960 budget be adopted.

3. Organizational Changes in Publication Activities

The Director recalled that we have discussed the need for such changes at past meetings and are still looking for a physicist to take on administrative and other responsibilities connected with our publishing activities. Some changes in our Editorial Mechanics Department have already been made and others are in prospect. The Secretary then explained the changes proposed and indicated that the 1960 budget included the funds expected to be required.

4. Appointments

1. Committee to Nominate Chairman, Executive Committee and Director-at-Large

   The Chairman read a list of the expected composition of the Governing Board after the Annual Meeting in February 1960 and, with the approval of the Executive Committee, appointed the following Nominating Committee to present nominations at the spring meeting of the Board:

   • Joseph B. Platt, Chairman
   • Winston E. Kock
   • George E. Uhlenbeck

2. Editorial Boards for RSI, JAP, JCP and PF

   A list of proposed Editorial Board members for 1960 was distributed (copy attached) and upon motion made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote the candidates were appointed with the provision that the Director may make substitutions if necessary.

3. Representative to Scientific Manpower Commission

   The Director reported that he and Mr. Barton have been the Institute's representatives to SMC. Mr. Barton's term does not expire until December 31, 1961, but the Director's term expires on December 31, 1959, and he would like to be reappointed for another year if the Executive Committee approves. Upon motion made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote, Elmer Hutchisson was appointed an AIP representative to SMC for a one-year term to end December 31, 1960.

4. Representative to AAAS Council

   The Director reported that the term of Mr. E. C. Pollard, one of our two representatives to the AAAS Council, will expire on January 15, 1960. There was a brief discussion of the activities of AAAS and it was the consensus that we should have on their Council someone who is closely acquainted with Institute activities. Upon motion made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote, W. C. Michels was named to represent AIP for a two-year term to January 15, 1962.

5. Participants for International Conference on Physics Education

   The Director recalled that a planning meeting had been held to make arrangements for an International Conference on Physics Education to be held late in July 1960 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Attendance at the Conference is expected to be between 100 and 150, and AIP has been asked to name six delegates exclusive of the Chairman, Sanborn Brown. The Director said Mr. Kelly has been asked to act as a member of the committee on exhibits and, as such, would not need to be an official delegate. The Director said he, as a member of the organizing committee, would also not be included as a delegate. The Director then read a list of proposed topics for the agenda and circulated a list of suggested delegates prepared by Mr. Kelly. Several additional names were suggested and, after brief discussion, the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:

   MOVED that Mr. Hutchisson, with the advice of Messrs. Sears and Sawyer, select a six-man delegation to the International Conference on Physics Education; and that C. Guy Suits and Francis W. Sears be named as two of the six.

6. Recommendations for National Science Board (NSF)

   The Chairman reported that he had received a letter from Alan Waterman asking for recommendations for membership on the National Science Board. By way of background information, the Chairman said this Board determines policy for the Foundation and meets about every quarter. He read a list of present Board members, and stated that the actual appointments are made by the President upon Mr. Waterman's advice. Several names were suggested and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:

   MOVED that the six names selected by the Executive Committee be submitted to Mr. Waterman as AIP recommendations for membership on the National Science Board.

5. Election of Corporate Associates

The Secretary reported that the following organizations had requested to become Corporate Associates of the Institute as of January 1, 1960, and, on motion duly made and carried, they were so elected:

1. Northrup Corporation
2. Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, Inc.
3. Borg-Warner Corporation
4. Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories
5. Schering Corp.

The Director reported that our Corporate Associates for 1959 number slightly over 150, which is the goal we had set for ourselves, and we hope to have 200 by the end of 1960. The Director questioned whether we should continue to solicit Corporate Associates without limit or whether we should set some limit. He said the representatives at our Corporate Associates meetings had expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet their opposite numbers and the meeting might be less beneficial if too large. Executive Committee members recommended continued solicitation.

A current list of Corporate Associates was distributed and Mr. Goudsmit asked whether we ought to establish some criteria for membership now that the list was getting so large. It was pointed out that we have only one academic Corporate Associate–Massachusetts Institute of Technology–and after brief discussion it was agreed that we should accept but not solicit schools.

6. Committee on Cooperation with IRE

The Chairman reported he had received a letter from the President of IRE who wanted to talk with AIP representatives about possible cooperation between our two organizations. IRE has about 75,000 members and they think of themselves as physicists as much as anything else. Their meeting in Boston in November drew an attendance of about 5,000 and they are very active in student affairs. The Chairman suggested that an AIP committee might meet with an IRE committee some time in January to explore ways and means of cooperating. The following motion was then made, seconded and passed unanimously:

MOVED that a committee consisting of Messrs. Hutchisson, Sawyer and Waterfall be appointed to meet with a committee of IRE for the purpose of discussing cooperation between the two organizations.

7. Magnetism Conference – Cosponsor with AIEE

The Director reported that AIP had been approached by members of a committee of AIEE which has been responsible for organizing the very successful Magnetism Conferences, proceedings of which have been published in recent years in JAP. Many of the committee members and conference participants are physicists and they believe cosponsorship by AIP is desirable. APS has been a cooperating society but the APS Council declined an invitation to become a cosponsor and suggested this would be an appropriate role for AIP. The Conference with the accompanying exhibit has been operating at a small profit and should continue to do so but, if AIP were to cosponsor the Conference with AIEE, it would be necessary for AIP to underwrite its share of any possible deficit. Cosponsorship would mean that AIP would have a voice in organizing the Conference and guarding against losses. Because of the circumstances, AIEE officials have indicated a willingness to accept cosponsorship by AIP and a meeting has been arranged to discuss the matter. The Director suggested enabling action to permit the staff to arrange for cosponsorship if the results of the meeting indicated it to be desirable.

The following motion was then made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:

MOVED that the staff be authorized to proceed with negotiations to cosponsor the Magnetism Conference with AIEE (with an underwriting commitment not to exceed $6,000) subject to the opinion of the Director after a conference with representatives of AIEE.

8. 1961 Temperature Symposium – Financial Underwriting and Committee Appointments

The Secretary reported that an organizing meeting for this Symposium was held at the Institute offices recently and was attended by representatives of ISA, NBS, AIP and one gentleman representing the Space Administration. Several committees were appointed and it was felt that, with an expected attendance of 1,000 to 1,500, registration fees would be enough to cover all costs and, in fact, result in some profit. The net proceeds from the Symposium as well as from the published proceedings would be split between ISA and AIP. The Secretary recalled that AIP had participated in two previous temperature symposia and had netted over $16,000 on the previous symposia proceedings. After brief discussion the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:

MOVED that cosponsorship by AIP and underwriting of the 1961 Temperature Symposium to the extent of $5,000 be approved with the understanding that financial arrangements will be made which will minimize the possibility of any loss to AIP.

The meeting adjourned for luncheon at 12:50 p.m. and reconvened at 2:15 p.m.

9. AIP Activity on Florence Agreement

The Director reported he had received a letter signed by Curtis Benjamin, President of the American Book Publishers Council, and others, to the effect that they are setting up a committee to urge ratification of the Florence Agreement and asking him to serve on this committee. He read portions of the letter and commented that the Florence Agreement has been recommended to Congress by the President. The Director asked for instructions from the Executive Committee and there followed a discussion in which it was pointed out that the Institute has already taken a favorable position on the Florence Agreement. There was some question as to whether the activities of this committee would constitute lobbying and, after further discussion, the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:

MOVED that membership of the Director as an officer of AIP on the above-described committee is not considered advisable although the Director, as an individual, may serve if he so desires.

10. Use of AIP Board Room over Weekends

The Secretary reported that it has been our policy to permit various outside organizations to use our Board room when their meetings come within normal working hours and cause us no inconvenience. We are now beginning to receive requests for its use on Saturdays and Sundays and this brings up security and financial questions. (The estimated cost is about $60 per day.) When a member of the staff is involved in the meeting he can be responsible for security and it seems appropriate to permit evening or weekend meetings. It does not seem advisable to permit such meetings otherwise nor to make a charge for meeting rooms in any case. There followed a brief discussion of the problems involved and it was the sense of the Committee that meetings of organizations outside the AIP family on weekends and evenings should be scheduled only for exceptional reasons.

11. State Counselors or Advisors for AIP Education Program

The Director reported that AIP had begun to feel the need for assistance at the state level in connection with our education program. Mr. Kelly has been working closely with the California Department of Education on several matters and requests had been received from local organizations elsewhere for assistance in setting up educational conferences and committees. It is proposed to set up a group of physicists as state counselors to act as a liaison with local school officers and organizations on education problems and also to assist from time to time with AIP Student Section activities. So that these counselors may be as effective as possible it is desirable that they be well known to Member Societies and as soon as they are appointed a list would be provided to the principal Society officers. The exact duties and functions of the counselors would be determined by the Institute with the advice of the Advisory Committee on AIP Education Program. It is understood that no compensation or appreciable travel expense would be involved unless a special grant were requested and made to cover such expense. After some discussion the following motion was made and passed:

MOVED that the Director be authorized to appoint state counselors as described above, such counselors to be under the jurisdiction of the Director.

12. Propriety of Industrially-Sponsored AIP Fellowships

The Director reported that AIP has been asked for advice by some companies on the establishment of fellowships in the field of physics. Apparently they would like to have the Institute award fellowships in the name of the company. It was pointed out that awarding fellowships and scholarships requires specific organization for the purpose such as NRC and other organizations have but AIP has not. After brief discussion the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:

MOVED that the Institute should not at this time undertake to award or sponsor fellowships or scholarships.

13. NSF Proposals in Preparation

Copies of a current list of our grants received and requested were distributed (copy attached). The Director explained that many of them were just continuations of existing projects. New requests in preparation are for:

1. Title Index of All AIP Journals

   The Director explained that this project was recommended at the Arden House meeting and we propose to request an NSF grant to subsidize such an index for a period of three years, with the understanding that it would be continued on its own after that if successful. The Director said we expected to be able to get out a title index each month at about the same time as the journals appear. Mr. Michels pointed out that the recommendation at Arden House was for an analytical subject index, and the Director replied that what we propose is a type of subject index based on titles of papers, not merely a listing of titles. It was explained that the plan is to use machine methods to compile the index and to reproduce it by photo-offset.

2. Extension of Documentation Research Project

   The Director reported that the grant for this project covered an 18-months' period originally and we now propose to request another grant for three years. He said this work is attracting a great deal of favorable attention. In answer to a question, the Director stated that we are keeping abreast of mechanical translating systems but, for practical purposes, they are many years off.

14. Financial Arrangement on Astronomical Journal

The Secretary reported that we have recently concluded an arrangement with the American Astronomical Society whereby we will handle publication and distribution of the "Astronomical Journal" for them. It has been coming out at irregular intervals but we intend to put in on a regular schedule and, in line with previous discussions, we plan to handle this journal on the basis of our costs plus 15% for editorial mechanics and circulation handling. Our charge for handling printers' bills, publication charges and reprint sales will be 5%. This arrangement is agreeable to AAS and, as it is experimental, we can vary it in the future if necessary. AAS has asked us to consider collecting dues for them but we have suggested postponing this until after our new punch card system is in operation.

15. Distribution of New AIP Style Manual

The Director said he wished to report that the new Style Manual will be distributed to all Society members as a supplement to the December issue of PT.

16. Future Meetings

The Executive Committee agreed on the following tentative dates for meetings during 1960:

Executive Committee	Friday, January 29 (breakfast at the New Yorker)
Annual Meeting	Wednesday, February 24
Executive Committee	Friday, March 25
Governing Board	Saturday, March 26
Executive Committee	Saturday, June 4
Executive Committee	Friday, September 30
Governing Board	Saturday, October 1
Executive Committee	Saturday, December 17 (budget meeting)

The meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m.