Executive Committee of the American Institute of Physics
Minutes of Meeting
Members Present: Ralph A. Sawyer – Chairman, W. W. Havens, Jr., Vincent E. Parker, S. L. Quimby, Mary E. Warga
Absent: S. A. Goudsmit, R. B. Lindsay
AIP Staff Present: H. W. Koch, Wallace Waterfall, G. F. Gilbert, Mary M. Johnson
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.
1. Minutes
Upon motion made, seconded and passed, the minutes of the meeting of February 2, 1967, were approved with the following correction: Page 6, Item 9, “Optical Consortium,” change the last sentence to read, “Miss Warga said OSA disavows any connection with this group.”
2. Contributions in Memory of Deceased Physicists
The Director raised a question about what action the Institute should take upon the death of a prominent physicist such as J. Robert Oppenheimer. He suggested it might be appropriate, in some instances, for the Institute to make a modest contribution in memory of the deceased to a charitable or educational institution designated by the family. The Executive Committee agreed, and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Director be authorized at his discretion to make a contribution on behalf of the Institute, not to exceed $50, upon the death of any prominent physicist, member or former member of the Governing Board.
3. AIP Organization
The Director displayed a proposed organization chart (copy attached to official minutes) in which the activities of the Institute were divided into three branches, each headed by an Associate Director, except in the case of the Fiscal Branch headed by Mr. Gilbert whose title is “Controller.” Under this new plan there would be no Deputy Director but one of the Associate Directors would be designated to act for the Director is his absence. Each branch is subdivided into divisions, and some of the divisions are further divided into sections. The Director explained that the Secretary has been designated “Acting Associate Director for the General Activities Branch” with the understanding that a new Associate Director for that Branch will soon be found. Mr. Waterfall has agreed to continue as Secretary and with such other assignments as may be given him on a 4-days-a-week basis for the balance of the 1967 calendar year and on a 2 ½-days-a-week basis during 1968. The Director himself would assume the position of Acting Associate Director in charge of the Publishing and Information Branch for approximately a year until the Information Program is more clearly defined and a suitable head for that Branch can be found.
The Secretary recalled that on June 10, 1965, the Executive Committee had taken action inviting him to continue on the staff to the end of May 1967, two years beyond normal retirement age. If the Executive Committee approves the Director’s new organization plan, in which the Secretary’s tenure on a part-time basis through 1968 is implicit, no further action would be required.
The following motion was made by Mr. Quimby, seconded by Miss Warga and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Executive Committee approve with enthusiasm the proposed new organization plan for AIP, and authorize the Director to fill the two newly-created Associate Director positions.
4. Reports of Editors
The Secretary stated that editors of all AIP-owned journals have been required to submit annual reports. It has been customary, at this time of year, to record the fact that such reports have been received. We do have reports from the editors of THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS, JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS and APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, PHYSICS TODAY, and THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, but we have not yet received reports from the editors of THE PHYSICS OF FLUIDS and JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS. Reports of editors are available to anyone who wishes to see them.
The most serious publishing problem this year has been the lateness of issues. The Director said that some organizational or procedural changes may be desirable to assure better control over schedules. The volume of material to be published is increasing faster than our present facilities can handle it. Some new facilities have already been found and others are sought. We are currently dealing with thirteen printers for all journals published by AIP.
5. Eighth Congress of the International Union of Crystallography
The Secretary reported that the American Crystallographic Association has asked the Institute to assist them in making arrangements and generally managing the Eighth Congress of the International Union of Crystallography to be held at Stony Brook, New York, August 13-21, 1969. Although the Congress is independent, ACA will participate and will appoint committees and assist with arrangements. Attendance is estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 and the State University at Stony Brook is confident adequate housing will be available by August 1969. There will be three or four topical meetings of smaller groups elsewhere, and there will also be an exhibit which we have been asked to manage. AIP may be asked to publish proceedings and we have suggested we could do it on the same basis as we publish proceedings of the Magnetism Congresses. We have made it clear that AIP will charge for its services at cost and will expect ACA to underwrite any expenses involved. We have agreed to provide the services requested if the Executive Committee has no objection.
Mr. Havens said he had some misgivings but did not object as long as it is clearly understood that AIP is not a sponsor of the meeting, and he made the following motion which was seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Institute be authorized to provide assistance to the American Crystallographic Association in making arrangements for the Eighth Congress of the International Union of Crystallography under conditions as proposed.
6. AIP HANDBOOK OF PHYSICS – Third Edition
The Secretary reported that McGraw-Hill has suggested that we prepare copy for a third edition of the AIP HANDBOOK with the manuscript to be completed in three years. We have deferred signing any agreement until after the Washington meeting of the American Physical Society at which time there will be a conference of section editors.
Royalties amounted to almost $35,000 on the first edition and a little under $38,000 on the second edition as of last June. For the second edition, we retained one-half of the royalties, gave one-quarter to the Coordinating Editor, Dwight Gray, and divided the other quarter among the eight section editors. As a current part-time employee of AIP, Dwight Gray has suggested that he forego royalties on the third edition and be paid $3,500 per year for one more day per week of his time during the preparation of copy. His Secretary, who now works half-time for the AIP Washington Office, would devote the other half of her time to the HANDBOOK.
The Secretary said he recommends that the agreement with McGraw-Hill be signed, if the section editors concur, and the following motion was made, seconded and passed without dissenting vote:
MOVED that the Secretary be authorized to sign an agreement with McGraw-Hill covering publication of a third edition of the AIP HANDBOOK OF PHYSICS in accordance with arrangements described above.
7. Review of Governing Board Agenda
The Executive Committee reviewed the items for discussion by the Governing Board on the following day and took action as indicated below. (Numbers refer to items in the minutes of the March 18, 1967, Governing Board meeting.)
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Mr. Gilbert spoke briefly about the unaudited financial report for 1966 and, upon motion made and passed, the Executive Committee expressed its appreciation for the superlative performance of the Treasurer.
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Upon motion made and passed, the Executive Committee recommended that the Governing Board again set 10% as the percentage of dues to be paid by Member Societies for support of the Institute in 1968.
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Upon motion made and passed, the list of proposed committees and representatives for the coming year was recommended for approval by the Governing Board.
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The Chairman discussed the present status of the Center for History and Philosophy of Physics and described negotiations which have been initiated with a view toward securing long-range financial support for the Center. After brief discussion, the Executive Committee passed a motion recommending that the Governing Board endorse the proposal as presented.
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The Executive Committee discussed a proposal of the Director for establishment of a high-level Committee on Physics and Society and passed a motion endorsing it with enthusiasm. Some suggestions as to the membership of the committee were made and noted.
8. Status of Selective Service Act
The Chairman read a letter he had received from the President of the Council of Graduate Schools concerning possible changes in the draft law. It was the consensus that the Institute should take no action.
9. Request for Contribution from National Academy of Sciences
The Chairman reported receipt of a copy of a letter from Frederick Seitz, President of NAS, addressed to the Chairman of the American Chemical Society suggesting a contribution of $50,000 toward completion of the Academy’s new auditorium which is to be a memorial to Hugh L. Dryden. There was discussion of a contribution by AIP and, while it was agreed that nothing of such magnitude could be pledged, the feasibility of a modest contribution would be considered.
10. Request from NAS for Assistance in Aiding Developing Countries
The Chairman reported that Victor Rabinowitch, Office of the Foreign Secretary, has announced that NAS is interested in fostering cooperation with several of the developing countries, particularly in South America, and would like an expression of interest from the physics community. Several suggestions as to ways and means of providing aid were made and noted.
11. Space Situation
The Secretary reported that there have been several developments since the Executive Committee meeting of February 2. We have had some discussions with the owners of the adjacent property occupied by Medallic Arts and we have also received an estimate on renovation of another building under consideration. A third building in the area has been investigated, and we have had conversations with Bankers Trust Company in which they indicated willingness to discuss terms for financing when a final decision is reached.
12. Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Executive Committee was set for Friday, June 9, 1967, at the offices of the Institute.
The meeting adjourned at 4:26 p.m.