IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society

Constitution and Bylaws

 

January 2007

 

 

Constitution

 

 

Article I - Name and Object

 

Section 1.  This organization shall be known as the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society.

Section 2.  The SocietyÕs purpose shall be scientific and educational in character.  The Society shall strive for the advancement of the theory and practice of electrical and electronic engineering and of the allied arts and sciences and for the maintenance of high scientific and technical standards among its members, all in consonance with the Constitution and Bylaws of the IEEE and with special attention to such aims within the field of interest of the Society, as hereinafter defined.

Section 3.  The Society shall aid in promoting close cooperation and exchange of technical information among its members and affiliates, and to this end shall hold meetings for the presentation and discussion of original contributions, shall publish transactions reporting advances within the scope of the Society and through its committees shall study and otherwise provide for the needs of its members and affiliates.

 

 

Article II - Field of Interest

 

Section 1.  The fields of interest of the Society are the nuclear and plasma sciences.  The Society shall devote itself to publication or other dissemination of original contributions to the theory, experiments, educational methods and applications of these fields, and to the development of standards.  The process for modifying the Field of Interest shall be in accordance with the procedures in the TAB Operations Manual and the procedure defined in Article VIII of this Constitution.

Section 2.  Areas of technical activity shall include but not be limited to the following:

Nuclear science and engineering, and plasma science and engineering, including computer applications in plasma and nuclear science, nuclear medical and imaging sciences, particle accelerator science and technology, pulsed power science and technology, radiation effects, and radiation instrumentation.  These fields of interest include instrumentation for research; detection and measurement of radiation; nuclear biomedical applications; radiation monitoring and safety equipment; particle accelerators; magnetofluid dynamics and thermionics; plasma dynamics; gaseous electronics and arc technology; controlled thermonuclear fusion; electron, ion, and plasma sources; space plasmas; high-current relativistic electron beams and accelerators; laser-plasma interactions; diagnostics; plasma chemistry and colloidal and solid state plasmas, z pinch drivers, nuclear instrumentation development for reactor systems; effects of radiation on materials, components, and systems; and applications of radiation and nuclear energy to other than utility power generation.

 

 

Article III - Membership

 

Section 1.  Membership in the Society shall be available to all members of the IEEE having an interest in the nuclear or plasma sciences.

Section 2.  Affiliates may participate in the activities of the Society as provided by the IEEE Bylaws and subject to the applicable IEEE rules and regulations and to any additional limitations imposed by the Society Bylaws.

 

 

Article IV – Finances

 

Section 1.  The Society shall collect from each member and affiliate an assessment or fee in accordance with IEEE Bylaws and applicable rules and regulations.  The amount of the fees shall be established by the AdCom.

Section 2.  The Society may make registration charges at its technical meetings, symposia, conferences, and conventions.  The registration fee for non-members of the IEEE shall normally be higher than for members.

Section 3.  The Society may raise revenues by other means such as, but not limited to, advertising, shows, requests for contributions, and charges for sending out notices to non-Society members, provided such means are consistent with applicable IEEE rules and regulations.

Section 4.  The fiscal year of the society shall be the same as for the IEEE.

 

 

Article V - Administration

 

Section 1.  The Society shall be managed by an Administrative Committee (AdCom) consisting of 16 directly elected members plus certain ex officio members as specified herein and in the Bylaws.  The number of directly elected members shall always exceed the number of ex officio members with voting rights.

Section 2.  The terms of office of the directly elected members shall be four years. Elections of members shall be held annually to fill vacancies for the coming year.  The terms of office of the ex officio members shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 3.

(a) The affairs of the Society shall be managed by the President, as directed by the AdCom and in accordance with the powers and duties as defined hereunder and in the Bylaws.  In the event of the PresidentÕs prolonged absence or incapacity, the Vice-President shall take over the presidential duties until the President is able to resume his responsibilities.  In the event the Vice-President is unable, then the most recent Past-President shall perform the presidential duties, until either the President or the Vice-President is able to take the presidential duties.

(b) The President shall appoint a Secretary and Treasurer for the Society.

Section 4.

(a) The President and Vice-President shall be elected for coincident two-year terms by the voting members of the AdCom from among the eligible members of the AdCom.  These elections of President and Vice-President shall be held as defined in the Bylaws.

(b) All directly elected AdCom members are eligible for election as President or Vice-President.  In addition, the Vice-President is eligible for election as President.  No individual may be elected to two successive terms as President.

(c) In the event the Vice-President is required to complete the term of the President, the Vice-President will be eligible to run for President in the next full-term election.

(d) In the event that neither the President nor Vice-President is able to take office as prescribed in the Bylaws, or if both are incapacitated or if both offices become vacant for a period greater than 60 days, the AdCom (under the direction of the most recent Past President) shall promptly elect an Acting President from among the eligible elected members to assume the duties of President until either the President or Vice-President takes or resumes office, or until the next election.

(e) The NPSS Vice-President will, except under circumstances deemed unusual by a majority of the voting members of AdCom, become the sole nominee for the succeeding NPSS Presidential election.

Section 5.  The AdCom shall utilize the services of IEEE Headquarters as bursar for Society funds as provided by the IEEE Bylaws and rules and regulations.  If any part of the Society funds are received and deposited separately, the terms and conditions shall be in accordance with IEEE policies and subject to the provisions of Society Bylaws and to any special limitations that may be imposed by the AdCom.

Section 6.  The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees of the Society. As a member of the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB), the President shall ensure appropriate representation of the Society at IEEE and TAB meetings by personal attendance, or by ensuring that one of the alternates defined in Section 3(a) attends. Failing this, the President should designate a representative from the ExCom, as defined in the Bylaws.

Section 7.  The work of the Society shall be conducted through the AdCom and through both standing and ad hoc committees as provided herein and in the Bylaws.

Section 8.  The President, as soon as expedient after election, shall appoint the Chairs of the standing Functional Committees provided in the Bylaws.  Other special or ad hoc committees may be authorized and appointed by the President.

Section 9.

(a) Standing Technical Committees may be administered by either elected or appointed committee officers as specified herein and in the Bylaws.

(b) Each Appointive Standing Technical Committee shall be directed by a Chair who shall be appointed or reappointed annually by the President of the Society as specified in the Bylaws.

(c) Each Elective Standing Technical Committee shall consist of at least 15 members and shall be governed according to a written Constitution and Bylaws approved by the committee and by the AdCom which shall include the following:

(1) provision for periodic election of officers;

(2) provision for amendment of the rules of operation subject to the approval of the AdCom; and

(3) a statement of criteria for membership.

 

Section 10.

Any AdCom member may be removed from office if he fails to perform his duties in a manner that is consistent with the best interests of the IEEE and NPSS.  This prerogative of AdCom should be exercised after due circumspection and only in extreme cases and always with great caution.

(a)  Appointed AdCom Members:  All Presidential appointees serve at the pleasure of the President, and as such can be removed from office by the President.  An appointed member of AdCom can be removed, with or without cause, by affirmative vote of two thirds of the voting members of AdCom present at the meeting, provided a quorum is present.

(b)  Elected AdCom members:  A petition signed by a minimum of five voting AdCom members is necessary to instigate the removal process and the petition must include the name of the member to be removed, the position in question, and a description of the grounds for removal.  Upon receipt of the petition, the Secretary will notify all AdCom members that such a petition has been received, notify the member in question, and give that member 30 days to provide a written response.  After this period, the Secretary will send a ballot that includes the statement of the grounds for removal and its rebuttal to each voting AdCom member.  The ballots will be returned to the Secretary who will tally the votes 30 days after the ballots were sent.  Should a minimum of two-thirds (2/3) of the eligible voting AdCom members vote in favor of removal, then the member in question will be removed from office immediately.  In the event that the Secretary is the member in question, the President will designate an alternate AdCom member to perform the duties assigned to the Secretary in this Section.

 

 

Article VI - Nomination and Election of Administrative Committee Members

 

Section 1.  Nominating procedures shall be as prescribed in the Bylaws and shall include provision for nomination by petition of Society members.  Nominations by petition shall be included on the ballot and shall be so identified.  To be considered as part of the slate of candidates for any position, a petition candidate must collect the original signatures of a minimum of 2% of the eligible Society members. The number of signatures required on a petition shall depend on the number of eligible society voters as listed in the official IEEE membership records at the end of the year. Signatures can be submitted by signing and mailing a paper petition or electronically through the official IEEE annual election website.  The name of each member signing the petition shall be clearly printed or typed. For identification purposes of signatures on paper petitions, membership numbers or addresses as listed in the official IEEE membership records shall be included. Only signatures submitted electronically through the IEEE annual elections website or original signatures on paper petitions shall be accepted. Facsimiles or other copies of the original signature shall not be accepted.

Section 2.  Election of the members of the AdCom shall be as prescribed in the Bylaws.

Section 3.  If a member of the AdCom does not complete a term, the vacancy shall be filled at the next AdCom election if more than one year remains in the term. Otherwise, the President will appoint a replacement for the remainder of the term.  When an AdCom member is elected or appointed for a partial term, that person is eligible to run for the next full-term election for the same position.

 

 

Article VII - Meetings

 

Section 1.  The Society may hold meetings, conferences, symposia or conventions either alone, with other IEEE organizational units, or in cooperation with other organizations subject to applicable IEEE rules and regulations.

Section 2.  Technical meetings, conferences, symposia, and conventions of the Society shall be open on an equal basis to all members of the IEEE.  The Society may not sponsor or co-sponsor a meeting that is in any way subject to limitations on attendance by members for reasons other than availability of space.

Section 3.  A majority of the voting members of AdCom or any committee thereof shall constitute a quorum.  No member shall be able to cast more than one vote for any reason.

Section 4.  The vote of a majority of the votes of the members present and entitled to vote, at the time of a vote, provided a quorum is present, shall be the act of the AdCom or any committee hereof.

Section 5.  The AdCom or any committee thereof may meet and act upon the vote of its members by any means of telecommunication.  The normal voting requirements shall apply when action is taken by any means of telecommunications equipment allowing all the persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.

Section 6.  The AdCom or any committee thereof may take action without a meeting if applicable (e.g. email).  An affirmative vote of a majority of all the voting members of the AdCom or any committee thereof shall be required to approve the action.  The results of the vote shall be confirmed promptly in writing or by electronic transmission. The writings and/or electronic transmissions shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the AdCom or any committee thereof.  ÒElectronic transmissionÓ means any form of electronic communication, such as email, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient.

Section 7.  The AdCom shall meet as required to conduct business and in accordance with the Bylaws.

Section 8.  Proxy voting is not allowed.

Section 9.  Individuals holding more than one position on the AdCom or any committee thereof shall be limited to one vote on each matter being considered by the AdCom or committee.

 

Article VIII - Amendments

 

Section 1.  Amendments to the Constitution may be initiated following approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the AdCom at an AdCom meeting provided that notice of the proposed amendment to the Constitution has been sent to each member of the AdCom at least three weeks prior to such meeting;.  After such approval, the proposed amendment shall be publicized in the Society Newsletter, with notice that it will be submitted to the Technical Activities Board and to the Executive Committee of the IEEE for final approval unless 25 Society members object within 60 days of the date of mailing of the notice.  If such objections are received, a copy of the proposed amendment shall be mailed with a ballot to all members of the Society at least 45 days before the date set for the return of the ballots; the ballots shall carry a statement of the postmark deadline for their return to the IEEE office.  When a vote, as prescribed by IEEE procedures, of the entire Society membership is made necessary, approval of the amendment by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the ballots returned shall be necessary for its enactment.  If approved by Society members, the proposed amendment will be submitted to the Technical Activities Board and to the Executive Committee of the IEEE for final approval.  The amendment shall take effect immediately after approval by the IEEE Technical Activities Board.   If the amendment changes the membership of AdCom, the then current AdCom members will continue to serve until their term expires.

Section 2.  As an alternative to the procedure outlined in Section 1 above, twenty-five members of the Society may submit a petition to the Technical Activities Board and to the IEEE Executive Committee. If approved by TAB and after notification of the AdCom, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the membership by mail ballot as described above.

Section 3.  Society Bylaws and amendments thereto may be adopted by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the AdCom, provided that notice of the proposed Bylaw or amendment has been sent to each member of the AdCom at least three weeks prior to such meeting; or a Society Bylaw, or amendment, may be adopted by a two-thirds written vote of the eligible voting members of the AdCom, provided a two week period is provided for such responses. In either event, the proposed Bylaw or amendment shall be published in the Society Newsletter.  The revision to the bylaws will take effect following Society AdCom approval, publication in the Society Newsletter and filing with the Secretary of the Technical Activities Board, which must be acknowledged.

 

Article IX - Publications

 

Section 1.  The Society shall support a program by which Transactions, Conference Proceedings, newsletters, and other forms of publication appropriate to the SocietyÕs fields of interest are published and distributed.  Publications undertaken by the Society shall be subject to IEEE policies and to further guidance and controls prescribed by the AdCom or its duly appointed committees.  The Society shall be responsible for the financial aspects of its publication program.

Section 2.  All publications of the Society shall have unrestricted circulation, subject only to the payment of appropriate fees.  Circulation of Society publications to non-members shall be subject only to the payment of appropriate fees or charges.

Section 3.  The President with the advice of the AdCom shall appoint a Publications Chair to oversee the publication program and to assure financial soundness and maintenance of schedules and format standards.  The responsibilities of the Publications Chair shall include the preparation of the Society's Annual Directory.  The responsibility for the technical content of any Transactions shall be controlled by that TransactionsÕ Editor-in-Chief, who shall be nominated by the Publication Committee Chair or by the Society President and approved by the AdCom.

 

 

Article X - Periodic Review

 

Section 1.  The President shall appoint 5 members of the AdCom every five years beginning in 2005 to evaluate the effectiveness and currency of this Constitution and Bylaws, to study the rules and governance required by the activities of the Society at that time, and to define the changes appropriate to the existing and anticipated needs of the Society.  The committee will be chaired by the Vice-President, and will issue its report for action at the final AdCom meeting of that year.

Bylaws

 

1. Membership:  There shall be two grades of Society membership: Student Members and Higher Grade Members. Student Members of the IEEE may become Student Members in the Society upon payment of the fee specified in Bylaw 3. Student members shall have all the rights and privileges of Society membership with the exception of the right to vote and to hold office.  Members of the IEEE in all grades may become members of the Society upon payment of the fee specified in Bylaw 3.  Life members dues are waived as provided in IEEE Bylaws.

 

2. Affiliates:  Non-members of the IEEE who are members of certain other organizations accredited by the IEEE as provided in IEEE Rules and Regulations may become affiliates of the Society upon payment of the fees specified in Bylaw 4.  The rights of Affiliate members shall be as specified by IEEE.

 

3. Membership Fees:  The assessment or fee for membership in the Society shall be established by the AdCom.  It will include the NPSS Newsletter.

 

4. Affiliate Fees: Affiliates shall pay the fee or assessment specified in IEEE rules and regulations.

 

5. Administrative Committee:  Article V of the Constitution provides that the AdCom shall consist of 16 directly elected members plus certain ex-officio members.  The ex-officio members of the AdCom shall be the President, Vice-President, most recent Past President, the Chairs of the Standing Technical Committees, the Chairs of Standing Functional Committees, Secretary, Treasurer, Liaison Representatives for Standards and IEEE-USA, Editors-in-Chief of the Transactions, Editor of the Newsletter, Publications Chair and other ex-officio members as provided for in the IEEE Constitution.

5.1.  The voting members of the AdCom shall be the elected members, President, Vice-President, most recent Past-President, and the Chairs of the Technical Committees.  The presiding officer of the AdCom meeting shall not cast a vote unless (1) the vote is by secret ballot or (2) his or her vote can change the outcome of the vote.

5.2.  The AdCom shall meet at least three times per year, upon dates determined by the President and agreed to by the committee, at least three weeks in advance of the meetings.  Additional meetings may be called at the discretion of the President or upon request of at least twelve (12) voting members of the AdCom with at least three weeks notice.

5.3.  AdCom meetings are open to visitors.  Visitors to AdCom meeting may have the privilege of the floor at the discretion of the meetingÕs presiding officer.  Visitors can be removed from AdCom meetings for any reason at the discretion of the meetingÕs presiding officer.

5.4. The final regularly scheduled meeting in the calendar year is the meeting at which written reports of all committees shall be presented.

5.5. In the absence of extenuating circumstances (as approved by AdCom), directly elected members who miss three successive meetings shall automatically be dropped from the AdCom. Representation by a designated alternate does not constitute attendance.

 

6. Nomination and Election of the Administrative Committee:  The Nominating Committee shall be chaired by the most recent Past President and shall nominate candidates for all elected positions on the AdCom. In the event of the incapacity or conflict of interest of the Chair, the most recent Past Chair of the Nomination Committee available shall be the Chair of the Nominating Committee.  With extenuating circumstances, a different individual may be appointed to this position.  The Chair shall not be eligible to be elected to the AdCom during their term of service.

6.1.  At least two thirds of the voting members of the Nominating Committee shall be elected or appointed from among the AdComÕs voting members. Apart from the Chair, the Nominating Committee shall include all the Technical Committee Chairs.  In exceptional circumstances a Technical Committee Chair may, in consultation with the relevant Technical Committee and the President, name a replacement to serve on the Nominating Committee.  A member of the Nominating Committee may be nominated and run for a position for which such members respective Nomination Committee is responsible for making nominations only on the following conditions: (i) the nomination is not made by a member of the same Nominations Committee and (ii) the member resigns from the Nominations Committee prior to its first meeting of the year in which the nomination shall be made.

6.2. The number of vacancies for elected members to the AdCom shall be the difference between the number authorized in Article V, Section 1, of the Constitution and the number with continuing terms.  The Transnational Functional Committee will be allocated one directly elected AdCom member.  The vacancies shall be divided into categories corresponding to the appropriate Standing Technical Committees with the number per category chosen to maintain representation of the entire AdCom in proportion to the NPSS membership technical interests as determined by periodic surveys.  The Nominating Committee shall submit a slate of at least two names for each vacancy to be filled.

6.3. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall assure that, before April 1, a call for nominations is conveyed to the whole membership either through the Newsletter or through a separate mailing. Nominations must be submitted to the Chair of the Nominating Committee on a nomination form that includes a statement of the willingness and ability of the nominee to serve if elected, the membership status of the nominee in IEEE and NPSS, a short biography and a statement of the issues that the candidate wishes to address as an AdCom member.  Additional nominations for the available category vacancies may be submitted to the Society President using the same nomination form, between June 1 and July 1 upon petition signed by a minimum of 2% of the Society members in good standing or by 5 members of the AdCom. Only written signatures can be accepted on the petition.

6.4. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall, with the aid of the committee members, determine the slate of nominees by July 1.

6.5. Current elected members of the AdCom and current Nominating Committee members are ineligible for nomination.

6.6. All nominees and petition candidates must be members in good standing of the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society and the IEEE.

6.7. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall annually arrange for the distribution (through IEEE Headquarters) to the members of the Society, on or about July 31, of a ballot to elect the candidates to fill vacancies on the AdCom.  The names on the ballot shall be followed by an indication of the method of nomination, whether by committee nomination or by petition. The names of the nominees shall be grouped and labeled by categories corresponding to the Standing Technical Committees.  The ballot shall be accompanied by a short biographical sketch and position statement prepared by each nominee or petition candidate.

6.8. Sixty days after distribution of the ballots, the IEEE Headquarters shall count and tabulate the votes received and report the results to the AdCom.  The candidate with the most votes shall be elected.

6.9. Election of the President of AdCom: An election for President will be held by written ballot before the final AdCom meeting of the even-numbered years.  The ballot for election of the President will indicate two choices: 1) the current Vice-President and (2) an indication that an open election is desirable.  The ballots shall be distributed by the Chair of the Nominating Committee to all voting members of AdCom for return to the Secretary of AdCom 30 days prior to the final AdCom meeting of the year.  The Secretary of AdCom is responsible for counting the ballots and the Chair of the Nominating Committee will independently count the ballots and verify the tally.  The Secretary of the AdCom will announce the results of the election.  Should the Vice-President fail to receive a majority of the votes on the returned ballots, then AdCom will itself determine a slate of candidates for President and vote at the final AdCom meeting.

6.10. Nomination and Election of the Vice-President of AdCom:  The Nominating Committee shall determine a slate of candidates for Vice-President according to the guidelines set forth in Article V, Section 4.  In selecting candidates for the NPSS Vice-President, the Nominating Committee will ensure that those candidates shall be eligible for and will, barring unforeseen circumstances, be willing to serve for the full terms of all succeeding positions (two years as Vice-President, two years as President, and two years as the most recent Past President).  The slate of candidates for Vice-President will appear on the same ballot as the election for President (specified in Bylaw 6.9) and will be subject to the same election schedule. In the event that there are more than two candidates for Vice President, the election shall be carried out using an instant runoff voting procedure, in which each voter shall rank the candidates numerically on the ballot, beginning with the number one for the first choice, and runoff counts of the candidates shall be conducted in rounds. If, in any round, no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the candidate (or candidates, if there is a tie) with the fewest number of votes shall be eliminated and the remaining candidates shall advance to the next round. In each round, a voter shall be considered to have cast one vote for the candidate the voter ranked highest on the ballot who has not been eliminated in a previous round. In the event that this procedure does not produce a clear majority for any candidate, AdCom will choose the winner by a majority vote at the AdCom meeting.

6.11.  Executive Committee (ExCom):  An executive committee consisting of the President, Vice-President, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer and any other current members of AdCom, whether voting members or not, who have held the position of President, shall form the ExCom.

6.12. The ExCom shall advise the President on issues that the President or other members of the ExCom choose to raise between meetings of the AdCom. Business shall generally be conducted by telephone, e-mail or similar means of communication. In exceptional circumstances, the President can call a meeting of the ExCom. ExCom meetings are closed to visitors and communications of the ExCom are private.

 

7. Standing Technical Committees: The Standing Technical Committees of the Society shall be:

The Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Committee

The Fusion Technology Committee

The Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences Committee

The Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Committee

The Plasma Sciences and Applications Committee

The Pulsed Power Science and Technology Committee

The Radiation Effects Committee

The Radiation Instrumentation Steering Committee

 

7.1. Standing Technical Committees may be of either of two forms, elective or appointive, in accordance with Article V, Section 9, of the Constitution of the Society.

7.2. The Chairs of Standing Technical Committees shall be members in good standing of the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society and the IEEE.

7.3. The terms of office of the Chairs of elective Standing Technical Committees shall be in accordance with the rules of each committee except that no Chair shall serve consecutively for more than three years or for two conferences when the technical committee has conferences every two years.

7.4. The President of the Society shall appoint the Chairs of the appointive Standing Technical Committees for a term of one year. A Chair may not serve consecutively for more than three years except in the case where a conference is held biennially and it is the wish of the appointive Standing Technical Committee that runs the conference to have their Chair serve for two of the conferences.

7.5. The Chairs and the Vice-Chairs of elective Standing Technical Committees shall be elected by the respective committees.  The name of the Chair and the Vice-Chair so elected shall be transmitted along with a notification of the length of term of office to the Secretary of the AdCom by the outgoing Chair of each elective Technical Committee as soon as is expedient after election.

7.6. A Standing Technical Committee shall gain elective status by presenting a petition requesting such status signed by at least 15 members of the Committee which shall demonstrate that the requirements of Article V, Section 9 of the Constitution have been met.  Approval of the elective status of a Standing Technical Committee shall be processed as an amendment to the Bylaws in accordance with Article VIII of the Constitution.

7.7. Standing Technical Committees may be created or changed by amending the Bylaws in accordance with Article VIII of the Constitution.

7.8. The Standing Technical Committee shall take the initiative in their respective fields of interest on behalf of the Society.  The Technical Committee Chair shall verify that, for confernces in which NPSS is financially responsible, in whole or in part, the Conference Chair, Conference Treasurer and any other person with fiscal responsibility for the conference is an IEEE NPSS member in good standing.

7.9. Each of the Standing Technical Committees shall as a minimum submit a written report of its activities to the AdCom prior to the final meeting of each year.  The membership and activities of the Standing Technical Committees will be publicized to the membership of the Society via the Newsletter or Transactions, and suggestions for committee membership will be invited from Society members and chapters.

7.10 Status and Fields of Interest of Standing Technical Committees:

7.10.1. The field of interest of the Appointive Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Committee shall include real-time and off-line computer systems, including hardware and software aspects of data acquisition, data analysis, data storage, and control, in any and all of the technical disciplines covered by the Society.

7.10.2 The field of interest of the Appointive Fusion Technology Committee shall include the engineering aspects of controlled fusion research and fusion reactor technology.

7.10.3. The field of interest of the Elective Nuclear Medical and Imaging Sciences Committee shall include radiation sources and detectors, radiation standards and monitoring, scanning and imaging systems, including image reconstruction and analysis.

7.10.4. The field of interest of the Appointive Particle Accelerator Science and Technology Committee shall include the theory, design, construction and operation of nuclear particle accelerators, their beam diagnostics, and their applications in high energy particle physics, low energy nuclear physics, radiation sources and general technology.

7.10.5. The field of interest of the Elective Plasma Science and Applications Committee shall include plasma science and engineering, including: magnetofluid dynamics and thermionics; plasma dynamics; gaseous electronics and arc technology; controlled thermonuclear fusion; electron, ion, and plasma sources; space plasmas; high current relativistic electron beams; laser-plasma interactions; diagnostics; plasma chemistry, plasma processing and colloidal and solid state plasmas.

7.10.6. The field of interest of the Appointive Pulsed Power Science and Technology Committee shall include the understanding, development and applications of pulsed power to plasma physics, nuclear science and related fields.

7.10.7. The field of interest of the Elective Radiation Effects Committee shall include the effects of radiation on materials, components and systems.

7.10.8. The fields of interest of the Elective Radiation Instrumentation Steering

Committee shall include sensors, electronic instrumentation, and systems for the measurement of ionizing radiation and high-energy particles with the emphasis on the tools, not the results of experiments using these tools.

 

8. Functional Committees:  The President of the Society shall appoint the Chairs of the following Standing Functional Committees:

Awards Committee

Chapters and Local Activities Committee

Communications Committee

Fellow Committee

Finance Committee

Conference Policy Committee

Membership Committee

Standards Committee

The remaining Functional Committees have their Chairs defined elsewhere in the Constitution or Bylaws:

Nominating Committee

Publications Committee

Transnational Committee

8.1. Except where otherwise specified in the Bylaws, each committee Chair shall appoint the members of the committee.

8.2. The terms of office of Chairs of Standing Functional Committees shall be one year.

8.3. The Chairs of Standing Functional Committees shall be members in good standing of the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society and the IEEE.

8.4. Awards Committee:  Solicits nominations for the various awards made by the Society, evaluates the nominees and selects those to whom the awards will be made. The Chair of the Awards Committee serves as the NPSS liaison to the TAB Awards and Recognition Committee.

8.5. Chapter and Local Activities Committee:  Provides organization and program assistance, especially with respect to conferences, educational activities and the Speakers Bureau, to support and motivate existing Chapters.  Promotes and assists in the creation of new Chapters in collaboration with the appropriate IEEE Section or Council Chairs.

8.6 Communications Committee:  Prepares and maintains promotional material for membership recruitment and other purposes as required.  The Communications Committee is responsible for the maintenance of the web site for both membership promotion and to publicize NPSS activities either directly or through links to conference, publication, and other web sites.

8.7. Fellow Committee:  Evaluates the credentials of and ranks the IEEE Fellow Candidates referred to the NPSS for evaluation.  The committee shall follow the procedures and guidelines established by the IEEE Fellows Committee.

8.8. Finance Committee:  Monitors the financial status of the Society and reports any developing trends along with recommended actions, conducts financial studies and analyses on any Society or IEEE issues having financial implications for the Society, and reports on these matters regularly at AdCom meetings.

8.9. Conference Policy Committee:  Responsible for recommending policies and procedures to AdCom for all conferences and symposia for which the NPSS takes full or partial responsibility and for ensuring compliance with IEEE conference policies as stated in the IEEE Meetings Organizational Manual.  Note that conference officers with fiduciary responsibility are to be members in good standing of the IEEE NPSS or of a co-sponsoring IEEE society of that conference.

8.10. Membership Committee:  Responsible for encouraging and recruiting new Society members and Society affiliation by inviting IEEE members who have an interest in NPSS activities, by generating interest among non-IEEE members, and by making application forms available and soliciting memberships at appropriate meetings and symposia.

8.11. The Nominating Committee:  The Nominating Committee shall be formed and administered according to the Bylaws pertaining to nominations.  The Nominating Committee develops a slate of nominees for the directly elected member positions on the AdCom that become vacant each year and recommends candidates for Vice-President of the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society.

8.12. Publications Committee:  Reports to AdCom on all publications activities sponsored by the NPSS. In particular, proposes an annual budget for each publication and brings to AdCom's attention any proposed new initiatives for discussion and possible approval.  Also keeps AdCom apprized of IEEE publications policies and procedures and is responsible for ensuring that NPSS publications follow these policies and procedures.  The Publications Committee shall be chaired by the Publications Chair, and include the Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions on Nuclear Science, the Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions on Plasma Science, the Editor of the Newsletter, and the Treasurer of the Society.

8.13. Standards Committee:  Responsible for all activities related to standards for the technical areas associated with this Society.  This includes proposing, developing, and maintaining standards for measurement techniques and tests of devices of general interest to manufacturers, developers, and users.

8.15. Transnational Committee:  The purpose of this committee is to foster the involvement in NPSS activities of people from countries other than the United States and Canada.  The directly elected member representing the Transnational Committee is the Chair for this committee.  Candidates for this position may not be from the United States or Canada.

 

9.  Disbursements:  Disbursement from Society funds shall be on the authority of the treasurer as directed by the AdCom, and in accordance with established procedures and policies of the IEEE.  The President and AdCom may authorize the Treasurer to disburse funds to defray legitimate expenses incurred by the Chairs and members of the Standing Technical and Functional Committees and others in connection with required attendance at official Society, IEEE or other meetings and the costs of publications.  Such expenditures must be approved by the President before being incurred.

9.1. The compensation and expense allowance of the Publications Chair and the Editors-in-Chief of the Transactions and Editor of the Newsletter shall be reviewed annually as a part of the preparation of the annual budget by the Treasurer and shall be approved by the AdCom as part of the budget approval.

 

10.  Ballots:  All ballots, for purposes of election of members of AdCom or changes in the Constitution, shall be issued to all voting members of the NPSS on instructions of the Chair of the Nominating Committee pursuant to action by the AdCom.  Ballots for directly elected AdCom members will direct Society members to only vote for candidates of Standing Technical Committees of which they are members or in which they are active.  No ballot shall be counted unless unambiguously marked by a qualified voter to indicate a choice, sent in a sealed envelope bearing the voters name, and received on or before the specified deadline date.  This specified deadline date shall be at least sixty days subsequent to the date of mailing of the ballots.  The counting of the ballots shall be entrusted to IEEE Headquarters.  The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall report the results to the AdCom.

 

11.  Beginning of Terms of Office:  All terms of office of elected members of the AdCom shall begin January 1 of the year immediately following their election, except in the case where an elected member of AdCom does not complete a term of office.  In this special case, the term of office of the replacement will begin immediately after the results of the election are known.

 

12.  Meetings:  The Society may not organize or sponsor a meeting, conference, symposium, or session thereof without consulting the Chair of the Conference Policy Committee.

 

13.  Alternates:

13.1. The Chair of a Standing Technical Committee may designate any member in good standing of the Society to represent the Standing Technical Committee at AdCom meeting.  The representative shall have the privilege of the floor, but may not vote on any matters coming before AdCom.

13.2. The Constitution and Bylaws of an Elective Standing Technical Committee may include a provision that a specified Committee officer can, when needed, serve as an alternate for the Chair at AdCom meetings.  This alternate has the privilege of the floor and may vote on all matters coming before AdCom.

13.3. The Transnational Committee Chair may nominate a Vice-Chair to be appointed by the President, and approved by AdCom.  The Vice-Chair may serve as an alternate for the Chair at AdCom meetings.  In the capacity of alternate, the Vice-Chair has the privilege of the floor and may vote on all matters coming before AdCom.