20th General Assembly

Resolutions

IUPAP 20th General Assembly, Dresden, Germany,1990

Changes in the Statutes

At the meeting with the Executive Council today it was decided to submit a resolution proposing the following changes in the statutes of the Union.

3. Administration of the Union – the end of paragraph 6

Reads:

A secretariat, under the direction of the Secretary-General, administers the current affairs of the Union.

Shall read:

A secretariat, under the direction of the Secretary-General, administers the current affairs of the Union.

The Council shall appoint an auditor to examine the financial records of the Union and to certify an annual financial report.

The Establishment of a Commission on Biological Physics (1990)

Following consultations with many members of the physics community, the Council has decided to propose that a new Commission on Biological Physics be created with a mandate as given in the attachments.

It is suggested that the General Assembly elect Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and five additional members during the assembly currently in session, and a pro-posed slate of candidates is attached.

It is further suggested that the Council be entrusted to appoint five additional members to serve until the next General Assembly.

Proposed Mandate – Commission on Biological Physics

• to promote the exchange of information and views among the members of the international community of physicists in the area of Biological Physics. Biological Physics deals with the concepts and laws that underlie the structure and function of biological systems. Scientific activities in Biological Physics include experimental, theoretical, and computational studies of biomolecules and other biological systems of interest to physicists;
• to recommend for Union sponsorship international conferences that qualify support under Union regulations (See IUPAP Coutumier). To initiate such conferences as their need arises from the evolution of Biological Physics. To assist in the organization of such conferences when practical. To ensure the compatibility of international conferences in its field and to discourage clashes and incompatibility of dates;
• to promote the free circulation of scientists. To assist conference organizers in ensuring such free circulation and in resolving potential infringements;
• to organize where feasible the award of medals or other testimonials of excellence in Biological Physics;
• to publish where feasible newsletters, circulars, occasional books, journals or handbooks in Biological Physics;
• to maintain liaison with other Commissions, Commissions or Committees of other Unions, or of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), or other scientific organizations with a view to collaborating and cooperating in sponsoring joint conferences and to participating in joint projects when need arises. In particular to maintain close liaison with the General Commissions of IUPAP (SUN, Physics Education and Physics for Development), so as to ensure suitable input from Biological Physics into these physics-wide activities;
• to make available to each General Assembly of the Union a summary of activities and progress in the Biological Physics since the previous assembly.

Note:

Since there exists an International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) a remark concerning similarities and differences between biological physics and biophysics may be in order. In biophysics, physics is the servant and provides experimental techniques, theoretical concepts, and theoretical underpinning for the understanding of biological systems. Biophysicists come from both the physical and biological side and very often have a far better training in biology and biochemistry than in physics. Biological physicians most often are physicists by training. The border between the two fields is not sharp and it is impossible to study a biological system in depth without using both fields and contributing to both.

Resolution Submitted to the 1990 General Assembly Concerning Changes in the Bylaw No. 1

Commissions – e) Associate Members

Reads:

Some Commissions have established valuable links with several scientific Unions and other international organizations. They may wish to ask these organizations to nominate experts in these fields to become associate members of IUPAP Commissions.

(IUPAP is invited to appoint physicists as associate members of Commissions established by other Unions.)

The maximum number of associate members of any one Commission will normally be four. They are appointed by the Executive Council one year after the election of regular Members. A list may be obtained form the Secretary-General.

Associate members are not entitled to vote at Commission meetings nor will they be eligible for IUPAP grants toward travelling and subsistence expenses.

Shall read:

Some Commissions have established valuable links with several scientific Unions and other international organizations. They may wish to ask these organizations to nominate experts in these fields to become associate members of IUPAP Commissions.

For some Commissions it is also desirable to maintain close liaison with other IUPAP Commissions to ensure coordination of activities and actions in areas of common interest. To accomplish this, Commissions may wish to nominate also associate members from fields represented by other Commissions. This should be done in consultation with the Commission(s) concerned.

The maximum number of associate members of any one Commission will normally be four. They are appointed by the Executive Council one year after the election of regular members. A list may be obtained from the Secretary-General.

Associate members are not entitled to vote at Commission meetings nor will they be eligible for IUPAP grants towards travelling and subsistence expenses.

Sponsorship of Conferences in Developing Countries

According to present practice IUPAP support cannot be given to regional conferences under any circumstances. While this obviously is the policy to be adopted in general, there is one category of regional conferences for which a special rule should be considered, viz. regional conferences organized in developing countries which are organized by an international organizing committee and have substantial international participation. Such conferences are of crucial importance in furthering physics research in developing countries and in integrating the research work in these countries into the international research effort because they are the most efficient way of providing an opportunity for an intense interaction of a large number of physicists from developing countries with experts from developed countries. Although the number of international experts may often not exceed 10 percent of the participants, their participation ensures that the character of such conferences is effectively international. An example for a conference series of this kind are the Latin American Workshops on the Plasma Physics.

Therefore, the General Assembly encourages the Executive Council to follow a policy which ensures that conferences in developing countries, even if addressing mainly the interests of a specific region, are eligible for IUPAP sponsorship provided that:

• the conference is organized by an international organizing committee, has substantial international participation and is open to scientists from all countries;
• there is positive advice from the competent specialized Commission as well as from the Commission on Physics for Development.

Submitted by the Commission on Plasma Physics (C16)