25 / 166
25
The Welch Foundation and Prize Committee
(described in later Sections) has recently
been renamed the Awards and Scholarships
Committee and reports also on the activities
of the Welch Foundation. Other committees
that have existed for various periods
include: Previous Decisions, Latin American
Activities, Co-ordinated Activities, Liaison,
Developing Countries, and European
Representatives. Since 1982 there has been
a Long Range Planning Committee, chaired
by the President-elect, which provides
a forum for wide-ranging discussions of
changes in procedures, structure and new
activities for IUVSTA. For example a strategic
business plan including a Strengths/
Weakness/Opportunities/Threats (SWOTs)
analysis has been implemented during the
2001-2004 triennium under the guidance of
J. W. Rogers Jr (USA), the Union President-
Elect during that period. Some activities
of the committees are described in later
sections.
The STD guides the scientific activities
of the Union, principally through
the work of the Scientific Divisions,
the Education Committee and the
Awards and Scholarship Committee.
Their activities are described in later
sections.
The financial resources of the Union have
always been very modest. Traditionally,
profits made from exhibits at the
International Vacuum Congresses have
been given to the Union by the host
National Society. This income has varied
from one meeting to the next, and could
not be accurately estimated in advance.
In recent times, to help facilitate financial
planning, host nations have generally
built a specific donation (about
€
30,000
in 2016, where
€
designates Euros, the
budgeting currency currently used by the
Union) into their congress budgets but
the original principle continues to hold,
namely that this is a voluntary donation
and it is expected that this money will
come predominantly from the exhibition.
The Union receives additional income from
membership dues. Each member pays a
subscription which is a multiple of a fixed
amount called a “unit contributory share”.
This is designated in Euros, the budgeting
currency presently used by the Union.
The GM determines the value of the unit
contributory share based on the estimated
financial requirements of the Union for
the ensuing triennium. The number of
contributory shares assigned to each
member is determined by the size of the
country and the extent to which vacuum
science and technology is practised in
that country. It is fixed by the EC subject
to ratification by the GM after negotiations
between the Secretary General and the
Union members. Although this method
of assessing the Union members is not
very precise, it has been difficult to find a
more equitable method because of large
differences in the structure of National
Societies and National Committees which
make up the Union membership.
Recognition of the IUVSTA’s status
within the international scientific
community was enhanced when
the IUVSTA was accepted as a
Scientific Associate of the Interna-
tional Council of Scientific Unions
(ICSU) in November 1992. The
formalities of this application had
extended over the full period of the
preceding triennium and had invol-
ved gaining documented support
from at least six national scientific
societies and a minimum of four
international unions already ac-
cepted by ICSU. Since 1999, ICSU
has changed its name to the Inter-
national Council for Science but
has maintained the acronym ICSU.
SUMMARY