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7.THE SECRETARIAT
As shown in Fig. 1, the organisational structure of
the IUVSTA provides for a Secretariat. When the
IOVST was transformed into the IUVSTA, it maintained
the legal status which had been granted to the IOVST
in compliance with Belgian laws on international
associations having scientific objectives.
Belgian law requires the IUVSTA to maintain
its registered office in Brussels or one of
its boroughs. To satisfy this requirement
the IUVSTA simply retained the offices of
the Secretariat (located at 30, Avenue de
la Renaissance, B-1000, Brussels) which
had served the IOVST. E. Thomas, Past
President of IOVST, was now Vice President
and Secretary General of IUVSTA and
Scientific Secretary of the STD and lived in
Brussels. The offices in Brussels became the
international headquarters for the Union. All
of the daily business and correspondence
were handled there with the help of an
Administrative Secretary, A. De Henau,
and an assistant. Each national society
member of the Union appointed a secretary
(IUVSTA Correspondent) to take charge of
correspondence between the society and
the Secretariat. News Bulletins, edited by
E. Thomas, were also published and mailed
by the Secretariat.
According to the Union’s statutes, as
amended in 1971, the President has the right
to determine the location of the Secretariat.
President L. E. Preuss (USA) proposed to
the 4
th
General Meeting that it is transferred
from Brussels to the offices of The (British)
Institute of Physics at Belgrave Square,
London and that N. A. Walter assumes the
post of Executive Secretary. This proposal
was accepted, because of an attractive
financial offer made by The Institute of
Physics, and the office was transferred in
early January 1972. A. De Henau continued
working in Brussels until July 1972 for the
STD and a registered office is still retained
there for legal purposes.
In London, the Secretariat took on a more
prominent role in the activities of the IUVSTA.
N. A. Walter, who had been Secretary to
the British Vacuum Council and associated
to some extent with the Union since the
organisation of the 4
th
International Vacuum
Congress in Manchester in 1968, was
familiar with the activities of the Union. With
the help of A. R. Bellion, at first his assistant
and later Administrative Secretary, and
with other secretarial assistance from The
Institute of Physics, Walter was able to take
on essentially all of the administrative chores
of the Union. These included: the billing and
collection of membership subscriptions and
the keeping of financial records; preparation
of the agenda and the recording and
publishing of minutes for all meetings of the
GM, EC, STD, Standing Committees, and
Welch Foundation; administration of the
Welch Scholarships; editing, publishing and
mailing of an expanded bimonthly News
Bulletin; coordination of local arrangements
with the host national vacuum societies
for International Congresses, GM and EC
meetings; the production and marketing of
the Visual Aids; and general correspondence
and correspondence with the National
Vacuum Society Correspondents. Assump
tion of these responsibilities was of great
help to the Officers and Committee
Chairmen of the Union. However, as time
SUMMARY