34 / 166
34
went on, the cost of maintaining the full-time
Executive Secretariat in London continued
to rise. The increased cost was due in part
to general inflation and in part to expanded
administrative services and development of
the Visual Aids Project. These costs were
not easily separated. In the late 1970’s, it
became clear that even with increased
membership subscriptions the Union
could no longer afford the luxury of a full-
time Executive Secretariat to provide the
excellent services that it had enjoyed in the
past. Consequently, the London Secretariat
was closed at the end of 1980. However,
the Union kept the 47 Belgrave Square
address to give the Union a permanent
mailing address which was listed in various
publications and where general inquiries
could be made. Mail received there was
forwarded to the appropriate Union Officer
or Committee Chairman.
Since 1983, the address of the Secretariat
has continued to be determined each
triennium by the President and has been
set as the address of the Secretary General.
From 1983 to 1986 the address was Institut
für Experimentalphysik, Universität Wien,
Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090, Wien, Austria.
From 1986 to 1989 it was Surface Science
Division, National Bureau of Standards,
Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA. From 1989
to 1998 it was The University of Salford,
Department of Electrical Engineering,
Salford, M5 4WT, England, UK. From 1998
to 2004 it was 7 Mohawk Crescent, Nepean,
Ontario, K2G 0N9, Canada. From 2004 to
2013 it was 84, Oldfield Drive, Vicars Cross,
Chester CH3 5LW, UK. Currently from
2013 it is Vienna University of Technology,
Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10, 1040, Vienna,
Austria.
When J. M. Lafferty (USA) became the
Union’s President in 1980 he devised a
decentralised structure for the Secretariat
which allowed the Union to operate
within a budget based on its membership
subscriptions. Under these arrangements,
the agenda and the recording and
distribution of minutes of the EC and GM
meetings became the responsibility of the
President and Secretary General. Lafferty
delegated to J. L. Robins, Councillor from
Australia, the responsibility of recording and
distributing, with partial subsidy, the EC
and GM minutes. Each Chairman, with the
help of a Secretary, became responsible for
Dan SHECHTMAN - IVC-19 Plenary - Paris, France