nova ICAMDATA
ICAMDATA Charter
| Purpose | Scope |
| Conference Board and Committees: <International Advisory Board> <International Program Committee> <IPC and Conference Officers> <Nominating Committee> <Local Conference Committee> |
| Conference frequency and Venue | Conference Business Meeting | Revision of the Charter |

Purpose The International Conference on Atomic and Molecular Data and Their Applications (ICAMDATA) is a continuing series of international conferences that promotes the use of atomic and molecular (AM) data in various fields of science and technology, provides a forum for interaction of AM data producers and users and for information exchange on AM data needs and availability, and fosters cross-disciplinary cooperation between the AM data producers and users and the coordination of AM data activities and databases worldwide.
Scope ICAMDATA covers topics on AM data needs in various scientific and technological areas (such as aeronomy, astrophysics, biomedicine, gaseous electronics, surface physics, industrial plasmas, and environmental, fusion, semiconductor and other technologies), and the development of experimental and theoretical methods for AM data generation, AM data collection, assessment, exchange and dissemination activities, establishment of national and international general and purpose-oriented AM databases, standardization of data formats and assessment criteria and efficient utilization of modern data access and transmission tools (such as WWW and Internet).
Conference Board and Committees Three bodies and their officers govern the Conference affairs: the International Advisory Board (IAB), the International Program Committee (IPC) and the Local Conference Committee (LCC). The IPC serves also as a Nominating Committee.
International Advisory Board (IAB) The IAB is composed of up to twenty-four representatives of the science and technology areas included in the scope of the Conference. The members of the Board serve for a period that covers two meetings of the Conference and may be re-elected for a second term covering an additional two meetings.

The functions of the IAB are to:

  • promote the ICAMDATA and its purposes and goals;
  • provide advice to the IPC regarding the scope, program directions, funding and general style of the Conference;
  • suggest topics and speakers for each Conference.

The members of the IAB are informed by the Secretary of the IPC about each upcoming IPC meeting and invited to suggest items for discussion to be placed on the agenda. The IPC Secretary informs the IAB members about the decisions of IPC meetings.

The members of the IAB are nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected by the Conference at its Business Meeting by the majority of participants present and voting. The terms of IAB members commence at the end of the Conference during which they are elected.

International Program Committee (IPC) The IPC is composed of up to 24 researchers active in the scientific and technological fields within the scope of the Conference.. The composition of the IPC reflects the geographical distribution of research activities covered by the Conference and is chosen so that it is responsive to the evolution of the subject areas.

The functions of the IPC are to:

  • advise, in consultation with the IAB and the Chair or Co-Chairs of the Local Conference Committee, on the program of the next Conference, including the selection of invited speakers, and topics for panel discussions;
  • determine the sites of subsequent Conferences and their Chairs or Co-Chairs;
  • run the affairs of ICAMDATA between Conferences;
  • serve as the Nominating Committee.

Between two consecutive Conferences, the IPC meets approximately one year before the second Conference to discuss the main Conference topics, the subjects of invited talks and speakers, topics for panel discussion and their organizers, and to review the plans of the Local Conference Committee regarding the Conference organization. A second meeting may be called by the IPC chair about four months before the Conference to review the organization of the Conference and provide advice to the Local Conference Committee. The IPC will meet also on the eve of the Conference to receive the final report from the Local Conference Committee and prepare the Conference Business Meeting.

If budgetary constraints prevent holding the first meeting, the corresponding business will be carried out by mail and the decisions/recommendations will be communicated to the Local Conference Committee Chair by the IPC Secretary.

The IPC members are nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected by the Conference at its Business Meeting by the majority of participants present and voting. The IPC members serve for a period that covers two meetings of the Conference and may be re-elected for a second term covering an additional two meetings. However, an exception applies to the Vice-Chair as noted below. The terms of Committee members commence with the end of the Conference during which they are elected.

IPC and Conference Officers The IPC officers include the IPC Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary. The officers are elected by the IPC. Together with the Chair of the Local Conference Committee they serve also as Conference Officers. The Chair and Vice-Chair may not succeed themselves in office. The outgoing Vice-Chair automatically succeeds to the Chair for a period of two full terms. Should the Vice-Chair resign, the IPC will select a new Chair from its membership. The IPC Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary formulate the agenda for the IPC meetings.

The functions of the IPC Chair are to preside over the IPC, Nominating Committee, and the Conference Business Meetings, and nominate candidates to fill any vacancy in the IPC that may occur between Conferences.

The Vice-Chair cooperates with the Chair and other Conference officers on all Conference matters.

The Secretary, together with the Chair and Vice-Chair, communicates with the IAB members before each of the IPC meetings on the meeting agenda items, reports their responses/suggestions to the meeting, and informs them about meeting decisions; prepares the agenda for the IPC, Nominating Committee and the Conference Business meetings, keeps adequate records of the actions taken by the Committees, applies to international science and technology organizations for sponsorship of each Conference, and transmits the records to successors.

The Secretary keeps the financial records of ICAMDATA in cooperation with the Local Conference Chair who manages and adds to a rolling conference fund passed from one conference to the next. The Secretary gives financial reports at the IPC meetings and at the Conference Business Meeting.

Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee consists of the IPC. The Nominating Committee conducts its business by mail beginning at least six months before the next Conference, and has one meeting on the eve of the Conference.

The Nomination Committee prepares a list of candidates to fill the expiring terms on the IAB and IPC and nominates the IPC officers if terms of these are expiring. All the nominees are submitted for election to the Conference at its Business Meeting. In selecting candidates for the IAB and IPC, the Nominating Committee keeps in mind the functions of these bodies and pays due attention to achieve appropriate geographical, research field and age distributions of their membership.

Participants to the Conference are invited to make suggestions to the IPC Chair regarding new IPC and IAB candidates, who transmits them to the Nominating Committee.

Local Conference Committee Each Conference has a Local Committee that is responsible for all arrangements. The LCC has a Chair (or Co-Chairs), Secretary and Treasurer, and additional officers if required. In constructing the Conference program, the LCC shall consider the recommendations of the IPC. The LCC is encouraged to establish and maintain a website for the Conference that includes all information relating to the organization of the Conference. The functions of the LCC are to:

  • send out the Conference announcements, decide on paper deadlines, and make such arrangements for housing of Conference participants, and other local matters as may be required;
  • in consultation with the IPC chair, undertake final selection of topics and speakers for the conference, including panel discussions and contributed papers, determine panel and session chairs, and invite the selected speakers;
  • consult the IPC when establishing a registration fee or accepting sponsorship of the Conference by organizations other than those contacted by the IPC Secretary;
  • publish the Book of Abstracts of contributed papers to be presented at the Conference and distributed to the participants and has the option of publishing the proceedings of the Conference consisting of the Invited Talks and Progress Reports and of the Contributed Papers presented at the Conference.
  • take custody of the rolling ICAMDATA fund which is provided to cover initial costs (before registration fees are collected) and is then augmented by a portion of the proceeds raised and passed on to the next Local Conference Committee (in this way sufficient initial working funds are assured).

The LCC Chair cooperates with the IPC Secretary in preparing the meetings of the IPC.

The LCC Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, and other Local Committee members designated by the Local Committee Chair participate in the meetings of the IPC and report on the status of Conference matters. The LCC Chair is designated by the IPC.

After the Conference, all relevant Conference records are transmitted to the IPC Secretary.

Conference Frequency and Venue The Conference is held every two or three years. The location is determined by the IPC.
Conference Business Meeting Toward the end of the Conference a plenary session will be held that serves as the Conference Business Meeting. During this meeting the IPC Chair reports on the decisions of the IPC and Nominating Committee, and the IPC Secretary delivers a summary of the financial status of the Conference. The IPC Chair then calls for votes of approval of the actions and decisions of the committees, for action on any proposed changes of the Charter, and for new business proposed from the floor. A majority of those present and voting is required for approval of any action.
Revision of the Charter This charter is on display on an appropriate notice board at each Conference and is available at the ICAMDATA website. This Charter may be revised by action of a majority of those present and voting at the Conference Business Meeting, provided that written notification of an amendment is given to the IPC Chair at least three months prior to that Meeting. The IPC Chair shall see that the proposed amendment is discussed by the IPC and that adequate written notice of the proposed amendment is given to the participants of the Conference by the close of the first day of the Conference.

The original Charter was adopted by a majority of the participants of the 1st ICAMDATA held in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, on October 2, 1997. This revised charter was approved by a majority of participants in the business session of the 4th ICAMDATA held in Toki, Japan on October 8, 2004.

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