Charter

(Adopted 6/23/2005)

The name of this organization shall be the RHIC & AGS Users’ Group. Its purpose is to provide an organized channel for the interchange of information between the Laboratory administration and those who use BNL's nuclear, high-energy, and heavy-ion facilities. Representing a wide spectrum of research workers, the group will make known to the BNL administration the needs and desires of those actively engaged in leading research projects, while providing a means for BNL to inform them of current and future plans for the Laboratory. It is expected that this will enable the Laboratory administration better to evaluate the needs of its users so they can more efficiently plan their use of Laboratory facilities.

A. ORGANIZATION

1. Membership:

  1. Membership shall be open to scientists who are interested in doing research at the RHIC & AGS Accelerator Complex, the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF), and the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL).
  2. BNL employees holding the following positions are registered as Ex-Officio members of the group: the BNL Director, the BNL Associate Director for Science and Technology, the responsible BNL Associate Director, the Chairs of the Collider-Accelerator and Physics Departments, the Division Heads of the Accelerator and Experimental Support Facilities of the Collider-Accelerator Department, and the Director of the Users’ Center.

2. Officers:

  1. The officers of the Group are the Chair, Chair-elect, and the Past Chair. The Chair will serve as the executive officer of the Group. A Chair-elect shall be elected by plurality vote of the membership every year, and will assume the Chair's duties after one year. The Past Chair will assist the Chair for one year after their tenure as Chair. At least two candidates for the Chair-elect shall be presented by a Nominating Committee.
  2. When necessary the Chair shall have the power to fill vacancies occurring between meetings.
  3. If the election results in a tie, a runoff election will be held and the candidate receiving a plurality of the votes will be elected.
  4. A Secretary shall be appointed by the Chair to serve at the Chair's discretion.

3. Standing Committees:

  1. The Executive Committee (UEC) shall consist of 19 members, including the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Past Chair, nine elected, three elected Student/Post-doctoral, and four appointed members. Members of the UEC shall rotate; each year four new members (one of which is the Chair-elect) shall be elected for three-year terms and three Student/Post-doctoral members shall be elected for one-year terms. Nominations for the elections shall be made by the Nominating Committee. Elections shall precede the Annual Users’ Meeting, during which the names of those elected shall be announced. Each year the current Chair shall appoint and the UEC shall confirm two additional members for two-year terms.
  2. The Nominating Committee shall consist of four members appointed by the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee is charged with preparing a slate of candidates for election of the Chair-elect, and Executive Committee members. The slate should reflect a balance of interests, institutions, and nationalities among active fields of research at the BNL facilities.

 

B. MEETINGS OF THE USER GROUP

  1. Meetings shall be called at the discretion of the Chair except that a minimum of one meeting shall be held annually. The location of the meeting shall be selected at the discretion of the Chair. Except in unusual circumstances, notice of the meetings shall be give at least one month in advance to all members.
  2. An agenda for each meeting shall be provided by the Chair with the aid and advice of the Executive Committee. A short written summary of the items on the agenda shall be provided to the members at least one week in advance of the date of the meeting.

 

C. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PROCEDURAL RULES

  1. Minutes of the Executive Committee meetings shall be recorded by the Secretary and shall include a brief résumé of the results of the deliberations. After approval by the Chair, copies of the minutes shall be provided to all regular members of the Executive Committee. The term regular member is understood to be an elected or appointed member as defined under A3a above.
  2. Attendance at Executive Committee meetings by more than one-third of the elected members shall constitute a quorum. On specific questions, the Chair may call for a vote to determine the results of the deliberations if a quorum is present. A majority vote shall constitute the recommendation of the Executive Committee, except that any three elected members in attendance can call for a written vote by the entire membership. In the absence of a quorum, no official action can be taken.