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Article I. Name and Purpose
Section 1.
The name of the organization shall be the Particle Technology Forum
(PTF) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
Section 2.
The purpose of the PTF is to serve as an international forum
and to promote information exchange, scholarship, research,
and education in the field of Particle Technology,
covering science and engineering related to all particulate systems,
wet or dry, reactive or non-reactive.
Section 3.
The Forum will function similar to an AIChE Division
but is organized to give stronger emphasis to
the following objectives:
a. To cover a wide range of interdisciplinary topics
in particle technology.
b. To serve as an international forum for particle technology.
c. To foster and promote industrial and academic interactions.
Article II. Relationship to the Institute
Section 1.
The Forum is a part of AIChE and its activities are open
to co-sponsoring not-for-profit societies;
members are encouraged to become members of AIChE
and co-sponsoring not-for-profit societies.
Section 2.
The Forum is under the supervision and oversight
of the Council of the Institute.
Section 3.
All Forum committees shall work in coordination with
corresponding National committees. Forum programming activity
shall be carried out in coordination
with the National Program Committee of the Institute.
Section 4.
The Forum shall not have authority to act for or in the name
of the Institute except with the explicit prior authorization
of Council of the Institute. The Forum does not have
the authority to incur any financial obligation
in the name of the Institute.
Article III Membership
Membership in PTF is by self-selection.
Anyone who pays the PTF dues will be considered a member.
Article IV Organization
Section 1. Governance
The PTF will be governed by an Executive Committee consisting of
four academic representatives (elected by the general membership
from members in the academic professions), four non-academic representatives
(elected by the general membership from members in the non-academic professions),
the chair and vice chair (elected by the Executive Committee as specified elsewhere),
and the immediate past chair. Each Executive Committee member shall have
only one vote, and the chair may vote only to break a tie.
The Executive Committee may consist of eight to eleven members depending
on whether the chair, vice chair, and immediate past chair are incumbent
representatives or not.
[This first part was modified by amendment on 2003 Nov 17.]
Each Committee member shall be a member of the
AIChE at the time of election. Participation of the international community
will be encouraged.
Section 2. Election and Term of Office
The term of office shall be four years, with four of the Executive Committee
members standing for office at Annual Meetings in even-numbered years.
[This first sentence was modified by amendment on 2003 Nov 17.]
There is no restriction on consecutive terms.
The preferred method of electing new Executive Committee members
will be the following procedure: Communications to members shall
be from the secretary of the PTF via the members' preferred PTF
newsletter distribution modes. The deadline for receipt of any response
from members to the PTF secretary shall be four weeks after sending the
original communication out. The return address on the response shall
be used as a check on the identity of the sender. A slate of candidates
proposed by the Nominating Committee shall be distributed to the members
for review at least four months prior to the Annual PTF Meeting.
Any nomination by a member in response must be accompanied by a statement
from the nominee agreeing to serve if elected. Ballots with the final list
of candidates shall be distributed to the members at least two months
before the Annual PTF Meeting. Responses to the ballot shall be tabulated
by the PTF secretary two weeks before the Annual PTF Meeting.
Election shall require a simple plurality of the ballots returned,
and all candidates shall be informed of the numerical results before
the Annual PTF Meeting. The count shall be audited by the Treasurer.
If the above method is not used, the following two sentences shall govern
the election. [This para was inserted by amendment on 2003 Nov 17.]
New Executive Committee members will be elected
by a simple plurality of the general membership
who are present and voting at the Annual Meeting,
or by mail voting. Each voting member may select candidates
from a slate prepared by the Nominating Committee
but open to nominations from the floor. The slate prepared
by the Nominating Committee shall allow conformance
to the requirements for membership in the Executive Committee.
If the votes from the general membership would elect candidates
who would violate these requirements, the non-conforming candidates
receiving the lowest number of votes shall be replaced
by conforming candidates having the highest number of votes
among those not elected.
Should any Executive Committee memberships become vacant,
temporary members can be appointed by the Executive Committee
of the Forum. Elections for any unexpired terms will be held
at the following Annual Meeting which elects members
of the Executive Committee.
Section 3. Meetings of the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee will hold at least one meeting
per year to elect officers, appoint committee chairs,
and conduct other business as appropriate.
Section 4. Officers
Officers of the Executive Committee shall consist of a Chair, Vice Chair,
Secretary, and Treasurer. All officers have two-year terms.
At the start of the first Executive Committee that includes newly-elected
Executive Committee members the Vice Chair shall automatically succeed to the Chair.
In years evenly divisible by four the Vice Chair shall be elected from
all non-academic representatives who have served on the Executive Committee
in the last six calendar years. In the intervening terms the same conditions
apply but for academic, rather than non-academic, representatives.
[This was modified by amendment to swap academic and non-academic
(to fix an inadvertant error in an earlier amendment) on 2004 Nov 8.]
The Secretary and Treasurer shall be elected from the incumbent Executive
Committee members.
[This first part was modified by amendment on 2003 Nov 17.]
All elections and other votes of the Executive Committee
require a majority of those present. A quorum is five members.
Section 5. Co-Sponsoring Not-For-Profit Societies
Other professional societies which promote Particle Technology
may apply for co-sponsorship of a PTF activity.
The application must be sent in writing to the Executive Committee,
which will reply within six months. The co-sponsoring societies
will be listed in all PTF publications.
Section 6. Standing Committees
Each of the Standing Committees will have a liaison
with the appropriate Institute Committee. The liaison will be
appointed by the Chair of each Standing Committee.
The Standing Committees and their duties are:
Biennial Meeting Committee
To organize the Biennial Meeting and to select the incoming
Chair of the Meeting. This committee is chaired by the
current Meeting Chair and shall include its past Chair,
the TAC Chair, the TAC Subgroup Chairs (or a Vice Chair
in the absence of a Subgroup Chair) and the Program Chairs
of the Institute subgroup areas.
NOTE: This currently would consist of 3b-Fluidization
& Fluid-Particle Systems, 3c-Solids Flow, Handling & Processing,
3d-Powder Technology.
The remaining Standing Committees are as follows:
Program Committee -
To arrange technical sessions on particle technology
at the Institute Meeting.
Awards Committee -
To recognize members of the Forum who have made outstanding
contributions to research and scholarship, education,
or services in particle technology.
Education Committee -
To promote education in particle technology at the university
and postgraduate levels, and continuing education in the industry.
Communications Committee -
To promote communications within the Forum and with the
programming groups in the Institute and to liaise with external
organizations.
Nominating Committee -
To nominate a slate of candidates for election to the Executive Committee.
To nominate candidates to serve as Chairs of the various Standing
Committees, except for the TAC and the Biennial Meeting Committee
which select their own Chairs.
Membership Committee -
To maintain and promote membership drive.
Ad hoc committees may be formed by the Executive Committee as needed.
Except for the Chairs of the TAC and the Biennial Meeting Committee,
each Committee Chair will be elected by the Executive Committee
for a two-year term. Committee Chairs may come from the Executive
Committee of the Forum or from the general membership.
If not a member of the Executive Committee, the Chair of a Standing
Committee will become a non-voting, ex-officio member.
Except for the TAC and the Biennial Meeting Committee,
committee members are appointed by the Chairs of the various committees
from members of the Forum.
Article V The Biennial Meeting
The Forum will hold a technical meeting at a North American site
every two years. This meeting will generally be in the form
of a Topical Meeting.
Article VI Dues
Dues will be collected from members of the Forum. The amount
of the assessment will be determined by the Executive Committee.
Article VII Budgets
An annual budget for the PTF will be approved by the Executive Committee.
Disbursement of funds and other fiscal matters will be the responsibility
of the Treasurer. The Chair is also authorized to disburse funds.
Article VIII Amendments
Section 1.
All proposed amendments of these Bylaws shall be reduced to writing.
Amendments shall be proposed to the membership by the Executive
Committee or by a petition of ten percent (10%) of the members
of the Forum to the Executive Committee. Such proposed amendments
will be subject to a two-thirds majority vote by the general membership
present and voting at the Annual Meeting immediately subsequent
to the petition. The amendment shall then be submitted to the
Board of Directors of the Institute and shall become an effective part
of the Bylaws upon its approval.
Section 2.
The names of Sections of the Forum may be added or deleted in the list
in Article IV, Section 5 by vote of the Executive Committee.
Such action does not constitute an amendment to these Bylaws.
Section 3.
The names or organizations to which official liaison is maintained
may be added or deleted in the list in Article IV, Section 5, by vote
of the Executive Committee. Such action does not constitute
an amendment to these Bylaws.
Article IX General Provisions
Section 1.
The decision of the Executive Committee shall be final on any question
concerning the interpretation of the Bylaws, subject to the jurisdiction
of the Council of the Institute.
Section 2.
In all respects not specifically covered by these Bylaws,
the general rules of the Institute governing the conduct of Divisions
shall apply with equal force as if included in the these Bylaws.
Section 3.
The Secretary of the Forum shall serve as Parliamentarian
and shall rule on points of order and give information as requested
by the presiding officer.
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