Governance

PREAMBLE

In the following text, "Society" shall signify the American Physical Society, "Council" and "Board" shall signify the Council of Representatives and the Board of Directors of the Society, respectively; and "Regular Meeting" shall signify the principal meeting held once a year by the Division.

ARTICLE I - NAME

This Division of the American Physical Society shall be called the Division of Particles and Fields (DPF).

ARTICLE II - OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Division shall be the advancement and diffusion of knowledge of the fundamental particles and fields, their structure, interactions, and interrelationships, and, in concert with other APS Divisions, to support relevant advances in accelerators, computing, and instrumentation.

ARTICLE III - ENABLING CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION

Article VIII of the Constitution and Bylaws and the associated Policies and Procedures of the Society, as said Article and Policies and Procedures may be subsequently revised or amended, are hereby incorporated in these Bylaws by reference.

ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP

The members of the Division shall consist of members of the Society who have indicated in accordance with procedures established by Council their desire to join the Division and who retain membership from year to year by the payment of designated dues or by other method established by the Board.

ARTICLE V - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

1. Governance. The Division shall be governed by an Executive Committee, which shall have general charge of the affairs of the Division.
2. Composition. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers of the Division, the most recent Past Chair, the Division Councilor, six Members-at-Large elected to staggered three-year terms, and an Early Career Member elected to a one-year term. The Early Career Member shall be chosen in the same way as Members-at-Large. They shall be at the post-doctoral level, not a student or tenure-track or tenured faculty member (the equivalent definitions for positions at national laboratories apply.)
   
   
3. Executive Committee Meetings. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once each year. Any member of the Executive Committee unable to attend a meeting may name a nonvoting alternate to represent him or her, subject to the approval of the Chair. The Chair of the Division shall preside over the Executive Committee meetings. A majority of the voting members, including at least two Officers, shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS AND DIVISION COUNCILOR

1. Officers. The Officers of the Division shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary-Treasurer.
   
   
2. Duties of the Chair. The Chair has overall responsibility for the operations of the Division and shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee and Business Sessions of the Division at which the Chair’s attendance is possible.
   
   
3. Duties of the Chair-Elect. The Chair-Elect shall act in place of the Chair if the latter is unable to perform the stated duties. The Chair-Elect shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.
   
   
4. Duties of the Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair shall act in place of the Chair-Elect if the latter is unable to perform the stated duties. The Vice-Chair shall perform such other functions as may be explicitly provided in the Bylaws.
   
   
5. Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the records of the Division including minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions, Division activities, and membership lists. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Executive Committee of matters requiring the decision of said Committee and, in collaboration with the Chair, shall prepare the agenda of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare minutes of Executive Committee meetings and Business Sessions and shall submit these minutes to the APS Corporate Secretary within two weeks of their approval by the Executive Committee.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall have responsibility for all funds in the custody of or placed at the disposal of the Division and, with concurrence of the Chair, shall authorize disbursements from such funds for expenses in a manner that is consistent with the general policies of the Society and the Division. Financial records shall be kept on an annual basis consistent with the fiscal policies of the Society. The Secretary-Treasurer shall present a financial report at the annual Business Session of the Division if a quorum is present.

6. Duties of the Division Councilor. The Division Councilor shall serve as liaison between the Council of the Society and the Executive Committee of the Division. Following each Council meeting, the Division Councilor shall report to the Chair and the Secretary-Treasurer regarding Council actions that affect the status and operations of the Division. Reports shall be made to the entire Executive Committee during their regularly scheduled meetings.

ARTICLES VII - ELECTION AND TENURE OF THE OFFICERS, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AND DIVISION COUNCILOR

1. Qualifications. Officers, Division Councilor, Members-at-Large, and Early Career Member of the Executive Committee must be current members of the Division.
   
   
2. Ballot. The Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Division Councilor, Members-at-Large, and Early Career Member of the Executive Committee shall be elected by ballots cast electronically or by mail as hereinafter provided.
   
   
3. Nomination and Election of the Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, and Executive Committee Members. Each year the Nominating Committee shall nominate at least two candidates for each open position during the final year of the term. The Nominating Committee shall work to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in all elections. The Secretary-Treasurer shall invite Division members to nominate candidates for the open positions between 1 June and 31 July. The Nomination Committee shall inform the Secretary-Treasurer of final candidate nominations no later than 15 September. The Secretary-Treasurer will prepare the voting process and the election will run from 15 September through 15 October.

Ballots shall be returned to and counted by the Secretary-Treasurer or a designate assigned by the Secretary-Treasurer. Election shall be decided by a plurality of those voting. If there is a tie, the Executive Committee shall decide the election, with the Chair voting only in the case of a tie among the other Executive Committee members. The Secretary-Treasurer shall communicate the results of the election to the Chair, the CEO, the Speaker of the Council, and the President not more than 20 days after the end of an election and shall publish the results in a manner designated for official announcements.

4. Official Year. The official year shall be the calendar year.
   
   
5. Vice-Chair, Chair-Elect, and Chair. The member elected as Vice-Chair shall serve in that office for one year, then for one year as Chair-Elect, and then for one year as Chair. The Chair shall not be eligible for the office of Vice-Chair in the year following their term of office.
   
   
6. Terms of Office. The terms of office of the Officers, Members-at-Large, and Early Career Member of the Executive Committee shall begin at the beginning of the calendar year following their election. The Secretary-Treasurer shall serve for a term of three years and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The Early Career Member shall serve for a term of one year and can serve for two, not necessarily consecutive, terms. If the Early Career Member changes their employment status (including but not limited to promotion), they shall be allowed to finish their term. The tenure of a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee shall terminate in the event of their assumption of a post as an elected Officer of the Division, and the unexpired portion of their term shall be filled as hereinafter provided for a vacancy.

The term of office of the Division Councilor shall begin at the beginning of the calendar year following election. The Division Councilor shall serve for a term of four years and may not serve more than two consecutive terms unless otherwise specified by Council.

7. Vacancies in Offices. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair, the Chair-Elect shall succeed and complete the term and shall serve as Chair also in the following year. The Vice-Chair shall serve simultaneously as Chair-Elect during the remainder of the term and shall continue to serve as Chair-Elect in the following term.

If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair-Elect otherwise than through advancement to Chair, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair-Elect. In this case, and also if the office of Vice-Chair becomes vacant for other reasons, the office of Vice-Chair shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term. In the next scheduled election, candidates for both Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair shall be nominated.

If vacancies occur in the offices of both the Chair and the Chair-Elect, the Vice-Chair shall become Chair and shall complete the term. In this case, a special election shall be held to fill the offices of Chair-Elect and Vice-Chair. The members so elected shall continue to serve as officers in the normal succession order.

Vacancies in any other elected office shall be filled (or left unfilled) by the Executive Committee until such time as the vacancy can be filled by regular election procedures.

ARTICLE VIII - APPOINTED COMMITTEES

The DPF Chair and Executive Committee shall work to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in the appointment of members to standing unit committees.

1. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members appointed by the Chair to staggered two-year terms and one member appointed by the APS for a one-year term. The Chair shall ascertain through the APS Corporate Secretary the identity of this member not later than 1 March of each year. No more than one member of this Nominating Committee shall be a member of the Executive Committee. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for the positions of Vice-Chair, Secretary-Treasurer, Members-at-Large, and Early Career Member of the Executive Committee according to Article VII.3 of these Bylaws. The Nominating Committee shall perform such other duties as described in the Bylaws.
   
   
2. Program Committee. The Program Committee shall consist of a representative cross-section of the DPF membership, covering the subfields of the DPF. The Committee shall be chaired by the DPF Vice Chair in a cycle that begins shortly after the April meeting and ends with the following April meeting, at which time the DPF Vice-Chair whose term began in January becomes the DPF Program Committee Chair for the next year. The Program Committee shall be appointed by the Vice-Chair in consultation with the DPF Executive Committee. At least two members of the Committee shall be early career members of the DPF, one of whom shall be a graduate student. Committee members shall serve for three years and one-third of the membership shall rotate out each year. The Program Committee shall have the responsibility of organizing contributed papers of the April APS Meeting within the areas of interest of the Division, as well as arranging, in coordination with the APS Director of Meetings or assigned designate, symposia and sessions of invited papers sponsored by the Division. For the biannual meetings of the Division, the Program Committee shall work with the local organizing committee in the solicitation and selection of invited and review papers.
   
   
3. Fellowship Committee. The Fellowship Committee shall consist of the Past Chair, the Vice Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Division Councilor, and two other members, who are not members of the Executive Committee, appointed by the Chair. At least two members of the Committee shall review every application. The Chair of the Fellowship Committee, at their discretion, can make a special appointment for individual cases. The Past Chair shall serve as Chair of the Fellowship Committee. The Fellowship Committee shall promote the nomination of candidates for Fellowship, shall review the qualifications of such candidates, and shall report its recommendations to the Executive Committee for approval before submission is made to the APS Honors Program Manager.
   
   
4. The Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors: The Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors (CPAD) shall consist of a Chair, as well as a Vice-Chair and six members appointed by the DPF Chair-Elect following a call for nominations and approval by the DPF Executive Committee prior to appointment by the Chair-Elect.  Panel members shall serve staggered, two-year terms but should not serve more than two consecutive terms.  The newly appointed member of the CPAD chair-line shall serve first as Vice-Chair, succeeding to the Chair position in the second year and serving for one year.  The CPAD shall have the responsibility to promote excellence in the research and development of instrumentation and detectors to support the national program of particle physics in a global context through the organization of the annual topical meeting on detector research and development; the nomination and selection of the annual DPF Instrumentation Awards and the Graduate Instrumentation Research Award; the promotion of educational programs to further the understanding of detectors and their instrumentation; the organization of multidisciplinary workshops; and the development of new activities consistent with its mission.

5. Terms of Office of Appointed Committee Members. The terms of committee members appointed or recommended by an incoming Chair shall commence at the beginning of the year in which he or she assumes office.
   
   
6. Ad Hoc Committees. The Chair shall appoint other ad hoc committees as necessary, which shall serve only during the Chair’s term.

ARTICLE IX - MEETINGS

1. Regular Meeting. One meeting of the Division, to be known as the Regular Meeting, shall be held annually at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Executive Committee, subject to approval by the APS Director of Meetings. Whenever it shall be feasible and not to the disadvantage of the members of the Division, the Executive Committee may order this or any other meeting to be held conjointly with a Meeting of the Society or of another society, conference, or group, so long as such joint meeting does not conflict importantly with the schedule of Meetings of the Society as determined by the APS Director of Meetings. The registration fee for the Regular Meeting, when not held jointly with a Meeting of the Society, shall be fixed after consultation with the APS Director of Meetings. Non-members of the Society shall pay a surcharge to be set each year by the APS Board of Directors.
   
   
2. Annual Business Session. Each year the Executive Committee shall schedule a Business Session during the Regular Meeting. This Business session shall be devoted exclusively to the reports of officers and committees, election results, and the transaction of business affairs. No scientific program of the Division shall be presented simultaneously with the Business Session. A majority vote of those Division members present at the Business Session shall be sufficient for approval of actions. At least sixty days before the date of any general meeting of the Division, the Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the Division membership of the scheduled meeting.
   
   
3. Other Meetings. Meetings of the Division, other than the Regular Meeting, may be initiated by the Executive Committee or by petition of twenty percent of the members of the Division, subject to approval by the APS Director of Meetings. Special conferences may be sponsored in whole or in part by the Division, subject to the rules and regulations specified in the Society Constitution and Bylaws.
   
   
4. Papers at Meetings. Programs of meetings of the Division may provide for the inclusion of both invited and contributed papers. When a meeting of the Division is held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the rules of the Society shall apply to submitted papers. When a meeting of the Division is not held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the Executive Committee shall prescribe the subject and character of the meeting, which may include limitations on the subject matter of submitted papers. The Secretary-Treasurer shall fix the deadline date for receipt of titles and abstracts in consultation with the APS Director of Meetings and shall designate the place to which they should be sent. The amount of time to be allowed for the presentation of a paper at the Regular Meeting shall be determined by the Program Committee, except as otherwise directed by the Executive Committee. These allotments of time shall be consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Society and with Policies and Procedures of Council.

ARTICLE X - DUES

Dues for maintenance of membership in the Division shall be established by the Board.

ARTICLE XI - OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Official announcements shall be made in the APS News (at the discretion of the APS News Editor) and in such other publications as the Executive Committee may direct.

ARTICLE XII - PROCEDURE OF AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

Proposal of an Amendment to these Bylaws may be made by the Council, by the Society Governance Committee, by the Executive Committee, or by a petition to the Chair signed by not fewer than ten percent of the members of the Division.  However initiated, revisions or amendments must be reviewed by the APS Governance Committee and approved by the Council before further action can be taken. Following Council approval, the Secretary-Treasurer shall distribute by mail and/or electronically, copies of the proposed Amendment to all members of the Division not less than three weeks before the Regular Meeting and opportunity shall be given for discussion during the Business Session. Not later than twelve weeks after said Regular Meeting the Secretary-Treasurer shall again distribute copies of the proposed Amendment, accompanied by ballot forms. Adoption of the Amendment shall require a two-thirds vote by those voting.