The Ferroelectrics Standing Committee ("FerroCom") met on May 15, 2014; twenty six members were present as were three guests.

FerroCom membership was discussed, with the objective of vacating inactive members and recruiting new members; a focus of new representation from South American, Russia, Asia and Europe was mentioned, as was a need for more representation from industry and government. Several suggested candidates were identified.

The Vice President of Ferroelectrics, A. Safari, noted that Ferroelectrics is under represented on AdCom with only the Vice President and 3 to 4 elected members. There was also a sentiment that more effort should be expended to recognize ferroelectricians for UFFC Society awards (e.g. Achievement, Distinguished Service, etc).

A. Safari delivered a report from the AdCom meeting: a) the IEEE imposed conference financial management has become so complex that it must be handled either by a professional conference management firm or by someone who has in-depth experience; b) AdCom has increased the student travel support grant to UFFC conferences; c) the handling of special issues of the Transactions has changed to improve the quality of the content with a special emphasis on ensuring that published material is new and substantial and has not been previously published. Tools to detect plagiarism and self-plagiarism are in place and are being used.

Susan Trolier-McKinstry reported on the 2014 ISAF Conference: attendance was good with a very successful WIE breakfast and the Wakino Memorial session. There were significant contributions from industrial sponsors. There were some issues with visas which resulted in empty session slots due to absent presenters.

The Committee discussed the plans and status for future ISAF conferences in 2015 (Singapore), 2016 (Darmstadt, Germany), 2017 (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) and 2018 (possibly Japan).

The Ferroelectrics strategic plan was discussed, with several ideas put forward for consideration (see related article, this issue of the Newsletter).

Zuo-Guang Ye reported on the Draft Standard on Relaxor-Ferroelectric Single Crystals (see related article, this issue of the Newsletter).

The meeting concluded with a vote for a new Vice President of Ferroelectrics. Dragan Damjanovic was selected by secret ballot; a recommendation for Dragan was forwarded to the President of UFFC for formal appointment.

Summarized from the meeting minutes by M. Garvey

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