NPSS SURVEY ALLOCATES ONE
ADDITIONAL ELECTED MEMBER TO PULSED POWER S&T

The IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) is managed by an Administrative Committee (AdCom) consisting of 16 directly elected members plus certain ex officio members as specified in its Constitution and Bylaws (C&B). The C&B specify that the Transnational Functional Committee (TN) be allocated one directly elected AdCom member. The remaining vacancies are allocated based on the percentage of NPSS AdCom members active in the society’s eight Technical Committees. This is accomplished by a periodic survey, typically conducted every five (5) years.
The results of the most recent survey conducted earlier this year are shown in the table below. The three table headings are: Technical Committee (TC), Old Allocation, and New Allocation. NPSS Technical Committees are: Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Sciences (CANPS); Fusion Technology (FT); Nuclear Medical Imaging and Sciences (NMIS); Particle Accelerator Science and Technology (PAST); Plasma Sciences and Applications (PSA); Pulsed Power Science and Technology (PPST); Radiation Effects (RE); and Radiation Instrumentation (RI).

* During calendar year 2005, the AdCom had only 15 elected members because the Nuclear Instruments and Detectors Committee (NIDCOM) was changed from a “technical” to a “functional” committee.
The survey maintained the allocation of all technical committee seats except for the Pulsed Power Science and Technology Technical Committee that increased its representation from 1 to 2 elected members. There were nearly 360 ballots cast, which is approximately 20% of NPSS membership. U.S. members accounted for 77.2% of the vote; Region 7 (Canada) for 1.4%; Region 8 (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) for 15.4%; and Region 10 (Asia, Australia) for 6%. No votes were received from Region 9, which is South America. The top 5 voting countries were the U.S., Germany, Japan, the U.K., and France.
In addition to determining representation on AdCom, the survey included a series of questions intended to improve the operation of AdCom and o better understand the interests of NPSS members and opportunities for Society growth.
Not surprisingly, more than half the respondents were involved as NPSS volunteers or indicated a willingness to serve if asked. Clearly, the folks that voted are the members of NPSS most actively involved in our superbly run conferences and prestigious publications. On the other hand, participation in IEEE local section and chapter activities remains low at only 20% of respondents. I believe this is a problem that many technical societies experience and seems to illustrate the dichotomy between IEEE Technical and Regional Activities.
Many of our members belong to other societies. Topping the list is Electron Devices, Computer Society, Microwave Theory and Techniques, Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation, and Engineering in Medicine and Biology. And our members belong to many other non-IEEE societies. Leading the list was the American Physical Society (109), Society for Optical Engineering (23), Society of Nuclear Medicine (22), American Association for the Advancement of Science (19), American Institute of Aeronautics and Aerospace (16), and American Nuclear Society (15).
NPSS members who responded to the survey visit NPSS and Technical Committee web sites on an occasional basis and support email communications. The NPSS is striving to improve the quality of its web sites thanks to the significant efforts of Dick Kouzes and Peter Clout, who do a great job. I invite you to visit the web site at www.ieee-npss.org for the latest news from AdCom and links to our meetings, conferences, publications, awards, and newsletter. We received many helpful suggestions to improve the appearance and effectiveness of the NPSS web site, especially to bolster links to our technical committees and their associated conferences and publications.
Congratulations to Bob Tousey of Sunnyvale, CA, whose name was chosen from a drawing of survey respondents. Bob won a Palm Pilot Tungsten E!
Peter S. Winokur, Chair, NPSS Nominations & Appointments, can be reached at the National Nuclear Security Administration, Washington, DC; Phone: (202) 586-5480; E-mail: p.winokur@ieee.org