APPROVED
Minutes of the 57th meeting of the Canadian National Committee of URSI
----------------------------------------------------------------------
held on 28 May 1999
at the Univ. of Toronto's Galbraith Bldg rm 202, 35 St.George St., Toronto.
Present:
Yahia Antar (RMC/Kingston, comm. B)
Jamal Deen (SFU/Burnaby, comm. D)
Gilles Delisle (UL/SteFoy, CNC Chair)
Shantnu Mishra (CSA/Ottawa, comm. A)
Amy Pinchuk (InField/PteClaire, comm. E)
Elvino Sousa (UofT/Toronto, comm. C)
Maria Stuchly (UVic/Victoria, comm. K)
Ken Tapping (NRC-HIA/Penticton, comm. J)
Jacques Vallee (NRC-HIA/Victoria, member and Secr.)
Paul Wittke (Queens/Kingston, past CNC Chair)
Temporary presences:
Emily van Deventer (UofT, guest, 99 URSI Toronto)
Keith Balmain (UofT, guest, 99 URSI Toronto)
Nicole Sarault (NRC-ASPM/Ottawa, guest, 99 URSI Toronto)
Absent:
Rod Olsen (IndCan/Ottawa, comm. F)
Jean-Pierre St-Maurice (UWO/London, comm. G+H)
Tentative Agenda for the 57th meeting of CNC URSI:
1. Welcome and Introductory Remarks
2. Approval of the Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes of 56th Meeting
4. Report on International URSI
5. Nominations to CNC for comm. B, F, G+H, K, J, Chair
6. Candidature for VP of URSI
7. CNC Trust Account
8. Sponsorship of CNC
9. Calgary 2004 - AP-S/URSI meeting
10. Toronto 1999 - URSI General Assembly
11. Victoria 2001 - Commission B meeting
12. Canadian URSI membership list
13. Other business
14. Thanks to departing members
15. Date and place of next CNC meeting
The CNC meeting started at 09h 30m am.
1. Welcome and Introductory Remarks
===================================
Dr. Delisle, CNC Chair, welcomed all participants to this meeting,
and thanked Keith Balmain for the logistical details of the meeting.
Everyone present introduced him/herself.
2. Approval of the Agenda
=========================
The Chair asked for any modifications of the proposed agenda. Items will be
moved up or down the Agenda depending on the arrival/departure of key people.
A motion to accept the agenda was moved by Jamal Deen and seconded by Amy
Pinchuk. Accepted.
3. Approval of Minutes of 56th Meeting
======================================
Amy Pinchuk stated that the Minutes of the 56th meeting are beautifully
written and thanked the secretary for that.
-item 0, change "Y.Y." to "Y." in list of members
-item 7, add "Toronto" for Apr.98 meeting location
-item 7, delete short paragraph with "Amy ...view."
A motion to approve the minutes as amended was proposed by Jamal Deen and
seconded by Ken Tapping. Accepted.
4. Report on International URSI
===============================
The financial situation of URSI at the international level was mentioned.
Canada/NRC CorpServ sends a yearly contribution to URSI in Belgium, being
~ Cdn$ 11 100 in 1996
~ Cdn$ 10 492 in 1997
~ Cdn$ 09 926 in 1998
~ Cdn$ 11 370 in 1999
[Note: Data above are from Ms. Andree Bichon at NRC CorpServ on 99Jun09;
dues are paid in Belgian francs, hence the fluctuations.
Dues above do not include the cost of NRC staff (at CorpServ/Ottawa and at
HIA/Victoria) and of university members involved in the management of this
affiliation.]
For these dues, Canada gets 8 votes in the URSI General Assembly;
in practice all 8 votes are cast together by the CNC Chair.
The CNC Chair received a Letter from his Japanese counterpart, asking for
Canadian support for the Japanese nomination of Hiroshi Matsumoto to the URSI
Presidency. The CNC Chair will send a letter back to Japan, supporting such
a move under the current conditions and with the necessary caution.
5. Nominations to CNC for comm. B, F, G+H, K, J, and CNC Chair
==============================================================
As per the Memo of 1998Mar16 by Andree Bichon (NRC-CorpServ/Ottawa),
“Appointments of CNC/URSI members are the responsibility of HIA further to
the recommendation of CNC/URSI members.”
For Comm. B, the CNC ranked its suggestions thus: (1) Jean-Jacques Laurin
(Montreal); (2) Abdel Sebak (Winnipeg).
[Note: HIA letter sent 99Jun03 to Laurin. Dr. Laurin accepted 99Jul06.]
For Comm. F, the CNC asked that Rod Olsen be contacted to make suggestions.
[Note: Olsen was queried on 99Jun01. After obtaining his responses, HIA sent
a letter dated 99Jun16 to Gordon Staples. Dr. Staples accepted 99Jun19.]
For Comm. G+H, the CNC agreed to rank thus: (1) Gordon James, current
international Chair of URSI Comm. H (Ottawa); (2) Dave Knudsen (Calgary).
[Note: HIA letter sent 99Jun03 to James. Dr. James accepted 990621.]
For Comm. J, the CNC ranked its suggestions thus: (1) Andrew Gray
(Penticton); (2) David Routledge (Edmonton).
[Note: HIA letter sent 99Jun03 to Gray. Dr. Gray declined 99Jun20.
HIA letter sent 99July05 to Routledge. Dr. Routledge accepted 99July14.]
For Comm. K, the CNC ranked its suggestions thus: (1) Frank Prato (London);
(2) Michael Okoniewski (Calgary).
[Note: HIA letter sent 99Jun03 to Prato. Dr. Prato accepted 990712.]
For CNC Chair, the CNC ranked its suggestions thus: (1) Yahia Antar
(Kingston); (2) Keith Balmain (Toronto).
[Note: HIA letter sent 99Jun03 to Antar. Dr. Antar accepted on 99Jun15.]
6. Candidature for VP of URSI
=============================
Maria Stuchly is not standing for reelection at the international level.
Paul Wittke (Kingston) has kindly accepted to be nominated; Gilles Delisle
reported that the nomination papers made it on time in Belgium (1999Mar19
deadline).
7. CNC Trust Account
====================
Jacques Vallee explained each item (entries and exits) for 1998 and 1999.
-The CNC trust account was opened at NRC-HIA in Victoria in Sept. 1998.
-In 1998, an income of Cdn$25 607 was made from the July 1997 Montreal
conference, and a cheque for $1 200 was made for the May 2001 Victoria
conference as per the contractual agreement.
-In 1999 a cheque for Cdn$10 000 was made for the Aug. 1999 Toronto URSI GA
as per the contractual agreement.
-On 1999 May28, the current CNC Trust account balance stood at Cdn$14 407.
In addition, in 1999, an amount of Cdn $4 800 is expected for the Aug. 1999
Toronto URSI GA (from a Memo by Andre Bichon dated 98Sept15, for 8
voting members), and Andree Bichon will process in Ottawa the travel claims
up to that amount. [The $4800 will not be sent to the CNC Trust Account,
but will be processed as travel claims to CorpSev in Ottawa.]
For the Toronto URSI GA in 1999 August, the CNC agreed that:
-all current CNC comm. representatives should be reimbursed (travels and
registration), up to a maximum of Can$1500 per person.
[Note: This includes the ~$600 amount of individual reimbursement offered by
Andree Bichon for 8 of the CNC members.]
-all incoming CNC comm. representatives should be reimbursed for their
registration (only).
8. Sponsorship of CNC
=====================
In August 1998, NRC reviewed the partnership agreement between
NRC-CorpServ in Ottawa and NRC-HIA in Victoria, in support of Canada's
affiliation with URSI; NRC accepted to renew the agreement until mid-2003.
The HIA DG's account pays for the annual CNC meeting, amounting to
~ Cdn$ 5500 in 1998 [9 persons - Apr 98]
~ Cdn$ 7200 in 1999 [9 persons - May 99]
The extra cost seems related to the increased airfare for a May meeting this
year, rather than an April meeting last year.
The CNC Chair will write a Letter to the NRC-HIA DG Don Morton,
to thank him for the valuable NRC-HIA support given to the CNC.
NRC-HIA will have to send a Letter to the Secretary General of URSI in
Belgium, confirming the membership of the Canadian Delegation
who will attend the 26th URSI General Assembly in Toronto in 1999 August.
[Note: Action done on 99Jun07. Copies FAXed to all individuals named.]
The CNC Chair perceives that NRC is considering the CNC as a mature entity.
It should be acknowledged that CNC is bringing lots of publicity to Canada,
and the CNC should be given more recognition and support from Canada.
The CNC Chair will write a Letter to NRC-CorpServ Andree Bichon on this topic.
9. Calgary 2004 - AP-S/URSI meeting
===================================
This meeting will occur in July 2004, and will cover all URSI
commissions. Discussions are ongoing.
10. Toronto 1999 - URSI General Assembly
========================================
Keith Balmain, Emily van Deventer, and Nicole Sarault made oral
presentations. The NRC President will be at the Opening Ceremony.
The CNC felt that other Ministers could be invited to attend.
Already 1521 different persons have submitted an abstract; more are
expected. Financially, the 'break-even point' was just reached and passed
as of today. Procedural delays caused overtime and associated extra costs
to NRC and URSI.
The CNC felt that not enough Candians have been selected as Chairs for
Oral presentations in the program for Aug. 99; the selection is made by the
International commission Chairs. Maria Stuchly will bring this matter at the
next URSI Board meeting.
11. Victoria 2001 - Commission B meeting
========================================
Y. Antar made a presentation on this topic, and on his attendance at the
Thessaloniki meeting in May 1998. Pitfalls at the Greece meeting in 1998 were
mentioned, along with recommendations on how to avoid them in Victoria 2001.
The Victoria 2001 meeting is slated for May 13-18.
Maria Stuchly suggested the hiring of a local Victoria firm to handle
all conference management, rather than as suggested at the last CNC meeting.
The CNC Chair emphasized that CNC needs a net profit from this Victoria 2001
meeting. The CNC Chair suggested that Antar should write a letter about a
suitable conference management firm, and send it to the Local Arrangement
Committee at the University of Victoria (J. Bornemann).
12. Canadian URSI membership list
=================================
The current Canadian URSI membership list is upgraded once a year.
Gilles Delisle would like each CNC member to look up the list and elist
new members in their commissions.
The definition of who is a Canadian URSI member is rather loose, since
anyone who is interested is put on the list (no need to ask to be on the
list).
The CNC secretary will send the relevant Cdn commission lists to the
appropriate CNC members, for updating.
[Note: action done on 99Jun01].
13. Other business
==================
(A) Commission C
Elvino Sousa reported on a recent meeting related to Comm. C. Gilles
Delisle emphasized that comm. C should try to bring a new major conference
in Canada. The URSI International Comm. C Chair could be contacted for help.
(B) Commission J
Ken Tapping summarized his written report, and explained some of the
recommendations related to Radio Astronomy:
-Our national ability to train our technical experts is declining. This
trend is being exacerbated by the erosion of staff and resources taking
place in the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics.
-A key objective of lobbyists for the satellite communication industry is
to get reduced the restrictions imposed upon them by the regulations
protecting radio astronomy from interference.
-URSI needs to broaden the forum to ensure a balanced discussion of
scientific versus commercial interests, and to develop a strategic view that
includes a long-term picture of the environment to work in.
(C) How to get more involvement of Canadians in URSI
Yahia Antar made suggestions on this topic, and asked for more ideas.
Some ideas included having some URSI special sessions at big international
AP-S meetings, joint IEEE meetings with URSI recognition, URSI awards
and certificates for students, etc.
14. Thanks to departing members
===============================
Gilles Delisle thanked all those present and departing members
for coming to this meeting.
CNC Secretary Jacques Vallee also thanked all members present on behalf
of NRC-HIA for helping Radio Science in Canada. He reminded them to fill the
NRC Expense Claim Forms and to send them to him at NRC-HIA in Victoria.
15. Date and place of next CNC meeting
======================================
Several CNC members will end their mandate on 31 August 1999, while
several new members start their mandate in July 1999. In view of the
overlapping mandates of new and old members, the CNC felt that a second CNC
meeting should be held during the 1999 URSI GA in Toronto.
The next CNC meeting will be held on Monday 16 August 1999, starting at
12:30 h, in the Galbraith Bldg of the Univ. of Toronto.
The CNC meeting ended at 16h 15m.
Dr. J.P. Vallée
jacques.vallee @nrc-cnrc.gc.ca