The constitution is also available as a downloadable PDF.

ARTICLE I: Name and Office

Section 1. The name of the Society shall be the International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation and Engineering. (herein, “the Society”), which may be referred to by the acronym ISNSCE.

Section 2. The principal office of the Society shall be located initially at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA. All communications intended to be directed to the Society shall be addressed to the above address.

ARTICLE II: Object

Section 1. The object of this Society shall be to promote the study of the control of the arrangement of the atoms in matter, examine the principles that lead to such control, to develop tools and methods to increase such control, and to investigate the use of these principles for molecular computation, and for engineering on the finest possible scales.

Section 2. A central goal of this Society is to unite the fields of nanoscale computation, with nanoscale science and engineering (the latter two are converging fields and will be termed “nanotechnology” in the rest of this document).

Section 3. Whereas this is a highly interdisciplinary field, it is a goal of the Society to increase the presence of the field on the scientific horizon, so as to make other scientists more aware of its presence, and to encourage their participation in and enrichment of the scientific enterprise of the Society. It is furthermore a goal of this society to provide an official scientific forum for recognizing the most notable contributions in this area, and to help foster the careers of more junior associates, thereby ensuring the continued existence, development and growth of the discipline.

ARTICLE III: Membership

Section 1. Any person with an active research interest in the purposes of the Society may become a member by payment to the Treasurer of such dues as are specified in the Rules for individual membership. All members are entitled to voting privileges.

Section 2. Any company, corporation or other organization may, with the approval of the Council, become a Corporation Member, on payment to the Treasurer of such dues as specified in the Rules for corporate membership. Each Corporation Member may empower one individual to vote on its behalf in any of the deliberations of the Society. Such an individual shall have one vote.

Section 3. Such groups as are approved by the Council may become Affiliated Groups of the Society.

ARTICLE IV: Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Society shall be a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer: these four, plus the President for the previous year shall be members of the Council which shall have general charge of the affairs of the Society. The Chairs of the Standing Committees will also be members of the Council. Additional members may be added to the Council as provided under Article VI.

Section 2. The President and Vice President shall serve as such for two consecutive calendar years. The Vice President shall automatically become President upon completion of the Vice Presidential term of office. Thus, there will be a biannual election for Vice President. The terms of office of the Secretary and Treasurer shall each be three years. The Treasurer shall be elected in the year following the Secretary. All officers and members of the Council shall take office on January 1 following their election.

Section 3. Except where an incumbent Treasurer or Secretary is being re-nominated, two nominations shall be made for each office for which elections are to be held. Nominations for all offices shall be made by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of two members and a Chair appointed by the Council not later than January 1. No member shall serve more than two years. Additional nominations for any office may be made by a petition signed by five or more members.

Section 4. The election of officers shall be by closed ballots solicited from the whole membership and shall be determined by a majority of those voting. In case no contestant receives a majority, a re-vote shall be taken on the contestants ranking first and second in each successive ballot until one receives a majority; if there is a tie for first rank, the revote shall be limited to those tied contestants; if there is a tie for second rank, the re-vote shall be among the first-ranking contestant and those tied for second rank. The initial composition of the Council is established by the founders of the Society.

Section 5. In the event that the office of President shall become vacant, the Vice President shall succeed to the Presidency for the remainder of the unexpired term and will succeed in the following term in accordance with the provisions of Section 2 of this Article. If any other vacancy occurs in the Council, the remaining members of the Council shall appoint a member of the Society to fill the office for the duration of the unexpired term.

ARTICLE V: Duties of the Officers and Council

Section 1. The duties of the Officers and Council of the Society shall be as follows:

1. The President
   1. To have general administrative charge of the affairs of the Society.
   2. To preside over all meetings of the Council.
   3. To preside over all business meetings of the Society.
   4. To have such other duties as are specifically enumerated in the By-laws of the Society.
   5. To be a member, ex-officio, of all committees, except the Nominating Committee and the Awards Committee.
   6. To appoint or nominate representatives of the Society.
2. The Vice President
   1. To act in place of the President when the President is not present or is unable to discharge the duties as specified in Section 1 of this Article.
   2. To be a member, ex-officio, of all committees, except the Nominating Committee and the Awards Committee.
3. The Secretary
   1. To keep minutes of all meetings.
   2. To keep membership files.
   3. To attend to correspondence and notices of the Society.
   4. To keep a dossier of precedents and procedures, and to inform Council Members, Committee Chairs, and Meeting and Program Chairs of such precedents.
4. The Treasurer
   1. To keep exact records of all the finances of the Society.
   2. To maintain a checking account, and otherwise manage the financial affairs of the Society, on behalf of the Society, subject to approval of the Council.
   3. To send out bills and collect the dues of the Society.
   4. To pay those bills of the Society whose payment has been approved by a member who has been specifically authorized by the Council.
   5. To submit the next financial year’s budget for the approval of Council no later than October 1 of the previous year.
   6. When leaving office, to ensure that all accounts and financial records are transferred to the new Treasurer on the day the new Treasurer takes office.
5. The Council
   1. To have general charge of the affairs of the Society, determining all policies and procedures not otherwise specified in the Constitution and Rules of the Society.
   2. To consider and act upon reports of Standing Committees.
   3. To make an annual budget and to approve expenditures under each item of the budget.
   4. To act as Trustees of all funds and properties of the Society.
   5. To assume such other duties as are specified in the Constitution and Rules of the Society.
   6. To appoint such persons, paid or unpaid, as it deems necessary to assist in the efficient running of the Society, such appointments to be reviewed periodically and in any case not less than once every three years.

ARTICLE VI: Additional Members of the Council

Section 1. Members of the Council other than those listed in Article IV, Section 1, of the Constitution may be added by the same procedure followed for an amendment to the Rules.

ARTICLE VII: Amendments

Section 1. An amendment to or an annulment of the whole or any part of this Constitution may be formally proposed by the Council. Council shall circulate the proposal to the whole membership not less than one month before a duly announced business meeting held in conjunction with a scientific meeting of the Society, at which meeting the amendment or annulment will be discussed. It shall then be presented to the whole membership for approval following the procedures described in the Rules. An affirmative vote of at least two thirds of those voting is necessary for the adoption of the amendment or annulment.

Section 2. An amendment to or an annulment of the whole or any part of this Constitution also may be formally proposed by any member at a duly announced business meeting held in conjunction with a scientific meeting of the Society, at which meeting it will be discussed and voted on. If approved by a majority of those present, the amendment or annulment shall be presented to the whole membership for approval following the procedures described in the Rules. An affirmative vote of at least two thirds of those voting is necessary for the adoption of the amendment or annulment.

ARTICLE VIII: Dissolution of the Society.

Section 1. Unless otherwise required by law, in the event of dissolution of this Society the assets shall be distributed only to a recipient that would qualify as an organization with tax-exempt status as described in Section 501 (c) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1964, or any amended or successor section thereto.

ARTICLE IX: Procedures Not Otherwise Covered

Section 1. The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable, except as otherwise provided by law or this Constitution.