ASC homepage

ARTICLE 1.0 - Name

The Society is known as the American Society for Composites (ASC).

ARTICLE 2.0 - Objectives

The objectives of the Society are to:

2.1 Provide a communication forum for the engineering and scientific community in composite materials. (Composite materials are here defined as reinforced materials containing at least two phases: a reinforcing phase and a matrix phase.)

2.2 Promote the growth of knowledge from interdisciplinary engineering and scientific research in composite materials.

All such activities will be conducted exclusively to further education and charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code 1954, and. if the Society is dissolved, any remaining assets will be distributed to another organization that is, exempt under the foregoing Code Section.

ARTICLE 3.0 - Membership

Membership grades and corresponding qualifications are as follows:

3.1 Student Member-Any student enrolled full time in an undergraduate or graduate science or engineering curriculum in a college or university of recognized standing.

3.2 Member-Any person who holds a bachelor s degree in science or engineering from a college or university of recognized standing, or who has equivalent qualifications through professional practice, and is interested in the objectives of the Society.

3.3 Fellow of the Society-Any member of the Society who has been active in composite materials technology for at least 15 years and has made a significant contribution to the advancement of that technology. Nominations for this grade will be made to the Awards Committee as provided for in Article 5.2 of the By-Laws.

3.4 Founding Member-Any member submitting a formal application for membership before January 1, 1987.

3.5 Corporate Membership-Any corporation interested in the objectives of the Society. Corporate members may designate personnel to represent their membership, with the number of representatives determined by the size of the corporation (up to a maximum of four).

Any person (or corporation) may apply for membership by completing an ASC membership Application. All applications will be considered by the Membership Committee as provided for in Article 5.1 of the By-Laws.

ARTICLE 4.0 - Officers and Executive Committee

4.1 The officers consist of a President, a Vice President. a Recording Secretary, a Membership Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Editor, who are elected from the general body of the membership and serve for a period of two (2) years. After the two-year term, the Vice President automatically becomes President for the next term of office.

4.2 The governing body of the Society is the Executive Committee (defined in Article 4.3 of the Constitution). Members of the Executive Committee serve without pay.

4.3 The Executive Committee consists of the officers of the Society. the most recent living Past-President of the Society, the Founding President, the Chairperson of each division and local chapter of the Society defined in Articles 8.0 and 9.0 of the Constitution), and two Members-at-large elected by the Society. Division and chapter chairs are non-voting members of the Executive Committee.

4.4 The terms of the officers and the Members-at-large are two years. The terms start on January 1 of the year after their election and end on December 31 of the year their terms of office expire. The President, Vice President, and Members-at-large may not serve more than one consecutive term in the same elected position.

4.5 The Executive Committee is the legal representative of the Society. It has the power to expend or invest Society funds but may not incur indebtedness beyond the assets of the Society. It has the authority to interpret the Constitution and By-Laws and to transact all business of the Society not otherwise provided for specifically in the Constitution and By-Laws.

ARTICLE 5.0 - Nomination and Election of Officers

5.1 Before an election. a Nominating Committee consisting of three members of the Society will be appointed by the president. The President will designate one of the members to act as Chairperson.

5.2 The Nominating Committee will report to the Recording Secretary of the Society (a) one nominee for each of the offices named in Article 4.1 of this Constitution and (b) at least two nominees for membership-at-large on the Executive Committee as required by Article 4.3 of this Constitution. Resumes of all nominees will be made available to members. Before the election, the Recording Secretary will inform the members of the nominees submitted by the Nominating Committee. For a period of forty-five (45) days following the date of such notification, additional nominees may be named by petition forwarded to the Recording Secretary and signed by at least fifteen (15) members. Upon receipt of the petition and after acceptance of the nomination by the nominee, the recording Secretary will add such names to the ballot.*

5.3 At least ninety (90) days before an election is to be held, the Recording Secretary will forward to members a complete ballot, prepared as provided in Article 5.2. The ballot will, in addition, contain a notice that the voter may vote for any qualified persons other than the listed nominees; spaces will be provided for recording such votes. Ballots will be returned to the Recording Secretary and, to be valid, must be postmarked not later than thirty (30) days before the election is to be held. Voting for more than one nominee for any one office will invalidate an entire ballot.

5.4 The Recording Secretary- will transmit the unopened ballots to an Election Committee appointed by the President, as provided in Article 5.4 of the By-Laws. This Committee will meet at a time and place directed by the President and open and count all ballots cast by members in good standing. The candidates who receive the highest number of votes cast for the several offices will be declared elected. The results of the election as determined by the Election Committee will be announced by the President at the Annual Meeting or reported to the members of the Society by the Recording Secretary. If there is a tie vote, the President will order a ballot to be taken to decide which of the candidates who have received the same number of votes will be chosen: ballots will be returned within thirty (30) days.

ARTICLE 6.0 - Meetings

6.1 The Society will hold an Annual Meeting to conduct technical sessions and to transact business.

6.2 Additional meetings may be held as determined by majority vote of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE 7.0 - Reports

At the Annual Meeting, the Recording Secretary will report to the membership on Society activities the Membership Secretary will report the number of active members in the Society, and the Treasurer will report on the financial status of the Society. Abstracts of these reports will be sent to the membership and printed in the newsletter.

ARTICLE 8.0 - Divisions

8.1 The Executive Committee may, upon petition by members of the Society, form a division within the Society charged with advancing and disseminating knowledge in a specific subject area(s) in or relating to composites technology. The Executive Committee will have the power to review and to approve or disapprove the By-Laws and the definitions of areas of interest proposed for the divisions.

8.2 The officers of each division will be a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and a Secretary-Treasurer, who will be elected or will assume their posts as provided by the division By-Laws. Each division will have a council consisting of the officers and other members elected by the division. The Secretary-Treasurer will keep the Executive Committee informed of the activities and needs of the division.

8.3 The times and places of division meetings will be chosen in consultation with the Executive Committee.

8.4 The Executive Committee may dissolve a division "for cause."

ARTICLE 9.0 - Chapters

9.1 Members living in any region may, with the approval of the Executive Committee, organize a local chapter to more actively further the objectives of the Society as stated in Article 2.0. The Executive Committee will have the power to review and to approve or disapprove the By-Laws proposed for the chapters.

9.2 The times and places of chapter meetings will be chosen in consultation with the Executive Committee.

9.3 The Executive Committee may dissolve a local chapter "for cause."

ARTICLE 10.0 - Financial Obligations

The Society will meet its financial obligations through membership fees; profits from conference. workshop, and symposia registration fees: contributions: and special fund-raising programs.

ARTICLE 11.0 - Amendments to the Constitution

The Constitution may be amended according to the following procedure:

11.1 The Executive Committee proposes the amendment to the membership.

11.2 A letter ballot is sent to the membership by the Recording Secretary.

11.3 The amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of those voting.

11.4 Approved amendments become effective immediately on certification of approval by the Recording Secretary to the Executive Committee and the members.

11.5 All future revisions of the Constitution shall be done by amendment rather than by revising the wording in the original document. Such amendments shall be numbered and dated according to the date of approval by the membership, and shall appear in chronological order following the original document. (Approved by vote of the members, April 9, 2004.)

FOOTNOTES -
*As of the date of membership approval on August 31, 2002, "ballot" is to be interpreted as "electronic ballot."