Research Committee Bylaws

1. Name. This group shall be called the Research Committee.

2. Purpose. The Research Committee is a standing committee in the SEM organization, responsible to the Executive Board through the Technical Scope Council. The primary responsibility of the Committee is to provide a forum for research level work (or work in progress ) as well as novel topics not covered by other committees but beneficial to the SEM as a whole and presented at SEM National Meetings.

3. Officers & Duties

3.1. Chairman - The Committee shall have a Chairman who is appointed by the SEM President-Elect. The Chairman customarily serves a two year term. The Chairman is a member of the Technical Program Planning Committee, the Editorial Council and the Technical Scope Council. The Chairman is responsible for organizing the Research Sessions for SEM's National Meetings.

The Chairman shall inform committee members of times and places of meetings, prepare agendas and conduct the business at said meetings.

3.2. Vice-Chairman - The Vice-Chairman of the Research Committee shall be appointed by the SEM President-Elect. The Vice-Chairman shall work actively with the Chairman in organizing the Research Sessions for SEM's National Meetings and act for the Chairman in his absence.

4. Membership. The general membership of the Committee is appointed by the Chairman and should include members pursuing research work in all fields of experimental mechanics, representing education, industry and government.

5. Activities. The activities of the Research Committee focus on the presentation of research level material at SEM's National Meetings and include:

5.1. National Meeting Sessions - The Committee, under the direction of the Chairman, reviews abstracts and extended summaries of research papers submitted for presentation at National Meetings. The accepted papers are then organized into appropriately related research sessions. The Research Committee also coordinates the research level sessions sponsored by the technical committees. The Committee works with the Technical Program Planning Committee in organizing the technical program of National Meetings.

5.2. Technical Scope - The Committee periodically reviews the research work going on in the field of experimental mechanics and determines that the papers received, for presentation at National Meetings, are representative of the current research efforts. If a particular area is not being covered on the program at National Meetings, the committee can take action to determine why this is happening. The Committee can then recommend a course of action that might be taken to alleviate the discrepancy.