BYLAWS

For the

Sustainable Engineering Forum
of the

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

(Rev 3, January 2003)

 

Article I - Name and Purpose

Section 1. Name

The name of the organization shall be Sustainable Engineering Forum (SEF) of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The Forum is established in accordance with the AIChE Constitution, By-laws and Rules.

Section 2. Purpose and Function

The purpose of the SEF is to serve as an international forum and to promote information exchange, scholarship, research and education in the application of the principles of sustainability and sustainable development to engineering in general, and chemical engineering in particular.

The Forum will function in a similar manner to an AIChE Division but is organized to give stronger emphasis to the following objectives:

a. to cover a wide range of interdisciplinary topics in sustainability

b. to serve as an international forum for sustainable engineering

c. to foster and promote industrial, academic and Government interactions.

Article II - Relationship to AIChE

Section 1. AIChE, Operating Councils and Programming

The Forum is a part of AIChE and its activities are open to co-sponsoring not-for-profit societies; members are encouraged to become members of AIChE and co-sponsoring not-for-profit societies.

The Forum is under the supervision and oversight of the Chemical Engineering Technology Operating Council (CTOC).

All forum committees shall work in coordination with corresponding National committees. Forum programming activity shall be carried out in coordination with the National Program Committee of the Institute and its Executive Board (EBPC).

Section 2. Authority

The Forum shall not have the authority to act for or in the name of AIChE except with the explicit prior authorization of CTOC. The Forum does not have the authority to incur any financial obligation in the name of AIChE.

Article III - Membership and Sponsorship

Section 1. Membership

Membership in SEF is by self-selection. Anyone who pays the annual SEF dues established by the Executive Committee of the SEF will be considered a member in good standing for the year for which annual dues were paid. Non-members of AIChE will be encouraged to join the SEF as will participation of the international community.

Section 2. Co-Sponsorship

Other professional societies that promote sustainability and sustainable development may apply for co-sponsorship of SEF activity. The application must be sent in writing to the Executive Committee, which will reply within six months as to whether or not such sponsorship is granted. The cosponsoring societies will be listed in all SEF publications.

Article IV – Organization

Section1. Governance

An Executive Committee will govern the SEF. The Chair and Vice-Chair of the SEF must be Fellows, Members, or Associate Members of the Institute at the time of election; other SEF officers (see Section 4) and members must be members in good standing of the SEF at the time of election.

Section 2. Number, Election and Term of Office

The number of Executive Committee members shall be nine or such number as shall be determined from time to time by a vote of the majority of the entire SEF membership, but in no event less than 6 or more than 12. No decrease in the number of Executive Committee members shall shorten the term of any incumbent Executive Committee member. The Executive Committee shall be classified, in respect of the time in which they shall severally hold office, into three classes. At each annual meeting of the SEF the nominees as the successors to the class of the Executive Committee whose term expires as of the holding of such annual meeting shall be elected to hold office for the term of three years from the holding of such annual meeting, so that the term of office of one class shall expire each year as of the holding of the annual meeting. There is no restriction on consecutive terms.

NOTE: The interim SEF leadership will develop a transition plan to move to the three-year term tenure-ship specified by these by-laws.

Executive Committee nominees to replace the retiring class of Executive Committee members will be elected by a simple plurality of the general membership in good standing of the SEF who are present and voting at the annual meeting of the SEF, or by mail or electronic ballot. Each voting member of the SEF may select candidates from a slate prepared by the Nominating Committee but open to nominations from the floor. The slate prepared by the Nominating Committee shall allow conformance to the requirements for membership in the Executive Committee. If the votes from the general membership would elect candidates who would violate these requirements, the non-conforming candidates receiving the lowest number of votes shall be replaced by conforming candidates having the highest number of votes among those not elected.

Any vacancy on the Executive Committee can be filled by the Executive Committee of the SEF, according to the terms of Section 1, and each Executive Committee member so elected shall hold office until the next Annual Meeting of the SEF, at which an Executive Committee member to complete the un-expired term, if any, created by the vacancy shall be elected.

Section 3. Officers

Officers of the SEF will be elected from members of the Executive Committee pursuant to the conditions stipulated in Article IV, Section1 and consist of a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer (the last two positions may be combined if so approved by the Executive Committee). Officers are elected for two-year terms, with the Vice Chair automatically succeeding to the Chair. The Treasurer and Secretary may be re-elected. The Chair is the chief officer of the Forum and is Chair of the Executive Committee. The Vice-Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair in the Chair's absence or inability to serve. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Chair, the Vice-Chair shall serve as the chief officer of the Forum until the next election.

Section 4. Duties of Officers

The Chair shall:

1. Develop the Forum in accordance with the Forum Goal and Objectives.

2. Provide leadership and management for the Forum.

3. Serve as the presiding officer for all Forum and Executive Committee meetings.

4. Appoint task forces for special projects as needed.

5. Coordinate activities through the leadership of the Executive Committee.

6. Assign representative(s) to programming retreat or other programming activities requiring forum representation.

7. Assist the vice chair with programming, especially during the Vice Chair's first year of service.

The Vice Chair shall:

1. Formulate and implement long-term plans and strategic activities for the Forum.

2. Implement projects in coordination with the Chair.

3. Serve as the Forum liaison to AIChE.

4. Be responsible for the programming activities of the Forum. The Vice-Chair, in collaboration with the Chair, shall prepare for the symposia and other programs. Responsibilities include coordinating Forum activities with the National Programming Committee and other programming groups. The Vice-Chair shall be the representative of SEF to the National Program Committee.

The Secretary-Treasurer shall:

1. Handle the general correspondence of the Forum, and shall, at the direction of the Chair, issue all notices of all meetings.

2. Handle and record the collection and disbursement of funds as authorized by the Executive Committee of the Forum.

3. Coordinate, with AIChE Headquarters, the preparation, electronic mailing, and tallying of annual election ballots.

4. Submit a report covering the finances and activities of the Forum at the end of each year to the Executive Committee of the Forum and the Secretary of the Institute.

5. Prepare a proposed budget for the upcoming year, for review and approval by the Executive Committee.

The duties above can be changed or redistributed with approval of the Executive Committee

Article V – Meetings

Section 1. Annual Meeting of SEF

There shall be at least one general meeting of the Forum during the Annual Meeting of the Institute. The Chair of the Forum shall schedule the meeting.

Section 2. Manner of Acting and Quorum

Notices will be sent to the membership for Forum meetings called at any time other than the Annual Meeting. The Chair of the Forum shall preside at all meetings of the Forum Executive Committee. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, or the Secretary-Treasurer, in that order, shall preside. The presiding officer shall determine the order of business for meetings of the Forum. A quorum for meetings of the Forum body shall consist of at least 5% of the Forum's membership. Except otherwise stated in these By-laws, all decisions at a meeting of the Forum will be decided by the majority vote of those present. The Secretary of the Forum shall serve as Parliamentarian and shall rule on points of order and give information as requested by the presiding officer.

Section 3. Executive Committee Meetings

The Forum Executive Committee shall meet at least once each year. The Chair may call meetings at such places and times as (s) he deems advisable. Meetings may be held by physical attendance, teleconference, videoconference, or other electronic communications means, and votes (including election of officers) may be cast either in person, by mail, or by electronic means. Meetings may also be called at the request of a majority of the members of the Executive Committee. Notices will be sent to the Executive Committee of all meetings at least two weeks in advance unless all members of the Executive Committee agree in writing (including electronic approval) to an earlier meeting. A majority of the members of the Forum Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum. Except where otherwise stated in these By-laws, all actions of the Executive Committee shall be by simple majority vote of the quorum. The presiding officer does not normally vote. Only in the event of a tie vote will the presiding officer cast the deciding vote.

Section 4. Attendance at Executive Meetings

Any member of the Forum Executive Committee who fails to attend two consecutive Executive Committee meetings shall be considered to have tendered his or her resignation from the Executive Committee. However, such a resignation shall be effective only upon acceptance by the Executive Committee, which shall have taken into account any extenuating circumstances.

Section 5. Biennial Technical Meeting

The Forum will hold an International technical meeting every two years under the aegis of AIChE. This meeting will generally be in the form of a Topical Conference.

Article VI Standing Committees and Role

Section 1. Standing Committees

Each of the standing committees will have a liaison with appropriate AIChE Divisions, Forums and other AIChE Committees, Councils or operating entities (e.g. The Institute for Sustainability) as deemed appropriate. The liaisons will be appointed by the Chair of each standing committee.

The Standing Committees and their duties are:

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) To advise the Executive Committee in matters of technical direction of the Forum. The TAC will consist of the TAC Chair and the Chair and Vice Chair of any TAC Subgroup Area.

The term of office for the TAC Chair will be four years with no restriction on consecutive terms. The TAC Chair will be a voting member of the Executive Committee and AIChE membership is required. The term of office for the Subgroup Chairs and Vice Chairs will be two years, with the Vice Chair automatically succeeding the Chair. AIChE membership will be encouraged but not required of the Subgroup Chairs and Vice Chairs. Nominations for the Chair of the TAC may come from the Executive Committee or from the general membership. The Chair of the TAC is elected by the members of the TAC. The Subgroup Vice Chairs will be elected by the members of the respective Subgroup Committees.

Biennial Meeting Committee To organize the Biennial Meeting and to select the incoming Chair of the Meeting. This committee is chaired by the current Meeting Chair and shall include its past Chair, the TAC Chair, the TAC Subgroup Chairs (or a Vice Chair in the absence of a Subgroup Chair) and the Program Chairs of the Institute subgroup areas. The likely Institute subgroups are Environmental Division, Process Development Division, Management Division, RANTC, Food, Pharmacy and Boeing Division, Computational Molecular Science and Engineering Forum (COMSEF), Catalyst and Reaction Eng Div., Material Science and Eng Div. The Chair of this committee is elected by the members of this committee.

Other Standing Committees are as follows:

Program Committee To arrange technical sessions on sustainable engineering at The Institute Meeting.

Education Committee To promote education in sustainable engineering at the university and postgraduate levels, and continuing education in the industry.

Communication Committee To promote communications within the Forum and with the programming groups in the Institute and to liaise with external organizations.

Nominating Committee To nominate a slate of candidates for election to the Executive Committee. To nominate candidates to serve as Chairs of the various standing Committees, except for the TAC and the Biennial Meeting Committee which select their own Chairs.

Membership Committee To maintain and promote membership.

Additional Standing, and ad hoc, Committees may be formed by the Executive Committee as needed.

Except for the Chairs of the TAC and the Biennial Meeting Committee, each Committee Chair will be elected by the Executive Committee for a two year term. Committee Chairs may come from the Executive Committee of the Forum or from the general membership. If not a member of the Executive Committee. The Chair of a Standing Committee will become a non-voting, ex-officio member. Except for the TAC and the Biennial Meeting Committee, committee members are appointed by the Chairs of the various committees from the members of the Forum.

Article VII - Dues and Finances:

Section 1. Dues and Membership Good Standing

The Executive Committee of the SEF, in accordance with the policies of AIChE, shall determine annual dues for membership in the SEF. Dues will be collected from the members of the Forum. Dues notices will be sent to members in the Fall of the year preceding the year for which dues are to be paid. Those members who have not paid their dues by February 1 of the dues year will be dropped from the membership roll of the SEF.

Section 2. Budgets, Expenditures and Audits

The Executive Committee shall review and approve, in their last meeting of the year, the budget submitted for the upcoming year by the Secretary-Treasurer. The officers of the Forum may approve expenditures within the provisions of the approved budget. The Forum Executive Committee shall spend additional amounts only after specific approval of a majority of the Executive Committee. Disbursement of funds and other fiscal matters will be the responsibility of the Treasurer or the Chair of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall provide for an annual audit of the Forum's financial accounts

Article VIII Amendments

Section 1. By-Law Changes

All proposed amendments of these Bylaws shall be reduced to writing. Amendments shall be proposed to the membership of the SEF by the Executive Committee or by a petition of ten percent (10%) of the members of the SEF to the Executive Committee. A proposed amendment ballot shall be sent electronically or otherwise to all SEF members; the Executive Committee shall certify voting results. Proposed amendments will be considered approved if they receive a two-thirds majority vote and the number of returned ballots represents more that 10% of the SEF membership. The amendment shall then be submitted to CTOC and shall become an effective part of the Bylaws upon its approval.

Section 2. Committees

The Committees of the Forum established in Article IV, Section 5 may be changed (either by adding a new Committee or deleting a Committee already listed) by vote of the Executive Committee. Such action does not constitute an amendment to these Bylaws.

Section 3.

The names of Organizations to which official liaison is maintained may be added or deleted in the list in Article IV, Section 5, by vote of the Executive Committee. Such action does not constitute an amendment to these Bylaws.

Article IX General Provisions:

Section 1. By-Law Interpretation

The decision of the Executive Committee shall be final on any question concerning the interpretation of the Bylaws, subject to the jurisdiction of CTOC. In all respects not specifically covered by these Bylaws, the general rules of AIChE governing the conduct of Divisions and Forums shall apply with equal force as if included in these Bylaws.

Section 2. Dissolution

In the event that the SEF is dissolved, any remaining assets shall be returned to AIChE.