IOP Groups

Minutes of the 16th AGM

Minutes of the 16^th Annual General Meeting, Caroline Herschel Lecture Room, Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, held on 11^th October 2003

• Those present from the committee were Ian Butterworth (Chairman), Peter Ford (Secretary/Treasurer), Neil Brown, Olivia Davies, Christopher Green, and Denis Weaire. Ten other members were also present.
  
  
• The minutes of the previous meeting held at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 19^th October 2002 were accepted and there were no matters arising.
  
  
• Between the two AGMs two committee meetings were held at the Science Museum in London on Saturday 8^th February and Saturday 19^th July 2003. At the AGM on October 11^th 2003 some of the points arising from these two committee meetings were aired. Some disappointment was expressed at the small number of people who participated at the meeting on the astronomer George Biddle Airy, whose life and scientific work were discussed after the 2002 AGM at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. In addition, there was concern about the high cost of hiring rooms and audio-visual facilities at Newcastle. It was partly for these reasons that the AGM on October 11^th 2003 was held at the IOP headquarters in London.
  
  
• It was regretted that the History of Physics Group had not participated at the Physics Congress, which was held at Heriot Watt University in March 2003, and that this congress was no longer to be continued because of the huge organisational difficulties that it posed.
  
  
• Jeff Hughes from the University of Manchester and Kate Crennell from the Rutherford Laboratory were invited to join the committee and were formally adopted at the AGM. In addition, Adrian Jackson from Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet volunteered to join the committee and was also welcomed onto it.
  
  
• The resignation of Colin Hempstead through ill health was accepted and good wishes were sent to him for a speedy recovery. Our thanks were given for his contributions while a member of the committee, especially his work in initially organising the lecture programme, which was due to take place after the committee meeting. The re-election of the Chairman and Secretary took place as well as that of the existing members.
  
  
• Sophie Duncan and Lucy Gibson had formally left the committee before the AGM and thanks were given for their contributions. Lucy has done an excellent job in producing several annual News Letters. The last one, number 16, included contributions from the meeting about Airy.
  
  
• Dr Chris Ray volunteered to take over being the Editor of the News Letter.
  
  
• It was felt that there should be greater liaison between the History of Physics Group and the Education Group both of which have a lot in common. This matter should be pursued.
  
  
• It was felt that the History of Physics Group web site was very bad and in need of urgent attention. (Since the AGM, Kate Crennell has attended to this matter).
  
  
• Future lectures and meetings were discussed. Chris Green pointed out that 2003 was the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Hospital Physicists association and Sidney Osborne, one of the founding members, had agreed to give a lecture. (This duly took place on November 27^th 2003 in the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering at University College, London and was very successful). Denis Weaire suggested a joint meeting between the History of Physics Groups of the European Physical Society and the Institute of Physics. (This took place in Paris on 18/19^th September and again was very successful)
  
  
• It was agreed that future meeting should reflect that 2005 is the "World Year of Physics", known in the United Kingdom as the "Einstein Year", and is also the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Irish mathematician and physicist William Rowan Hamilton. It was suggested that meetings should be held on these topics and these are in the planning stage.
  
  
• After the AGM and lunch an excellent meeting was held in the afternoon. It was entitled "Discoveries, Theories and Natural Philosophers" There were three lectures: Denis Weaire "Thomson and Fitzgerald - Natural Philosophers"; Isobel Falconer "Formulating a Theory: J.J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford's collaboration on x-ray ionisation"; and Vincent McBrierty "Life and Times of Ernest Walton". The last lecture marked the centenary of his birth. Alan Walton, one of the sons of Ernest Walton, was one of those who attended the lecture.
  
  

Dr P.J. Ford
Secretary
History of Physics Group
Institute of Physics

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