INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTATIONAL MECHANICS CONSTITUTION

July 28th, 2016

1. Name and objective

1.1. Name: This organization (hereinafter referred to as the “Association”) shall be known as “International Association for Computational Mechanics (comprising Mechanical, Civil, Aeronautic, Space, Naval, Biomedical, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering and Material Sciences among other scientific and technical fields)”.

1.2. Objective: The objective of the Association shall be to stimulate and promote education, research and practice in Computational Mechanics, to foster the interchange of ideas among the various fields contributing to this science, and to provide forums and meetings for the dissemination of knowledge.

1.3. The Association seeks to implement and ensure the highest level of ethical standards and responsible conduct of research rules among its membership. 1Every member of IACM is encouraged (and any IACM officer is obligated) to report any misconduct to the Executive Council of IACM.

2. National and Regional Organizations

IACM will operate basically as a Confederation of National and Regional Associations. Each National or Regional Association with similar objectives as IACM may ask to be affiliated to IACM. Admission request proposals must be presented to and approved by the Executive Council.

3. Membership

3.1. Categories of membership: Membership in IACM shall consist of the following categories:
a) Individual members
b) Individual members of National or Regional Associations
c) Institutional members
d) Corporate members
e) Honorary members

3.2. Individual members: Individual membership shall be open to any person engaged in, connected with or interested in the objectives of IACM and who is a university graduate in engineering, science, mathematics, or possesses equivalent qualifications. As given for example by the “International Council for Science” or the ESF, in “The 1 European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity”, or the NSF, in the “Responsible Conduct of Research Rules” or any other national or regional (funding) agency.

3.3. Individual members of National or Regional Associations. Each National or Regional Association will communicate the list of its members annually to the IACM Secretariat. The members belonging to a National or Regional Association have the same rights and obligations as the Individual members.

3.4. Institutional Membership: This category is open to non-profit research institutes, scientific and/or technical societies and universities, whose activities include the objectives of IACM.

3.5. Corporate Membership: This category is open to industrial organizations whose activities and interests include the objectives of IACM. The Executive Council can define a variety of Corporate/Institutional Membership options specifically designed to meet the needs of IACM partners in industry (Corporate members, Partners, Affiliates, Sponsors,…).

3.6. Honorary members: This category is open to distinguished persons in the field of Computational Mechanics at an international level. Honorary members of IACM will be appointed by the Executive Council. The appointment of honorary members will have no limit of tenure. Honorary members will be permanent members of the General Council and they can take part as guests in meetings of the Executive Council.

4. General Council and Executive Council

The General Council

4.1. The general policy of the IACM shall be determined by the General Council.

4.2. The meeting of the General Council will take place at the World Congresses of IACM.

4.3. The total number of members of the General Council will be decided by the Executive Council.

4.4. All affiliated organizations will be represented in the General Council. The number of the General Council members of each National or Regional Association will be based on the average number of members of each Association in the last 3 years. The number of members of each Association in the General Council will be updated by the Executive Council at four year intervals. New Associations affiliated to IACM will have at least one member in the General Council.

4.5. Members of the General Council will be nominated by the affiliated Associations at their discretion. The list of members will be sent to the Secretary General accompanied by a brief biographical sketch of each member.

4.6. Presidents of National or Regional Associations affiliated to IACM will be coopted members of the General Council during their term of duty.

The Executive Council

4.7. The Executive Council will be in charge of managing the scientific, technical and financial affairs of IACM.

4.8. The Executive Council shall consist of up to 21 Ordinary Members. Past IACM Presidents will be invited to be additional EC members for a four-year period right after their term in office. The Executive Council will elect among its Ordinary Members its President, three Vice-Presidents and a SecretaryGeneral. These officers are subjected to election by the Executive Council at four-year intervals.

4.9. Members of the Executive Council are also members of the General Council.

4.10.Three geographical regions representing respectively Europe-Middle EastAfrica, the Americas and Asia-Australia exist within the association. Each of the three Vice-Presidents shall represent one of the three regions.

4.11. The Ordinary Members of the Executive Council are elected by the General Council for a period of six years. One third of the Ordinary Members will be renewed at two year intervals. The election and renewal procedure will be defined by an ad-hoc Committee appointed by the Executive Council.

4.12.The Secretary-General will be responsible for the organization and coordination of the IACM Secretariat and the administration of IACM finances. Scientific and technical persons responsible for everyday management of the IACM Secretariat can be invited to attend the Executive Council meetings.

4.13.The Executive Council can nominate individual members to the General Council.

5. World Congresses, Special Interest Conferences and Symposia

5.1. World Congresses in Computational Mechanics (WCCM) of IACM will be held at two-year intervals.

5.2. The Executive Council can incorporate series of conferences and activities under IACM responsibility.

5.3. Series of Special Interest Conferences and locally organized Symposia, Workshops and Courses will be sponsored/supported by IACM if under its objective.

6. Finances

6.1. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of IACM shall begin on January 1st and end of December 31st.

6.2. Dues. Each member shall pay annual dues, to be determined by the Executive Council.

6.3. Financial Reports. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary-General to keep the financial records of the IACM and to present a report on the financial status of the IACM to the General Council.

7. Committees and Chapters

7.1. The Executive Council is empowered to establish ad hoc Committees and Chapters, as it deems appropriate.

7.2. Standing Committees are established, one for the organization of WCCMs and one for handling of IACM Awards. Rules for these committees will be defined by the Executive Council.

7.3. In establishing the ad-hoc and standing committees, representation of members from all the three world regions will be taken into account.

7.4. The IACM community is as diverse as the subfields described in section 1. This diversity extends to their gender and ethnicities. The IACM Women’s Chapter advocates internationally for full engagement of women in all aspects of the Association.

8. Affiliations

8.1. IACM is affiliated to the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM).

8.2. The Executive Council is free to establish affiliations with other Associations having similar objectives as IACM.

9. Bylaws and changes to the Constitution

9.1. The General Council may frame and amend bylaws provided the contents of these bylaws do not conflict with the Constitution and at least two-thirds of the General Council have approved them.

9.2. The Executive Council can propose changes to the Constitution. Such changes will be subsequently ratified by more than 50% of the Members of the General Council present during the meeting held at the time of WCCM.

10. Stipulations

Past Presidents of the IACM who are, at the date of approval of this Constitution, members of the Executive Council will be invited to remain as additional EC members for a six-year period after the approval of this Constitution.