4th MEETING OF STANDING COMMITTEE

1.

The second meeting of the International Standing Committee was held at
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, 13th
September, 1963.

The following delegates were present:
Dr. L. Mullins
Great Britain, (Chairman)
Dr. Ekkehart Krainer
AustriaProf. G.A. Homes
Belgium
Mr. Wm. E. Havercroft
CanadaMr. R.D. Barer
CanadaMr. S.A. Lund
DenmarkProf. P.G. BastienFranceDr. R. Seifert
Germany
Mr. C.C. Bates
Great Britain
Mr. R. Main
Great Britain, (Secretary)
Prof. G. Moravia
ItalyProf. H. KiharaJapanMr. A. de Sterke
Netherlands
Mr. A. Baggerud
NorwayProf. I. Malecki
PolandDr. Z. Pawlowski
PolandMr. D.B. Marais
S. Africa
Prof. Manuel de Miro
Spain
Mr. K.C. Gredborn
SwedenMr. R. Hornung
Switzerland
Dr. G.E. Tenney
U.S.A.
Mr. R.G. Strother
U.S.A.
Prof. M. Micheev
U.S.S.R.
Mr. I. Victorov

2. Apologies for Absence
In addition to the apologies submitted at the first meeting on the 10th September,an apology was received from Dr. Baldi.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
After a small amendment to Item 4 of the minutes of the meeting held on the 10th
September, Mr. Bates proposed that they be adopted as a correct record. Thiswas seconded by Dr. Tenney and carried.
4. Matters Arising from the Minutes

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(I)

Some further corrections were made to the list of delegates’ addressesand
it was agreed that a final list should be sent by post to all delegates with arequest that further corrections, if any, should be sent to Mr. Havercroft.

(II)

Dr. Pawlowski put forward three proposals:a)b)c)

To set a date by which all delegates should send comments on thescope and arrangements for the Fifth Conference, the object being tohelp the new Organizing Committee to draw on the previously
accumulated experience.
To begin as soon as possible the exchange of information between
Societies (see Item 4 c) of previous minutes). The Organizing
committee should act as post office for dissemination of this material.
That information regarding conferences and meetings planned by
National Societies (i.e. anything more than a one-day meeting) be
circulated as early as possible.

The Standing Committee agreed that proposals a) and b) should be implemented
by the 31st December, 1963. Dr. Seifert undertook to circulate the available
German material within one month. Regarding proposal c), the Chairman asked
Societies to ensure that the Canadian Secretary was on their mailing lists.
(III)

Dr. Tenney suggested that steps be taken to make the work of theStanding Committee more widely known both to the individual Member
Societies to the world at large. He suggested that the new Terms ofReference should be published in the Proceedings, and it was agreed that
this should be done. Dr. Tenney asked that adequate supplies of theProceedings should be printed to cover all likely demands. The Secretarystated that it was intended that the order for the Fourth Conference
Record would be adequately large; Dr. Mullins suggested that delegatesshould advise the British organizers of anyone needing copies.

(IV)

It was agreed that the United Kingdom would be responsible for winding
national co-operation, including the Fifth Conference, to be in the hands of
the Canadian Society.

5. Comments on the Fourth International Conference
The Secretary invited frank comments on the organization of theConference as a guide to future events, and the following points wereaccordingly put forward.
(I)Prof. Homes hoped that it would be possible to provide more
opportunities for delegates to meet outside of the main events of the program.
(II)Mr. Bates asked whether improved arrangements could be made for23

contacting delegates. The Secretary suggested that signing-in sheets should beprovided on which each delegate on registering would insert his name,registration number and hotel. These sheets could be displayed in theregistration hall.
(III)Mr. Hornung recommended the planning of small discussion groups on
specific subjects as an ancillary to the main discussion.
(IV)Mr. De Sterke suggested that future organizers attempt to get
discussion contributions in writing in advance. This would help Chairmen to plan
effective discussions and would also enable them to eradicate unnecessary
material.
(V)Mr. Strother mentioned the disappointment felt by many delegates fromabroad on being unable to join visits, this being aggravated by the fact that manydelegates with tickets did not turn up. Dr. Mullins suggested that a system
similar to stand-by airline tickets might be adopted, although this would mean
supervision of every visit departure and might also lead to difficulties wheresecurity clearance was required.
(VI)Prof. Malecki recommended the adoption of the rapporteur system atfuture conferences, although he accepted that the final choice of system lay inthe hands of conference organizers.
(VII)Prof. Moravia queried the possibility of national reports on limited
specified topics for future conferences. He was not, however, advocating a
return to the general national reports which had been a feature of previousmeetings. Mr. Bates suggested that such national reports might be madeavailable in writing during the conferences, thus saving time in actualpresentation.
(VIII)Dr. Tenney advised against the adoption of an approved pattern for
future conferences- each had its own character and this was a desirable state ofaffairs.
(IX)Prof. Homes suggested that visits before the conference might beconsidered, thus giving greater flexibility in timing of the working sessions orinformal discussions.
(X)Mr. Lund suggested that more details about the works visits should begiven with the registration forms. This is necessary so that delegates may decide
which ones are or interest when completing their forms.
(XI)The main criticisms of the Fourth Conference were the shortage ofpreprints and of the visits. The Chairman explained that both of these problems
had been aggravated by the large number of delegates (about 120) who had not
given any intimation whatever of the intention to take part until their arrival during
the conference week.
6. Closure
Dr. Mullins extended his grateful thanks to all delegates for their helpful
spirit of co-operation both during the Standing Committee meetings and at otherconference events during the week. The meeting then ended.

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