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Minutes of the 2005 Fusion Annual General Meeting, held on 22 January 2005 at the University of Sussex.
1. Paul Ruffle welcomed those present
Hamish Beaton, Rodney Buckland, Graham Foyle, Jim Grozier, Richard Humphreys, Norrette Moore, Fred Muirhead, Dwyn Padfield, John Pollard, Lorraine Robinson, Paul Ruffle, Christine Seaman, John Small and Digby Tarvin.
2. Apologies for Absence
Frank Buxton, Karen Hurren, Diana Maxwell, Nicholas Rayner, John Taylor and Rosemary Twidale.
3. Minutes of 2004 AGM
Approved.
4. Reports
(a) Finance
Norrette gave a report which showed a bank balance of £7.4k and a net worth of £3.6k. (The difference between these figures being money "accrued" to future years from multi-year memberships). IoP money (which members pay to us and we forward to the Institute) was down compared with last year, and advertising expenditure was also down as we had not been using Sesame for most of the year.
(b) Membership
John Pollard circulated a report. Membership was up but the figures were distorted by a block transfer of 77 members from OUCSTSS (OU Computer Science, Technology and Space Society). 286 memberships were due to expire in 2005. Last year about 42% of those due to renew actually did so. John had sent out a letter asking why people had not renewed; most did not reply, but two had renewed as a consequence. The response to the resumed Sesame advertising in late 2004/early 2005 was encouraging.
There was some discussion of how we could make it easier for people to maintain their membership, and also to join in the first place. We could encourage standing orders, although direct debits would be better in that we would not need to remind people to change the amount if fees change. We could also look into on-line payments through an organisation such as "Pay-pal", but need to be careful as some users of "Pay-pal" have reported problems. There is an alternative - "World Pay(?)" which John Small has some knowledge of.
Advertising and recruitment strategies also need to reflect the influx of younger people now studying with the OU.
Fusion is registered under the Data Protection Act.
(c) Newsletter
Paul gave a verbal report. We only produced three newsletters in 2004. More material is needed (including an article on the 2005 AGM!) We should ensure that members know what sort of material is wanted1 - i.e. reports on talks or events they have attended, book and course reviews, puzzles and problems, and humorous articles. (NB This is not an exhaustive list!) It may also help to explain that articles will eventually appear on the website, as past newsletters are now routinely posted there. Paul explained the "deal" with the IoP - they copy and mail the newsletters for us and we provide them with new members through our joint Fusion/IoP introductory membership fee. This is worth a considerable amount of money to us (£1k?), considering what we would have to pay if we did it ourselves. A member asked whether it was still necessary to send out printed newsletters as opposed to an electronic version, but the consensus was that people still preferred a printed copy, which has the advantage that it is portable; besides, there are still many Fusion members who do not have email, or at least, do not quote an email address.
(d) Events
Jim gave a report of 2004 events and those planned for 2005, including a return visit to Daresbury Laboratory, a visit to the medical physics department at Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry, an oil refinery (joint with the OU Chemistry Society) and a possible visit to the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. Jim and John Small were also involved in the bid to host the International Conference of Physics Students in the UK in 2007, and in a visit to Culham aimed at foreign physics students.
There was some discussion of a possible repeat of the S381 Weekend Practical Event held in Mill Hill in 2003. OUSAPS were interested in being involved, but it was not clear whether there would be sufficient demand now that SXR208 is up and running. Some input from the OU Physics and Astronomy Dept would have been useful but has not been forthcoming.
There was also a discussion of the proposed S207 Preparation Weekend, which would take place in early 2006, possibly on the OU campus at Milton Keynes, where cheap accommodation may be available. The idea has the backing of two S207 tutors, Ian Saunders and David Keen. It has been "floated" on the revised S103 flyer which is due to go out soon. It was also suggested that an article could be written for Sesame. (Post-meeting note: copy deadlines for the next two editions of OU Student (and therefore presumably also Sesame) are 3 February and 5 May). It was agreed that we should elect a committee member specifically to develop this idea. It was also suggested that the 2006 AGM might take place during the Preparation Weekend (see item 7).
(e) T-Shirts
Jim reported that he had started 2004 with 58 T-shirts (25 Maxwell + 33 Schrodinger); one batch of 24 Maxwells and 3 batches of 24 Schrodingers had been bought during the year, and a total of 42 Maxwells and 72 Schrodingers had been sold or given as freebies, leaving a current stock of 40 T-shirts (7M + 33S). (Post-meeting note: one T-shirt (M) was sold during the AGM, and one (S) was given to a speaker, so the actual number at hand-over to the new merchandise person was 38 (6M + 32S))
The Einstein design had been advertised and orders were already coming in; however the design had not been finalised; this must be done ASAP (action: PR).
(f) Website
Paul gave a verbal report. All past newsletters are now on the website; there is also a feedback form, and a "news" area at the top of the home page.
(g) OUSA Conference
Norrette gave a verbal report. The Fusion motion on First Class access for society committee members who are no longer OU students was carried, but has not been implemented yet.
It was agreed that we should not have a stall at the 2005 OUSA conference.
(h) OUSA Societies Standing Committee
Richard had attended the last meeting of 2004 and gave a verbal report. The Fusion motion for the 2005 OUSA conference (on providing a more comprehensive range of courses, particularly in Physics) had been amended slightly but a move to delete the reference to "Physics" had been beaten off.
The 2005 OU Open Day will be on 18 June at Milton Keynes. We need to decide whether we should have a stall in the Physics tent, the OUSA tent or both. We could have a laptop with a slide show running with pictures of events etc.
OUSA wants copies of society newsletters to be sent to them and to the OU library and the British Library. For this we would need an ISBN number.
The issue of insurance for society events had been discussed briefly but OUSA will not provide it. Following a message on First Class from the Geology Society, it was suggested that we should approach the IoP about this.
(i) Nexus
Digby was our Nexus rep for 2004. Paul had been on the Nexus Committee but had recently stood down. Digby expressed an interest in both positions.
(j) OU Physics and Astronomy Department
Current representative not present.
5. Elections for Officers, Committee Posts and various Delegates
Two additional roles were added to the list on the agenda: S207 Preparation Weekend Co-Ordinator and Space Project Co-Ordinator. (The latter having arisen out of a discussion following Rodney Buckland's pre-AGM talk on space missions).
| Position | Nominee | Nominated | Seconded |
| (a) Statutary Officers | |||
| Chair | Paul Ruffle | Jim Grozier | John Pollard |
| Treasurer | Jim Grozier | Norrette Moore | Lorraine Robinson |
| Secretary | John Pollard | Paul Ruffle | Lorraine Robinson |
| (b) Functional Officers | |||
| Membership | John Pollard | Norrette Moore | Jim Grozier |
| Events | Lorraine Robinson | Jim Grozier | John Pollard |
| Newsletter | Paul Ruffle | Digby Tarvin | Jim Grozier |
| Website | Paul Ruffle | Jim Grozier | Lorraine Robinson |
| Merchandise | Christine Seaman | John Pollard | Norrette Moore |
| Science Revision Weekend Coordinator | Digby Tarvin | Paul Ruffle | Richard Humphreys |
| OU Liaison | Lindsey Shaw Greening | Jim Grozier | Norrette Moore |
| Space Project Coordinator | Richard Humphreys | Lorraine Robinson | Digby Tarvin |
| S207 Preparation Weekend Coordinator | John Pollard | Richard Humphreys | Lorraine Robinson |
| (c) Additional Committee Members | |||
| John Small | Jim Grozier | Rodney Buckland | |
| Graham Foyle | John Pollard | Richard Humphreys | |
| (d) Other Positions | |||
| First Class Conference Moderator | Norrette Moore | Jim Grozier | Richard Humphreys |
| (e) Delegates | |||
| Nexus Rep | Digby Tarvin | ||
| Nexus Committee nominee | Digby Tarvin | ||
| OUSA SSC delegate | Richard Humphreys | ||
| OUSA Conference delegate | Richard Humphreys | ||
These were all agreed unanimously.
6. Committee Meetings
Committee members to decide on dates and venues. Most to be at Milton Keynes.
7. 2006 AGM
Numbers attending the AGM had dropped since the it became part of a whole weekend of activities.
Possibly to be held at Milton Keynes during the S207 weekend.
8. Thanks to retiring committee members
The meeting expressed its appreciation of Norrette Moore's four years on the committee in the role of Treasurer and as a founding member of the Society. Jim was also asked to write to John Taylor to thank him for his contribution to the Committee in 2004.
Note: 1This is already being done in new members' welcome letters.
Jim was thanked for organising the AGM and the Fusion Weekend.