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RIBF UEC Charter


RIBF UEC Charter

Amended on January 25, 2021.
Previous charter (--January 24, 2021) is here.

1. Purpose

The RIBF Users Group (RIBF-UG) is an organization of scientists and research personnel who are interested in accelerator-based research at the RI Beam Factory (RIBF) operated by the RIKEN Nishina Center (RNC).

The purposes of the RIBF-UG are as follows:

  • To provide a formal channel for the exchange of information between the RIBF administration and the scientists who utilize this facility for research.
  • To provide advice and feedback to the RNC Director on matters relating to the development and operation of the RIBF.
  • To promote and enhance the effective use of the RIBF by collecting users concerns.
  • To act as a supporting and consulting body for the RIBF The RIBF-UG maintains communications through appropriate means, such as regular meetings, electronic mailing lists, shared data bases, and webpages.

 

2. Membership

The membership of the RIBF-UG is open to scientists and research personnel who are interested in accelerator-based research at the RIBF. Applicants are requested to register to the RIBF-UG. The registration is maintained by the User Support Office in the RNC. It is the responsibility of the users to provide the User Support Office with current information.

 

3. Users Executive Committee

The Users Executive Committee (hereinafter referred to as ʻUECʼ) is a board of selected RIBF-UG members to coordinate the activities of the RIBF-UG. The UEC consists of Regular and Supplementary Members. Its activities are coordinated by Chair and Vice-Chairs and are monitored by Observers.

3.1. Membership

The Regular Members of the UEC consist of ten individuals elected from among the RIBF-UG members. The election bylaws are given in Article 3.5. The term of office is four years.
Chair can nominate Supplementary Members from among the non-UEC RIBF-UG members if the active UEC members, both Regular and Supplementary Members, agree that new Supplementary Members would help the UEC balance the composition of the members in terms of affiliations, geographical areas, or research fields. Maximum two Supplementary Members can be appointed. The term is maximum two years until the next election. In selecting Supplementary Members, the UEC shall not only take the last election results, but also the properties of the candidates into account. The UEC shall define the responsibilities of the Supplementary Members. The nominee shall be informed of the purpose of the nomination and the responsibilities to carry out.

3.2. Chair and Vice-Chairs

Chair is the Regular Member in charge of the coordination of the UEC. Chair shall not be an individual primarily affiliated to RIKEN. The term of office is two years.
Two Vice-Chairs are appointed by Chair from among the Regular Members to support Chair to carry out the responsibilities. The term of office is two years. If Chair is an experimentalist, it is desirable to have one Vice-Chair from among theorists.
After each election, Chair shall nominate one Vice-Chair (hereinafter referred to as ʻFirst Vice-Chairʼ) from among the new Regular Members and another (hereinafter referred to as ʻSecond Vice-Chairʼ) from among the Regular Members in the third year of the term. In the second year, First Vice-Chair shall be nominated to succeed Chair. If First Vice-Chair turns down the nomination, Chair shall nominate the successor from among the other Regular Members in the second year of the term.

3.3. Observer

Observers are the individuals who monitor the activities of the UEC. Observers are invited to attend the meetings of the UEC. Observers shall be nominated by Chair from among the non-UEC members. At least one Observer shall be appointed from among the individuals primarily affiliated to RIKEN. The term of office is maximum one year until the end of the fiscal year.

3.4. Election of Regular Members

3.4.1. Voting rights and eligibility for candidacy

All RIBF-UG members have the voting rights. All RIBF-UG members except for (1) chief and associate chief scientists of RIKEN and (2) the active Regular Members are eligible for candidacy.

3.4.2. Election procedure

The election is biennial and is held in March. The term of the new Regular Members starts on April 1. The UEC shall organize all election processes, including the announcement, voting and vote counting. In each election, five Regular Members to leave are up for reelection. The UEC shall select the new Regular Members based on the voting results as well as on the properties of the candidates. The new Regular Members shall be composed of (1) three experimentalists and two theorists and (2) shall not include more than one person primarily affiliated to RIKEN. If the three experimentalists and the two theorists, respectively, receiving the highest numbers of votes include a candidate(s) primarily affiliated to RIKEN (hereinafter referred to as ʻRIKEN candidateʼ) in both categories, the following arrangement based on the composition of the returning Regular Members shall be taken. (1) If the returning Regular Members have an experimentalist primarily affiliated to RIKEN, the theorist ranked highest among the RIKEN candidates shall be nominated. (2) If the returning Regular Members have a theorist primarily affiliated to RIKEN, the experimentalist ranked highest among the RIKEN candidates shall be nominated. (3) If the returning Regular Members have none primarily affiliated to RIKEN, the experimentalist ranked highest among the RIKEN candidates shall be nominated.

3.5. Vacancy

  • When a Regular Member resigns, Chair shall nominate a successor from among the runners-up of the last election or leave the position open until the next election when the term of the leaving Regular Member ends.
  • When a Supplementary Member resigns, Chair shall nominate a successor from among the other non-UEC RIBF-UG members or close the position.
  • When Chair resigns, the UEC shall nominate a successor from among the other Regular Members. If the predecessor resigns before the mid-term election, the successor shall be a Regular Member who will return after the next election.
  • When a Vice-Chair resigns, Chair shall nominate a successor from among the other Regular Members. If the first Vice-Chair leaves before the nomination to Chair, the successor shall be nominated from among the Regular Members in the first year of the term.
  • When an Observer resigns, Chair shall nominate a successor from among the other non-UEC members or close the position.
  • In all cases above, the term of the successor shall be the remainder of the term of the predecessor.

 

4. Amendment

Any amendment and supplement to this RIBF UEC Charter (hereinafter referred to as ʻCharterʼ) are subject to the following process.

  1. The UEC shall discuss and agree on the amendment or supplement to the original Charter.
  2. Chair shall announce the intent of the amendment or supplement to the original Charter in a meeting of the RIBF-UG. The slides used in the meeting shall be available for all RIBF-UG members.
  3. The UEC shall prepare a draft of the new Charter if no objections are given by the RIBF-UG members.
  4. Chair shall send the draft Charter to the RIBF-UG members by e-mail. The UEC shall accept the feedbacks on the draft for about two weeks.
  5. The UEC shall update the draft to address the issues raised in the feedbacks. Step 4 shall be iterated.
  6. Once the UEC members agree that all issues were addressed, the new Charter comes into force. Chair shall send the new Charter to the RIBF-UG by e-mail and report at a meeting of the RIBF-UG.