UFFC-S Bylaws

1. Nature of the Bylaws

These Bylaws provide rules governing the internal affairs of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society (UFFC-S, or the “Society”), and shall be in accord with IEEE governing documents and the UFFC-S Constitution.

2. Society Membership

2.1 UFFC-S Member

A UFFC-S member is an individual who is an IEEE member or IEEE Society Affiliate and has paid the annual UFFC-S dues prescribed in Section 4 of these Bylaws, or who is a qualifying IEEE Life Member as prescribed in the IEEE Bylaws.

In these Bylaws, the term “member in good standing” shall mean an IEEE member of any grade who is a UFFC-S member and is not under suspension as defined in the IEEE Bylaws.

2.2 UFFC-S Voting Member

As prescribed in Section 2.3 of the UFFC-S Constitution, the voting members of the UFFC-S (UFFC- S voting members) shall consist of IEEE voting members, Affiliates, and Associate Members belonging to the Society.

3. Administrative Committee (AdCom) and Meetings

3.1 AdCom Composition.

Section 5.1 of the UFFC-S Constitution states that AdCom shall consist of not more than 24 Voting Members (including 12 Elected AdCom Members, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair, plus not more than 11 UFFC-S Officers), plus additional Non-Voting Members as specified in these Bylaws.

The Non-Voting Members of AdCom shall consist of: (1) the Standing Committee Chairs who are not UFFC-S Officers excluding the Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee Chair who is a voting member, (2) the Ad Hoc Committee Chairs, (3) the Student Representatives of AdCom, (4) the Transactions Editor-in-Chief (EIC), (5) the Transactions EIC-Elect, (6) the Open Journal Editor-in-Chief, (7) the Open Journal EIC-Elect, (8) the Newsletter EIC, (9) the Web EIC, and (10) the General Chairs of UFFC-S-sponsored Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control technical symposia of the past calendar year, current year, and next year (in the event of a symposium with General Co-Chairs, the corresponding Technical Standing Committee Chair shall designate one of them to represent at AdCom).

Other contributors to AdCom are not AdCom Members. They may include Vice Chairs and members of various committees, AdCom emeriti, UFFC-S representatives, Officers of UFFC-S Chapters, the Student Advisor(s), and selected IEEE Headquarters Officers.

3.2 Meetings.

The conduct of AdCom meetings or meetings of any committee thereof is addressed in Section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution. AdCom shall meet at least twice a year. Every AdCom Member shall be notified of the place and date of such meetings at least thirty days prior to the meeting date.

Meetings of AdCom or any committee thereof can be held in-person, or by any means of telecommunication, or by a combination of the two methods, provided that the telecommunications equipment allows all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time, as is required in Section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution.

3.2.1 Quorum

Section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution defines a quorum in a meeting as a majority of all Voting Members of AdCom or any committee thereof. Quorum shall be determined at the beginning of the meeting by the presiding officer. Any Voting Member can request to verify that a Quorum is present at any point of time during the meeting.

In the case that there is less than a quorum attending a duly called meeting of AdCom or any committee thereof, informal discussions may be held, but no actions or votes may be taken.

3.2.2. Motion

Any voting member of AdCom or any committee thereof may make or second a motion. Motions from a committee do not need a second.

3.2.3. Voting

In these Bylaws, approval of an action by AdCom or any committee thereof means that the action is approved by a vote of Voting Members, with or without a meeting, where said vote is held following the requirements of section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution. Voting procedures differ based on the circumstances in which the vote is taken, as described in the sections below.

3.2.3.1. Voting at Meetings

During in-person meetings, meetings that are held solely via telecommunications, and meetings that are held where members participate via a combination of in-person and telecommunications methods, approval of an action by AdCom or any committee thereof means an affirmative vote of a majority of Voting Members who are present at the meeting when the vote is taken, provided that the Quorum is met, as required in Section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution, unless stipulated otherwise. The word “present” in this context means a physical presence in the meeting room or participation in the meeting via telecommunications equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.

3.2.3.2. E-mail Vote in Lieu of a Meeting

As prescribed in Section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution, AdCom or any committee thereof may take action without a meeting, by email voting. An affirmative vote of a majority of all AdCom (or committee) members eligible to vote shall be required to approve the action. The action item(s) shall be distributed to AdCom (or committee) members for discussion along with background information of the item(s) at least 1 (one) week before the discussion deadline. The voting deadline shall be at least 1 (one) week after the discussion deadline.

The results of all email votes conducted shall be confirmed promptly in writing or by electronic transmission to the entire AdCom (or committee). A summary of the writings and/or electronic transmissions, including the outcome of the vote, shall be filed with the minutes of the AdCom (or committee). “Electronic transmission” means any form of electronic communication, such as email, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient.

Should a Voting member of AdCom or any committee thereof feel that email is an insufficient conduit for discussion, that Voting member may move to have the action considered via Special Meeting, as prescribed by Section 3.2.4 of these Bylaws. Pursuant to approval of the motion via an affirmative vote of the majority of all Voting Members of AdCom or any committee thereof, said Special Meeting shall be arranged by the President (or committee Chair in the event of a committee meeting) or a designee expeditiously and in accordance with section 3.2.4. In special circumstances where timeliness is deemed by the President (or committee Chair in the event of a committee meeting) to be critical, a special meeting may be called with less notice than provided for in Section 3.2.4.

3.2.4. Special Meetings

Special meetings of AdCom or any committee thereof may be called by the President (or committee Chair in the event of a committee meeting), or may be arranged pursuant to a motion approved by AdCom (or by committee in the event of a committee meeting), on notice to all committee members. Such special meetings may be held as a face-to-face gathering, videoconference, or by teleconference. As specified in Section 6.2 of the UFFC-S Constitution, the normal voting requirements shall apply when action is taken by means of telecommunications equipment allowing all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other at the same time.

Notice of such special meetings, giving the time and place of the meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and any required documentation shall be provided to all Members of AdCom (or committee in the event of a committee meeting) not less than ten days before the date set for the special meeting by such routings as shall ensure prompt delivery.

3.2.5. Parliamentary Procedure

Meetings of AdCom or any committee thereof shall be conducted in accordance with IEEE governing documents and UFFC-S governing documents. All documents governing UFFC-S such as operations manuals, policy statements, and the Bylaws shall conform to and not conflict with the provisions of the IEEE Bylaw I-300.1, which takes precedence.

In the event that said documents do not provide sufficient guidance on specific issues relating to parliamentary procedure, Robert’s Rules of Order (newly revised, latest version) shall be used to provide additional guidance, as prescribed in IEEE governing documents.

3.3 Absences and Vacancies.

In order to maintain a continuously-active AdCom, Members who miss two consecutive meetings shall, in the absence of extenuating circumstances as determined by AdCom, be dropped from AdCom. The procedures to remove a member from AdCom or any committee thereof shall follow those prescribed in Article 5 of the UFFC-S Constitution. A vacancy thus or otherwise created shall be filled by Presidential appointment for the unexpired term, and ratified by an affirmative vote of a majority of all Elected AdCom Members, as prescribed in Article 5 of the UFFC-S Constitution.

3.4. Nomination and Election of Elected AdCom Members

3.4.1. Nomination

A slate of nominees for forthcoming vacancies in the position of Elected AdCom Member shall be prepared by the Nominations Committee for approval by the AdCom.. All nominees must be UFFC-S voting members in good standing at the time of nomination; evidence of willingness to serve shall be provided with the nomination. The total number of nominees shall be at least eight. Broadest representation from all IEEE Regions and technical areas of the UFFC-S shall be attempted for the nominations slate.

For each Elected Member position on AdCom, a nominating petition containing the signatures of at least 2% of the UFFC-S voting members as listed in the official IEEE membership records at the end of the year preceding the election, also places a nominee on the ballot. Such nominating petitions must be completed at least 28 days before the date of election. Any UFFC-S voting member who is interested in becoming a nominee through petition shall contact the Chair of the UFFC-S Nominations Committee no later than one day after the first AdCom meeting of the year so that an official IEEE society annual election website can be set up for the individual nominee to collect the petition signatures.

Petition signatures can be submitted electronically through the official IEEE society annual election website as described above, or by signing and mailing a paper petition. The name of each member signing the paper petition shall be clearly printed or typed. For identification purposes of signatures on paper petitions, membership numbers as listed in the official IEEE membership records shall be included. Only signatures submitted electronically through the IEEE society annual elections website or original signatures on paper petitions shall be accepted. Facsimiles, or other copies of the original signature, shall not be accepted.

Nominations may be presented from the floor by members of AdCom during the AdCom meeting when the Nominations Committee presents a slate of nominees for approval, provided that the nominees are UFFC-S voting members in good standing and evidence of willingness to serve is also presented. An affirmative vote by AdCom places the nominee on the ballot.

3.4.2. Election

The election to fill forthcoming vacancies for the position of Elected AdCom Member shall be by ballot to all UFFC-S voting members. The deadline for the return of the ballots shall be at least 30 days after the distribution date of the ballots. Distribution, collection, and counting of ballots shall be done by IEEE Headquarters. Ties shall be broken by a majority vote of the AdCom.

3.5. Nomination and Election of President-Elect

The Nominations Committee shall prepare a slate of at least 2 (two) nominees with nomination packages for the office of President-Elect. Nominees shall be UFFC-S voting members in good standing. In the event that less than two nominees are available, exemption to proceed with one nominee shall be obtained from the IEEE Vice President for Technical Activities. An affirmative vote of two-thirds of all Voting Members of AdCom is required to elect the single nominee.

A complete nomination package shall consist of a letter of nomination signed by at least 2 (two) AdCom Members, an up-to-date candidate biography including IEEE and UFFC-S contributions, and a position statement by the candidate. Nominees shall be included on the slate as long as a complete nomination package has been received by the Chair of the Nominations Committee at least 4 (four) weeks prior to the last regularly scheduled AdCom meeting in an election year. Nomination packages shall be distributed to AdCom within one week after the nomination deadline. At the last regularly scheduled AdCom meeting in an election year, the President-Elect shall be elected.

During the election process, at the discretion of the incumbent President, candidates may be invited to make brief statements and answer questions from the floor, provided such opportunity is uniformly provided to all candidates under consideration. The election shall be by secret ballot. An affirmative vote of a majority of all AdCom Members who are eligible to vote shall determine the election. In the case that there are more than two nominees, and no nominee receives the required number of votes, the nominee who received the least votes shall be removed, and the voting repeated. The incumbent President shall not vote unless there is a tie, and shall conduct this election process with the assistance of the Society Secretary and appropriate administrator(s).

3.5.1. Terms of Office

As provided in Section 5.1 of the UFFC-S Constitution, the terms of both the President and the President-Elect shall be two years. The retiring President shall not be eligible for election to the office of President-Elect for a period of ten years after completing the term of the office of President.

The President-Elect assumes the Presidency at the conclusion of the outgoing President’s term as prescribed in Section 5.1 of the UFFC-S Constitution. The term of the President-Elect starts January 1st immediately following the election year.

If a President is unable to complete the first year of office, the President-Elect shall become the President and shall complete the unexpired term vacated by the President, and then shall become the Past President. The election for President-Elect shall be held as soon as practical.

If the President is unable to complete the second year of office, the President-Elect shall become the President and shall complete the unexpired term vacated by the President, and then shall serve the term as President for which they were originally elected.

3.6. Duties of UFFC-S Officers

As provided in Article 5 of the UFFC-S Constitution, the UFFC-S Officers shall consist of the President, President-Elect, six Vice Presidents, Secretary/Treasurer (combined or separate positions), and the Past President. It is the expectation that all officers provide a complete, comprehensive turnover to their successors prior to the start of the successors’ terms, and upon request to assist their successors to ensure continuity of Society operations. Additional provisions in this section are intended to provide general guidelines for duties and are not intended to be comprehensive nor limiting in nature.

3.6.1. President

The President shall lead the affairs of the Society, as defined in Article 5 of the UFFC-S Constitution, and shall speak for the Society on all matters not specifically delegated to others. The President or designee is automatically a member of certain IEEE committees, and in these positions is expected to promote the interest of the Society and the IEEE.

3.6.2. President-Elect

The President-Elect shall perform the Presidential duties in the President's absence or incapacity, and shall fulfill such other functions as directed by the President or by AdCom.

3.6.3. Vice Presidents

There shall be six Vice Presidents as defined in Article 5 of the UFFC-S Constitution: Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, Frequency Control, Publications, Symposia, and Finance. The Vice Presidents are chairs of their respective Standing Committees, with duties described in Section 5 below. Vice Presidents shall be appointed by the President (by the President-Elect in the year prior to beginning to serve as President for terms starting on January 1 of the following year) and ratified by an affirmative vote of a majority of all Elected AdCom Members.

3.6.4. Secretary/Treasurer

The Secretary/Treasurer shall be appointed by the President (by the President-Elect in the year prior to beginning to serve as President for terms starting on January 1 of the following year). Whether these are separate positions or one combined position is left to the discretion of the individual making the appointment.

The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the records of AdCom. These responsibilities include maintaining appropriate files, preparing and distributing notices and minutes, posting minutes of AdCom on the UFFC-S website, and transmitting the same to the UFFC-S section of the IEEE archives. Draft meeting minutes, including attachments, shall be distributed or otherwise made available to AdCom Members within thirty days after the AdCom meeting with an update provided to AdCom Members before the next AdCom meeting.

The Treasurer shall be a Society fiduciary and is responsible for the financial activities of AdCom. These responsibilities include reviewing, and if approved for payment, endorsing and transmitting all bills for payment to the IEEE, and monitoring receipts and expenditures in order to ensure conformance to the Society's budget and guidelines.

3.6.5. Past President

The Past President is the immediate past president. The Past President shall advise and support the Society and its AdCom leadership and fill roles as otherwise described herein. The terms of office of the Past President is two years, starting on January 1 of the calendar year after the completion of their term as President.

3.7. AdCom Student Representatives

There shall be up to three Junior and three Senior Student Representatives to AdCom, no more than two from any of the three Society technical areas. The term of the Student Representatives shall be two years, starting from January 1 of the calendar year. There shall be three new Junior Student Representatives selected each year, one from each of the three Society technical areas. Junior Student Representatives become Senior Student Representatives during the second year of their term.

The Student Representatives shall be appointed by the President (by the President-Elect in the year prior to beginning to serve as President for terms starting on January 1 of the following year).
It is desirable that Student Representatives remain students during their term of service. If a Student Representative cannot complete their term, a replacement shall be appointed by the President to serve the remainder of the term of the student.

The duties of Student Representatives include publicizing the Society to the broader community of fellow students, and promoting the Society to students by appropriate means as approved by AdCom, which may include the Society website, social media and other online activities, reaching out to those students attending its symposia, and other activities. The Student Representatives shall select among themselves a lead individual who shall present an oral and written report of their activities on their behalf in each AdCom meeting. The lead individual shall also keep the information on the Students sections of the UFFC-S website up-to-date. 

3.8. AdCom Emeritus

AdCom Emeriti are individuals who have been long-term contributors to AdCom. AdCom Emeriti shall support the UFFC-S using their “corporate memory” and may, on occasion, be assigned duties by AdCom or by the President. A minimum of two AdCom Emeriti, not including those who are currently serving in other positions as AdCom Members, shall be invited by the President to attend each AdCom meeting. Emeritus candidates are recommended to AdCom by the UFFC-S Awards Committee and approved by AdCom. The term of AdCom Emeritus is life. 

3.9. Policies and Procedures

Decisions on UFFC-S policies and procedures made by vote of AdCom, as reported in its minutes, are binding as written and approved. Only the most time independent procedures have been incorporated in these Bylaws. Policies and procedures approved by AdCom shall be posted on the UFFC-S website for access by UFFC-S members.

4. Society Funds

4.1. Annual Dues and General Expenditures

The Society may raise funds as specified in Article 4 of the UFFC-S Constitution and in the IEEE Bylaws and rules and regulations. Expenditures shall fall within budget projections as approved by AdCom. It is the responsibility of the Treasurer to monitor general expenditures on an ongoing basis, and in the case of anticipated deviations of 15% or more from the approved budget to consult with the Vice President for Finance and obtain AdCom approval for those expenditures. The annual Society dues for IEEE members and Affiliates shall be set by AdCom subject to approval by the IEEE. IEEE shall act as a bursar for all Society funds except as specified hereunder. Billings and receipt of the annual dues shall be handled by the IEEE.

4.1.1. Student Dues

The annual dues for students shall be 50% of the Society regular membership dues.

4.2. Symposia Funds

Financial arrangements for symposia sponsored or co-sponsored by the Society shall be covered by a separate budget with adequate safeguards against undue risk. The symposium organizing committee may authorize the Symposium Finance Chair to open an account to be used for the deposit and disbursement of funds related to the symposium, and the Symposium Finance Chair or General Chair may request a loan (or loans) from the Society's general fund to cover expenses in advance of the symposium.

All symposia must comply with IEEE audit requirements, and adhere to IEEE conference finance rules.

4.2.1. Responsibilities of Symposium General Chair

The Symposium General Chair is required to submit a formal budget to AdCom for approval at least one year before the symposium. The AdCom approved budget shall be forwarded to IEEE for inclusion in the budget process through the Vice President for Finance. The General Chair is also required to present a preliminary account of symposium income and expenses at the first scheduled AdCom meeting after the symposium, and to work with the Symposium Finance Chair to ensure the conference books are closed in a timely fashion.

4.2.2. Financial Oversight of Symposia

Financial oversight of all major Society sponsored or co-sponsored symposia in which the Society has a significant financial interest shall be provided by the Symposium Finance Chair and a Symposium Finance Co-Chair appointed by the UFFC-S Finance Committee.

The Symposium Finance Chair is responsible for preparing the symposium budget, in collaboration with the Symposium General Chair, the Symposium Finance Co-Chair, and other symposium organizing committee members as appropriate. The draft budget shall be prepared and submitted to the UFFC-S Finance Committee for review and approval at least 13 months in advance of the symposium so that the budget approved by the Finance Committee can be submitted to AdCom for approval at least one year before the symposium. The Symposium Finance Chair is also responsible for the day-to-day financial operations of the symposium, including handling all symposium related financial transactions, and providing monthly account reconciliations to the Symposium Finance Co- Chair for review.

The Symposium Finance Co-Chair is responsible for assisting the Symposium Finance Chair as needed, and for monitoring the financial operations of the symposium and ensuring that the financial operations of the symposium are progressing satisfactorily.

The Symposium Finance Chair, the Symposium General Chair, and the Symposium Finance Co-Chair shall all be signatories on any bank accounts established on behalf of the symposium.

In all conference planning, IEEE Finance and Conference policies shall take precedence.

4.3. Other

In other activities involving the Society or any of its subgroups, financial commitments shall be approved by AdCom, and prudent arrangements shall be made to safeguard the Society funds that may be involved.

5. Committees

5.1. Standing Committees

Standing Committees may be added or deleted by AdCom as the need arises through amendment of the Bylaws. Standing Committee Chairs shall be appointed by the President (by the President-Elect in the year prior to beginning to serve as President for terms starting on January 1 of the following year) and ratified by an affirmative vote of a majority of all Elected AdCom Members. While the terms of office shall be one-year, consecutive terms of office are not limited by these Bylaws.

UFFC-S Standing Committees shall be:

• Ultrasonics
• Ferroelectrics
• Frequency Control
• Symposia
• Finance
• Publications
• Awards
• Fellows
• History
• Member Services
• Nominations
• Chapters
• Women-in-Engineering
• Education
• Standards
• Strategic Planning
• Diversity and Inclusion

The Chairs of the first six listed Standing Committees are Society Vice Presidents and are Voting Members of AdCom. The Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee is also a Voting Member of the AdCom. The duties of the Standing Committees as listed below are intended to be general guidelines, and serve only as minimum requirements. The Chairs shall prepare reports for presentation to AdCom at each regularly scheduled AdCom meeting.

5.1.1. Three Technical Standing Committees

The Society is comprised of three Technical Standing Committees: Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control. The UFFC-S Vice Presidents for Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control are the Chairs of their respective Committees. The Committee members are appointed by the Committee Chairs pursuant to procedures adopted by each Committee. The Committees shall encourage the development of technical activities and standards related to their respective technical areas, and shall promote the Society as the focal point of these activities.

The Committees shall be responsible for selecting symposia General Chairs, locations, and schedules, and submitting the names of the General Chairs and locations to AdCom for review and approval, and shall ascertain that preparations for each symposium are progressing satisfactorily. After the General Chairs and locations have been approved, the Symposium Finance Chair and Co-Chair shall develop the budgets of the symposia for approval by AdCom according to the procedures prescribed in Section 4.2 “Symposia Funds”. The Committees shall support their symposia organizing committees and ensure that the symposia plans are in accordance with Society and Committee policies and IEEE directives. Committee activities also include the organization of workshops, tutorials, and the organization of topical sessions in their technical areas at other IEEE conferences. The Committees shall be responsible for administering their respective technical awards that are monitored by the UFFC-S Awards Committee as specified in Section 5.1.5 below. The Committees shall each appoint a web editor who shall work with the UFFC-S Web EIC to keep the respective sections of the UFFC-S website up-to-date.

5.1.2. Symposia

The Vice President for Symposia is the Chair of the Symposia Committee. The Committee members shall consist of the Vice Presidents for Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, the General Chairs who are AdCom Members as defined in Section 3.1, and others who may be appointed by the Chair. The Symposia Committee is responsible for developing and maintaining archival information about the conduct and procedures used in Society symposia, including an assessment of lessons learned and best practices, and for collecting and archiving statistical data from each of the symposia sponsored by the UFFC-S. The Committee informs and encourages the sharing of best practices among the three Symposium Organizing Committees in the three Society technical areas. The committee supports the Symposia Organizing Committee General Chairs in their responsibilities, and ensures that Society symposia practices are in consonance with IEEE conference policies, and that all required documents are submitted to the IEEE. The Committee shall also support preparation and approval of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for cosponsored symposia.

5.1.3. Finance

The Vice President for Finance is the Chair of the Finance Committee. The members of the Committee shall consist of all other Vice Presidents, the Symposia Finance Co-Chairs appointed by the Finance Committee, and the Society Treasurer. Additional members may be appointed by the Committee Chair. The Treasurer shall act as Vice-Chair of the committee.

The duties of the Finance Committee are to establish a long-range financial policy for the Society and to monitor and analyze its financial data. It shall prepare the annual Society budget, submit the budget to AdCom for approval and submission to the IEEE, and shall report the financial status of the Society to AdCom. The Committee shall act as the sole interface between the Society and IEEE on all financial matters. The Committee shall review each Symposium Budget and Financial Report before it is submitted to AdCom for approval, and after approval shall submit these documents to the IEEE.

5.1.4. Publications

The Vice President for Publications is the Chair of the Publications Committee. The Committee shall consist of the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) and EIC-Elect of the Transactions, the EIC and EIC-Elect of the Open Journal, the Newsletter EIC, the Web EIC, the Publicity Chair, as well as the Symposia Proceedings Editors. Additional members may be appointed by the Chair. The Committee’s responsibilities are to establish a long-range publications policy; evaluate the relevance, quality, timeliness, and cost of the publications; and negotiate contracts (excluding symposium proceedings contracts) and make recommendations on resources required to best serve the Society. The Vice President for Publications shall act as liaison with the IEEE Publications Services and Products Board (PSPB) and with IEEE Publication Services or external vendors providing publication services to the UFFC-S.

The Society shall publish a Transactions, an Open Access Journal, a Newsletter (which may be in web column or other web- based format), a Proceedings for each Symposium sponsored or co-sponsored by the Society, a Digital Archive, and a Website.

The Vice President for Publications, in consultation, with the UFFC-S President, and with the review and approval of AdCom, shall appoint a Transactions EIC-Elect and an Open Journal EIC-Elect at least one year before the expiration of the last term of incumbent EIC, or as soon as possible should the EIC-Elect position become vacant, with input from the Vice President for Publications, the incumbent EIC, and AdCom. At the expiration of the term of the incumbent EIC, the Transactions EIC-Elect and/or the Open Journal EIC-Elect shall become the EIC. The Vice President for Publications shall appoint the Newsletter EIC and Web EIC. These appointments (Newsletter EIC and Web EIC) are subject to the review and approval of AdCom. The editors for the Symposia Proceedings shall be appointed by the General Chairs of the relevant symposia.

5.1.4.1. Transactions

The IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control (T-UFFC) shall be the primary publication of the Society. It shall contain technical papers and review articles. The EIC is responsible for the Transactions format, publication schedule and content. Modification of the format or schedule shall be subject to review and approval of AdCom. The EIC is also responsible for recruiting qualified Associate Editors who are responsible for selecting appropriate manuscript reviewers, assembling an Editorial Board to assist the EIC on strategic matters and to act in an advisory role, overseeing the quality and timeliness of the review and publication processes, and communicating with contributors. Rules for manuscript preparation shall be published in the Transactions. Paper review procedures shall be administered in accordance with IEEE and Society policies. The EIC may appoint guest editors for special issues and may delegate corresponding responsibility for assembling the technical papers. The EIC shall also keep the information on the Transactions sections of the UFFC-S website up-to-date.

The responsibility of the EIC-Elect shall be to prepare for a smooth transition to EIC. The term of office of the EIC shall be three years, with an opportunity for reappointment to one additional term. The terms of office for the Associate Editors and the Editorial Board members shall be three years, with an opportunity for reappointment to additional terms.

5.1.4.2. OPEN ACCESS Journals

The IEEE Open Journal of Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control shall contain technical papers and review articles. The EIC is responsible for the Journals format, publication schedule and content. Modification of the format or schedule shall be subject to review and approval of AdCom. The EIC is also responsible for recruiting qualified Associate Editors who are responsible for selecting appropriate manuscript reviewers, assembling an Editorial Board to assist the EIC on strategic matters and to act in an advisory role, overseeing the quality and timeliness of the review and publication processes, and communicating with contributors. Rules for manuscript preparation shall be published in the Journal. Paper review procedures shall be administered in accordance with IEEE and Society policies. The EIC may appoint guest editors for special issues and may delegate corresponding responsibility for assembling the technical papers. The EIC shall also keep the information on the Journals sections of the UFFC-S website up-to-date.

The responsibility of the EIC-Elect shall be to prepare for a smooth transition to EIC. The term of office of the EIC shall be three years, with an opportunity for reappointment to one additional term. The terms of office for the Associate Editors and the Editorial Board members shall be three years, with an opportunity for reappointment to additional terms.

5.1.4.3. NEWSLETTER

The Newsletter shall be published in a web column or other web-based format in a timely manner. The Newsletter shall contain a historical record of Society administration including AdCom and Standing Committee activities, awards, Symposia highlights, and other items of interest to members of the Society. Working with the UFFC-S Web EIC, the Newsletter EIC shall have the responsibility of assembling the news material for posting on the UFFC-S website.

5.1.4.4. Website

The Society website shall contain items of interest to members of the Society. This especially includes Society symposia, Society governance information, major committees and activities, news items, and the Digital Archive. As updated information of each section is posted, older contents of that section shall be placed into pages for the section to permanently archive the history of the activities of UFFC-S. Past news items of UFFC-S Newsletters shall be permanently archived with time stamps in the news sections and be made easily accessible. The Web EIC shall be responsible for the Society's website.

5.1.4.5. Symposium Proceedings

A Symposium Proceedings shall be published for each Symposium sponsored or co-sponsored by the Society, and shall contain only papers presented at that Symposium. The Proceedings Editor shall be a member of the relevant symposium organizing committee. In all aspects, the Proceedings Editor shall follow relevant guidelines of IEEE, AdCom, and respective Technical Standing Committees of the UFFC-S.

5.1.5. Awards

The Awards Committee shall consist of at least five members appointed by the Chair, not more than three of whom shall be present AdCom Members, with representation from each of the three Society technical areas. The Awards Committee members shall be anonymous and are eligible for appointment for six consecutive one-year terms. Members retired from this Committee shall be eligible for reappointment after a lapse of one or more years. Members of the Committee are not eligible to be candidates for Society awards for which the Committee is considering. The Awards Committee annually shall select candidates and make final decisions for the UFFC Achievement Award, Distinguished Service Award, and Outstanding Paper Award(s); and select candidates for the Distinguished Lecturer Award(s) and AdCom Emeriti for subsequent review and approval by AdCom. Additionally, the Committee shall prepare Certificates of Appreciation for AdCom and committee members who are completing their tenure; prepare a plaque for the retiring UFFC-S President in the last year of their Presidency; monitor awards presented by the three Society technical areas; and select candidates and prepare nominations for the various IEEE Awards. Additional Awards may be awarded by the UFFC-S Standing Committees. The Awards Committee shall also keep the information on the Awards sections, including sections of Distinguished Lecturers, of the UFFC-S website up-to-date.

5.1.6. Fellows

The Fellows Committee shall review Fellow nominees on behalf of the Society for the IEEE Fellows Committee. The President will appoint a Committee Chair and a Vice-Chair (if applicable) before January 31 of each year, this appointment should be approved by the AdCom. It is required that all the members have prior experience with Society governance and matters. Chairs shall not serve for more than two consecutive terms. Chairs may serve as Evaluators for one additional year, immediately after having served as Chairs. Evaluators and Vice-Chairs (if any) shall not serve for more than three consecutive years. All members of this Committee, including the Chair, must be Fellows of the IEEE and members of the UFFC-S in good standing for at least the previous two years. Other eligibility requirements are:

• Be an active IEEE Fellow
• Be an active member in the UFFC Society
• Shall not serve as a Nominator, Reference or an Endorser for any Fellow Nominee evaluated by the UFFC Society Fellow Committee
• Shall not be a member of the IEEE Fellow Committee
• Shall not be a member of the IEEE BoD

The Fellows Committee shall provide the information on newly elected IEEE Fellows of UFFC-S to the UFFC-S Newsletter EIC and the UFFC-S Web EIC in a timely manner for inclusion in the Newsletters and posting on the UFFC-S website.

5.1.7. History

The Society's History Committee shall consist of the Chair and at least three members, one from each of the three Society technical areas, appointed by the Chair. The History Committee shall be responsible for maintaining a historical record of the Society, obtaining oral histories of significant technical contributors in fields relevant to the technical activities of the UFFC-S, keeping history sections of the UFFC-S website up-to-date, submitting relevant records to the IEEE Engineering and Technology History Wiki, participating in IEEE historical events, and publishing Society historical articles.

5.1.8. Membership and Data Analytics

The Membership and Data Analytics Committee shall consist of at least three members appointed by the Chair, one from each of the three Society technical areas. The Committee shall encourage IEEE and UFFC-S membership, recruitment of UFFC-S student members, promotion of eligible members to senior membership status, initiate membership drives, prepare membership material for special mailings, and organize a membership booth at all Symposia sponsored or financially co-sponsored by the Society. The Chair shall maintain society membership statistics, provide the statistics and membership information to AdCom Committees as needed, keep information on the membership sections of the UFFC-S website up-to-date, and interface with the Membership Development Committee of the IEEE. The Committee shall be responsible for membership data gathering, compliance, and reporting.

5.1.9. Chapters

The UFFC-S Chapters Committee shall consist of at least three members appointed by the Chair, one from each of the three Society technical areas. The Committee shall actively promote the generation of new UFFC-S Chapters and Student Branch Chapters, maintain an up-to-date list of officers of all existing UFFC-S Chapters and Student Branch Chapters and their activities on the UFFC-S website, monitor their activities to ensure that they remain active, and review financial and other support requests from Chapters and coordinate with the Society Treasurer and other appropriate resources to assist in Chapter activities. The Committee Chair shall interact with the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) to get Chapters related information.

5.1.10. Women-in-Engineering

The UFFC-S Women-in-Engineering Committee shall consist of a Chair and at least three members appointed by the Chair, one from each of the three Society technical areas. The Committee shall actively promote the participation of women engineers and women engineering students in UFFC-S activities and administration, and shall develop and maintain an informal network of UFFC-S members that can provide mentoring for development of their professional careers in engineering. The Committee shall organize at least one activity at each of the three annual UFFC-S symposia every year. The Chair of the Committee shall be the liaison to IEEE Women-in-Engineering. The Committee shall encourage all UFFC-S members, independent of gender, who support the cause of Women-in-Engineering to participate in its organized activities. The Committee shall also maintain the Women-in-Engineering sections of the UFFC-S website and keep the website up-to-date.

5.1.11. Education

The Education Committee shall consist of the Chair and at least six members appointed by the Chair, two from each of the three Society technical areas. The UFFC-S Student Advisor, Web EIC, WIE Chair, and Member Services Chair shall also be members of the Committee. The Committee shall actively promote the UFFC-S through educational programs, including generating proposals for fellowships funded by industry, educational courses at various institutions, educational webinars, and tutorial or review-like papers for IEEE T-UFFC and UFFC-S symposia. The Committee shall also consider other educational opportunities such as Summer School and Student Design Competitions at the symposia and other meetings sponsored by the UFFC-S if the Committee feels that these activities would benefit a large number of people. Plans for all Committee activities involving or representing the UFFC-S, interfacing with external organizations, establishing educational programs, or expenditure of funds shall be presented to AdCom for approval prior to beginning execution of the plans. The Committee shall also maintain the Education sections of the UFFC-S website and keep the website up-to-date.

5.1.12. Nominations

The Past President of the UFFC-S shall be the Chair of the Nominations Committee. The Chair of the Nominations Committee shall appoint Committee members for ratification by AdCom. The Committee shall have representation from the three Society technical areas. In the event of the unavailability or conflict of interest of the Past President, the most recent Past Chair of the Nominations Committee or an available Past President of the UFFC-S shall be the Chair of the Nominations Committee. In extenuating circumstances, a different individual may be appointed to this position. The Chair shall not be eligible to stand for election for the position of Elected AdCom Member or President-Elect during their term of service.

The Committee shall annually prepare a slate of nominees for election to AdCom, as prescribed in Section 3 of these Bylaws. It shall solicit and prepare candidate biographies and photos for inclusion with the ballots. The Committee shall also prepare a slate of candidates for President-Elect in the election years, as prescribed in Section 3 of these Bylaws. The Nominations Committee shall provide the information on newly elected AdCom members to the UFFC-S Newsletter EIC and the UFFC-S Web EIC in a timely manner for inclusion in the Newsletters and posting on the UFFC-S website.

A Nominations Committee member may not be a nominee for another AdCom position for which the Committee is responsible for making nominations, unless the member resigns from the Committee prior to its first meeting of the year in which the nomination shall be made.

5.1.13. Standards

The Chair of the Standards Committee shall, in coordination with the Technical Standing Committees, appoint subcommittee chairs who shall constitute subcommittees to handle specific technical standards. The Standards Committee consists of the Chair and the Subcommittee Chairs. The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all such UFFC-S standards subcommittees. The Standards Committee shall be responsible for establishing and reviewing IEEE Standards within the Field of Interest of the Society. The Committee shall periodically upgrade existing standards and shall initiate standards in new areas as appropriate. The Committee shall maintain the Standards sections of the UFFC-S website and keep the website up-to-date.

5.1.14. Strategic Planning

The President-Elect of the UFFC-S shall be the chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. The Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee shall appoint Committee members, with representation from each of the three Society technical areas. The Committee shall review Society activities and goals, remain cognizant of IEEE-wide strategic initiatives, and suggest strategies for the long-term health of the Society. The Committee shall present its recommendations to AdCom for review and possible action.

5.1.15. Diversity and Inclusion

The Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee (DISC) shall have a minimum of 7 members and 2 student members. However, the committee can be up to 15 people and 4 student members to provide the diversity needed to achieve the duties of the committee. The diverse composition for committee membership has to be achieved through the membership of additional members beyond the minimum 7 required. All non-student members of the committee and two of the student members are eligible to vote. Voting student members will be appointed by the chair with input from the committee. The committee shall include at least two members from (i) Ultrasonics, (ii) Ferroelectrics and (iii) Frequency Control area each. The committee members do not need to be members of the related standing committees (i.e., USSC, FESC, FCSC).

The duties of the standing committees in general are described in the UFFC-S Bylaws. In addition to the general responsibilities of standing committees to gather information from IEEE documents, Societies, and non-IEEE groups, the DISC serves as a point of reference for the group’s operations where appropriate.

The Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee shall encourage and guide UFFC-S in promoting diversity and inclusion to achieve equity at the society level and in symposia. Barriers to equity at the professional level can include but not be limited to geography, race, ethnicity, class, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age and ability.

Additional duties of the DISC include:
(i) Ratify and enforce the IEEE Code of Conduct that should be available to all UFFC-S members as well as symposia participants.
(ii) Appoint (or ratify) a diversity chair for symposia.
(iii) Establish a clear and standardized reporting protocol in symposia.
(iv) Collect data to guide the organization towards diversity and inclusion:
a. Self-reported demographic section for symposia participants during registration and symposium.
b. Measure and report the diversity in the organizing committee, plenary speakers, invited speakers, award nominees, and overall attendance.
(v) Develop a path to enforce diversity when ignored or overlooked by organizing committees.
(vi) Develop paths to achieve diversity and inclusion, present related motions at the AdCom meeting and implement the motions supported by the AdCom.
 

5.2. Ad Hoc Committees

Ad Hoc Committees may be created by the President without approval by AdCom as the need arises, as provided for in Section 5.3 of the UFFC-S Constitution. The President shall define the purpose of the Committee and may provide guidance for how long the Committee shall be constituted, the number of members the Committee shall have, how the members are to be selected, and the terms of office of the Chair and the members. All Ad Hoc Committees should disband at the end of the calendar year or the end of the appointing President's term of office. The Ad Hoc Committee may be reappointed by the President's successor.

6. Amendment of Bylaws

Amendments to these Bylaws may be adopted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of all Voting Members of AdCom, provided that notice of the proposed Bylaw, or Amendment, has been sent to each AdCom member at least 30 days prior to voting. The approved Bylaw, or Amendment, shall be submitted to the IEEE Vice President for Technical Activities for approval. After such approval, it shall be published in the UFFC-S Newsletter, or otherwise publicized by direct notification to Society membership. No Bylaw, or Amendment, shall take effect until all necessary approvals and notifications have taken place.