Changes to HEAD Bylaws by Section

Typographical changes involving capitalization have been made to clarify references to the High Energy Astrophysics Division ("Division"), the Committee of the Division ("Committee"), the American Astronomical Society ("Society"), and the Council of the Society ("Council"), and. These are not called out in the list below.

1. Name: No changes
2. Object: No changes
3. Enabling Authority: No changes
4. Membership: This section has been split into two sections, describing both 'full' and 'affiliate' members. Section IV. 2 is wholly new, while Section IV.1 is adapted from the original. The text in Section IV.1 also removes the requirement to apply for full membership to the Secretary and payment of an enrollment fee, as the application has been automatic for some time and there is no enrollment fee.
5. Committee and Officers of the Division: Section V.1 is changed to note that Committee Members and Officers must be full members, in good standing (ie, dues are paid), of both HEAD and AAS. Section V.5 notes that announcements from the AAS should also be sent to affiliate HEAD members to ensure they are received.
6. Election and Tenure of Officers and Committee Members: Section VI.1 fixes a typographical error in the original , replacing "year" with "term." In this section, any member (full or affiliate) may make a nomination or be a member of the nominating committee, if they are in good standing. Nominees must, however, be full members.
7. Meetings of the Division: No changes
8. Appointed Special Committees: No changes
9. Programs: No changes
10. Amendment of By-Laws: Any member in good standing can petition for changes to the bylaws. One typographical mistake "...ballots containing final working..." has been fixed, and now states "...ballots containing final wording...".
11. Initial Organization of the Division: No changes
12. Award of the Bruno Rossi Prize: No changes

Current Bylaws

Bylaws of the Division for High Energy Astrophysics of the American Astronomical Society.

Adopted by the Division May 13, 1969.
Last Amended April 2012.

1. Name

This Division of the American Astronomical Society (hereinafter called "the Society") shall be known as the "Division for High Energy Astrophysics."

2. Object

The object of the Division for High Energy Astrophysics (hereinafter called "the Division") shall be to assist and promote the advancement of research and the dissemination of knowledge of high energy events, particles, quanta, of relativistic gravitational fields, and of related phenomena in the astrophysical universe, and to promote the coordination of this research and knowledge with other branches of science.

3. Enabling Authority

Article VII of the Society By-laws, as revised in 1968, and as said Article may be subsequently revised or amended, is hereby incorporated into these By-laws by reference.

4. Membership

Any member of the American Astronomical Society may become a member of the Division by making application to the Secretary of the Division and by payment of an enrollment fee to the Society. Any member of the Division may resign from the Division upon notice to the Secretary.Membership in the Division is contingent upon continuing membership in the Society, and upon payment of such annual dues as the Division shall assess.

5. Officers and Committee of the Division


1. The Committee of the Division (hereinafter called the Committee) shall consist of the Officers of the Division, the available Past-Chair whose term has most recently expired provided this officer has served the full term, and six Committee Members. All members of the Committee shall be members of the Division of the Society. The Committee shall have general charge of the affairs of the Division, and through the Chair or Secretary shall report the activities and needs of the Division to the Council of the Society.
2. The officers of the Committee and of the Division shall be a Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, who in addition to the duties specifically assigned to them by these by-laws shall discharge the other duties usually incident to their respective office.
3. The Chair shall call all meetings of the Committee and shall preside at all those meetings whenever possible. With the advice and consent of the Committee, the Chair shall appoint any special committees which are necessary to conduct the affairs of the Division, and shall be an ex-officio member of each such special committee except the Nominating Committee.
4. The Vice-Chair may act for the Chair at the latter's request and shall act for the Chair in the event that the latter is incapacitated.
5. The Secretary shall send out necessary notices and announcements to the members of the Committee and to members of the Division, and shall work directly with the Society's executive office and the Society's Secretary. Announcements of meetings of the Division shall be prepared by the Secretary and transmitted to the appropriate officer of the Society for publication and distribution to all Society members at least nine weeks before the date of each meeting. The Secretary shall assist the Committee with arrangements for the meeting and for publication (if any) of the proceedings. The Secretary shall also coordinate elections as described in Article VI below. The Secretary shall also prepare minutes of each meeting of the Committee, and of the Business Sessions of the Division, and submit these minutes to each member of the Committee and to the Secretary of the Society within three weeks after each meeting.
6. The Treasurer shall handle the funds and make disbursements in accordance with a budget approved by the Committee with due regard to Article VII, Para. 4 of the By-laws of the Society. The Treasurer shall work directly with the Treasurer of the Society and the financial department of the Society's executive office. The Treasurer shall submit to the Committee an annual financial report which, after approval by the Committee, shall be submitted to the Council. The Treasurer shall assist the Committee with arrangements for meetings of the division, particularly with any financial arrangements such as sponsorship of the meeting and contractual arrangements for future meeting sites (to be coordinated with the Society who acts on behalf of the Committee in contractual matters). The Society shall collect the enrollment fees and divisional dues set by the Committee and approved by a majority of the Division members present at a business session.
7. The Committee shall meet at least once each year. A request in writing from at least four members of the Committee shall render a convocation of an additional meeting of the Committee obligatory. Any member of the Committee unable to attend a meeting shall have the privilege of naming an alternate to represent said member at the meeting (without vote) subject to the approval of the Chair. At any meeting of the Committee four of its members shall constitute a quorum.
8. The Committee Members shall also serve, in addition to their other duties described in this Article, as the Selection Committee for the Bruno Rossi Prize awarded by the Division, as described in Article XII.


6. Election and Tenure of Officers and Committee Members


1. The terms of office for officers and committee members shall be two years for Chair and Vice-Chair, three years for Secretary and Treasurer, and three years for Committee Members. The Vice-Chair at the end of one term shall automatically become Chair for the following year.
2. Not later than sixteen weeks before each Regular Meeting of the Division, the Chair of the Committee shall, with the advice and consent of the Committee, appoint a Chair and two members of the Nominating Committee of three members. No more than one member of the Nominating Committee shall be a member of the Committee of the Division. The Secretary of the Society shall be informed of the membership of the Nominating Committee
3. Not later than sixteen weeks before the Regular Meeting of the Division, the Secretary of the Division shall invite all members of the Division to propose via written reply, candidates for officers and committee members for the following year. Any member of the Division proposed as a candidate for a post on the Committee by not fewer than ten (10) members of the Division at least 7 weeks before the Regular Meeting shall be deemed to be nominated to the post, provided the nominee has stated to the Secretary a willingness to serve if elected.
4. Not later than seven weeks before the Regular Meeting, the Nominating Committee shall submit to the Secretary nominations of at least one candidate for each vacancy for an officer, and at least two for each vacancy for a committee member. It shall be the duty of the Nominating Committee to obtain from each nominee a written statement indicating a readiness to serve if elected.
5. The Secretary of the Division shall prepare a ballot containing the names of all candidates nominated according to Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article. The Secretary shall distribute these sample ballots and instructions for voting to all members of the Division not later than five weeks before the Regular Meeting. A member shall cast not more than one vote for each position of the Committee to be filled, and shall vote via electronic means as announced to the membership by the Secretary. Voting will close not later than one week before the Business Session. The Secretary shall submit the vote results to the Chair. Election shall be by a plurality of those voting, and the Chair shall not cast a ballot unless that vote is needed to break a tie.
6. The Chair shall report the results of the election to the Division members during the Business Session, and to the Secretary of the Society not more than a week later.
7. The tenure of the members of the Committee shall begin at the close of the Regular Meeting at which they are elected.
8. If a vacancy occurs in the Committee, the Committee may appoint a member of the Division to serve on the Committee until the next regular election at which time the vacancy shall be filled by the regular procedure.


7. Meetings of the Division


1. A meeting of the Division to be known as the Regular Meeting shall be held each year at such time and place as shall be ordered by the Committee. This meeting shall include a Business Session devoted exclusively to the reports of officers and committees, and to the transaction of business affairs. No scientific program of the Division shall be presented simultaneously with the Business Session.
2. Meetings of the Division, other than the Regular Meeting, may be scheduled by the Committee. Special conferences or symposia, when designated as being wholly or jointly sponsored by the Division, shall have the status of meetings.
3. The dates and places of all the meetings of the Division shall be chosen in consultation with the Council or with an officer designated by the Council.
4. All meetings of the Division shall be open. The regulations applying to the selection of invited papers and to the restrictions regarding authors of contributed papers which are in force for meetings of the Society shall not have to be applied to meetings of the Division. The Committee shall be responsible for rules regarding the meetings of the Division.
5. Announcements of the Divisional Meetings shall be prepared by the Secretary, as specified in Article V, Para. 5 above.


8. Appointed Special Committees


1. The Chair, with the advice and consent of the Committee of the Division shall appoint the Nominating Committee, which shall have such duties as are specified in Article VI of these By-laws; a Program Committee, which shall have such duties as are specified in Article IX, and such other special committees as conditions may demand.
2. All appointed special committees, unless otherwise terminated, shall be considered to be automatically discharged at the close of the Regular Meeting next following their appointment.


9. Programs

Meetings of the Division may include programs of invited papers and contributed papers. The Committee shall prescribe the subject and character of such meetings. The Division may hold joint meetings with other Divisions of the American Astronomical Society, as well as with Divisions of other scientific Societies. When a meeting of the Division is held in conjunction with a meeting of the Society, the Program Committee shall have the responsibility of assisting the Secretary of the Society or the Secretary's designee in fitting the sessions sponsored by the Division into the program of the general meeting of the Society. Abstracts of the papers given at a Divisional Meeting shall be published in the same way in which abstracts of papers given in meetings of the Society are published.

10. Amendment of By-Laws

Proposal of an Amendment of these By-laws may be made by the Council of the Society, by the Committee of the Division, or by a petition to the Chair of the Division signed by not fewer than one-tenth of the members of the Division. After discussion of the proposed Amendment by the Committee at its earliest opportunity the Secretary shall distribute copies of the proposed amendment to the members of the Council, for their review and comment, not less than three weeks prior to the next meeting of the Council. The Secretary shall then distribute copies of the proposed Amendment, together with the comments of the Council, the Committee, and the petitioners (if any), to all members of the Division not less than three weeks before the next Regular Meeting. An opportunity shall be given for discussion during the Business Session. After this meeting the Secretary shall distribute ballots containing final working of the proposed Amendment to all members of the Division, who shall vote via electronic means not later than three weeks after the date of distribution of the ballots. The adoption of an Amendment shall require the affirmative votes of not fewer than two-thirds of the members voting. The Amendment if passed shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Society.

11. Initial Organization of the Division

[Note: This article contained a provision that it be stricken once the Division became fully organized. It is therefore not reprinted here.]

12. Award of the Bruno Rossi Prize

The Division shall award a prize, normally, on an annual basis, "for a significant contribution to High Energy Astrophysics, with particular emphasis on recent, original work.'' The prize will include a cash award, a citation, and an invited lecture by the recipient at a meeting of the Division. A nomination for the prize, consisting of a written letter of support, may be made by any member of the Division to the Secretary of the Division by October 15, and selection of the prize recipient will be made by the full Executive Committee of the Division as specified in Article V, paragraph 8.