Charter

Preamble

ICUIL, the International Committee on Ultra-High Intensity Lasers, results from the work of a subsidiary body of the OECD Global Science Forum, the Co-ordinating Committee on Compact High-Intensity Short-Pulse Lasers. It was established in 2002 for a period of two years, following the convening of the Workshop on Compact High-Intensity Short-Pulse Lasers: Future Directions and Applications in Kyoto in May 2001.

In 2003, ICUIL was formed as an IUPAP Working Group upon suggestion by the OECD Global Science Forum. It acts under the lead of IUPAP Commission C16, Plasma Physics, with additional close links to Commission C15, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and C17, Quantum Electronics.

Mission and Objectives

• The International Committee on Ultra-High Intensity Lasers (ICUIL) is an organization actively concerned with the growth and vitality of the whole international field of ultra-high intensity laser science, technology and education.
• "Ultra-high intensity" is understood as a dynamic quantity representing the top development level of the relevant laser technology at any given time.
• The objectives of ICUIL are
  • To provide a venue for discussions among representatives of high-intensity laser facilities and members of user communities, on international collaborative activities such as the development of the next generation of ultra-high intensity lasers, exploration of new areas of fundamental and applied research, and formation of a global research network for access to advanced facilities by users.
  • To promote unity and coherence in the field by convening conferences and workshops dedicated to ultrahigh intensity lasers and their applications, and to promote and sponsor independent networking initiatives at the regional level.
  • To accelerate progress in the field by sharing information, exploring opportunities for joint procurement, and exchanging equipment, ideas and personnel among laser laboratories world-wide.
  • To attract students to high-field science by promoting their education and training, their interactions with prominent scientists, and access to the latest equipment, results and techniques.
  • To strengthen and exploit synergy with other relevant fields and techniques, notably accelerator-based free electron lasers, nuclear physics, high energy physics, astrophysics.
• ICUIL is linked to other international scientific bodies through this hierarchy
  • ICSU (International Council for Science)
  • IUPAP (International Union of Pure and Applied Physics)
  • IUPAP Commissions: C16 (Plasma Physics; ICUIL Lead Commission), C15 (Atomic and Molecular Physics), C17 (Quantum Electronics)
  • ICUIL (International Committee on Ultra-High Intensity Lasers)

ICUIL Membership

• ICUIL Membership consists of a five member Board and twelve members at large. These 17 members of ICUIL are representatives of the following scientific communities
  • The community of major ultra-high intensity laser laboratories or operators world wide. This group of Laboratory Representatives comprises ten representatives from major ultrahigh intensity laser laboratories world-wide. They are nominated by the high intensity laser community and confirmed by ICUIL.
  • The user community of these laboratories. This group of User Representatives is made up of five members of user communities, of whom three may be designated by the following IUPAP Commissions: C15 (Atomic and Molecular Physics), C16 (Plasma Physics), C17 (Quantum Electronics). The two additional User Representatives will be nominated by the communities and confirmed by ICUIL; they normally include at least one person from a developing country.
  • Other scientific communities with strong links to ultra-high laser science and technology. This Group of Partner Representatives consists of two representatives of scientific communities with strong links to ultra-high laser science and technology, e.g. the free electron laser community, the synchrotron radiation community, the accelerator community, and others. ICUIL will approach these communities asking for nominations, out of which a final selection will be made through the ICUIL voting procedures.
• Generally, Membership terms are four years and can be renewed once. Term starting/ending dates vary, in order to ensure continuity.
• ICUIL membership may expand in the future to accommodate worldwide participation and to meet the demands of a growing field.

Organization and Decision Making

• ICUIL is composed of three organizational bodies
  • ICUIL, the whole committee, consisting of 5 board members and 12 members at large
  • The Board, a subset of ICUIL, consisting of the Chair, two Co-Chairs, a Secretary, and a Treasurer
  • ICUIL Panels, composed of selected ICUIL Members and, if appropriate, selected External Experts
• Decisions are made by majority vote during face-to-face meetings, teleconferences, and e-mail voting. The voting agenda will be made available at least one month prior to all types of voting procedures.
• A quorum consists of 50% of the members; 50% participation from the 17 member ICUIL and 50% participation from the 5 member Board. For example, quorum is achieved with participation by 3 Board members and 6 Members at Large, a total of 9 members altogether.
• Attendance at the ICUIL General Assembly meetings is highly encouraged, however, restricted use of substitution or transfer may be allowed with approval of the ICUIL chairman prior to the meeting. Members unable to attend may either designate an appropriate substitute or transfer their vote to another member, whereby each attendant may carry no more than one transferred vote.
• ICUIL will develop its own regulations on voting procedures and other business issues. The ICUIL Board and the ICUIL Panels develop their own regulations on internal procedures and decision making which have to be approved by ICUIL

Distribution of Power and Responsibilities

• The ICUIL Board is the executive body of ICUIL. Each member of the Board is appointed by ICUIL from among the group of Laboratory Representatives. The Board is responsible for the daily business according to the general guidelines, activity plans and policies issued by ICUIL. It supervises and co-ordinates the activities of the ICUIL Panels. The Board will hold regular meetings at least once a year, chaired by the ICUIL Chair. Additional meetings via teleconference will be held as necessary to ensure timely progress of executive activities.
• The ICUIL Chair represents ICUIL to the outside physics community and IUPAP in accordance with the Charter and policy guidelines issued by ICUIL. The ICUIL Chair may appoint Co-Chairs as substitute representatives.
• The two Co-Chairs are responsible for assisting the Chair, conference planning, obtaining corporate funding, and editing the ICUIL website. The Secretary's and Treasurer's roles involve supporting the Chair and Co-Chairs in the areas of communications and finances, respectively.
• A general assembly (GA) of ICUIL members, chaired by the ICUIL Chair, convenes at least once every two years. Each ICUIL Member has one seat and one vote. Decision power extends to all important issues such as the Charter, election of new Members, appointment of the ICUIL Board, Chair, and Panels, internal and external policy issues, business procedures, annual activity plan, activity reports, membership issues and relation to other scientific organizations.
• No ICUIL members shall sign any legally binding contracts or commitments on behalf of ICUIL. Exceptions within explicit financial, temporal or other limits will have to be approved in advance by the ICUIL Board.
• ICUIL Panels may be set up by ICUIL with the charge to pursue specific tasks in accordance with ICUIL's mission and objectives. ICUIL Panels may contain external experts but will have to be chaired by an ICUIL Member. The Panel Chair will report in regular intervals to the ICUIL Board. The Board will prepare annual Panel activity reports and recommendations to ICUIL. ICUIL will review the Panel activities and Board recommendations and decide in regular intervals of no more than two years about the continuation of the Panel.
• ICUIL members may sponsor external initiatives such as regional networks, meetings etc., if their mission is close enough to that of ICUIL. Applications for such sponsorship must be submitted for approval to the ICUIL Board.

Finance and Fund Raising

• The ICUIL Board may secure financial donations through corporate sponsorship to support ICUIL costs associated with ICUIL website management, teleconferencing, travel, and conference events such as workshops.
• Conferences are financially supported through attendee registration fees, participating corporate sponsorship, and support of the hosting institutions.
• Additional funding may be requested from IUPAP to support specific ICUIL activities that are in support of the IUPAP charter.

Terms and Duration

• This Charter becomes effective, and supersedes all previous charters, by decision of ICUIL on November 1, 2008. It will be in effect until changed through action of ICUIL and approval from the council.