UEC Charter

  1. Name

    This organization shall be called the National Synchrotron Light Source II Users’ Association.


  2. Purpose

    The purpose of the Users’ Association is to promote and encourage research at Brookhaven’s world leading synchrotron user facilities, to provide opportunities for the user community to exchange ideas and concerns, and to communicate user needs to facility management. Facility management includes the Photon Sciences Directorate, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Department of Energy. The Association also serves as a channel of dissemination of relevant information on facility plans and prospects to the user community.


  3. Organization

    1. Membership:

      The National Synchrotron Light Source II Users’ Association (herein after referred to as the Users’ Association) membership shall be open to all scientists who are interested in research at BNL synchrotron facilities, including students, staff, and all researchers who have used these facilities in the past or may use them in the future.

      All facility users with active appointments and all members of Beamline Development Proposal Teams, Beamline Advisory Teams and Beamline Development Proposal Groups are automatically voting members of the Users’ Association.

      The Users’ Association shall also provide a mechanism for interested scientists that are not automatically registered to become members, and a mechanism for members to opt-out.


    2. The National Light Source II Users’ Executive Committee

      The National Light Source II Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) shall consist of elected members together with a number of ex officio representatives. Five members will serve as the officers of the UEC (Chair, Vice Chair, Past Chair, Secretary, and Outreach Officer).

      Six members shall be elected each year at the annual Users' Meeting for two-year terms as described in Section IV.

      The slate of ex officio representatives shall be determined as needed by majority consent of a quorum of the UEC and should be modified to reflect current user needs, but must minimally include the Photon Sciences Directorate User Administrator. Majority consent of a quorum of the UEC will be used to define which specific ex officio representatives are given voting privileges.


    3. Roles of UEC Officers

      The Chair serves for one year and is responsible for calling and preparing the agenda for all UEC and Town Hall meetings. The Chair becomes Past Chair for a subsequent one-year term, serving in an advisory role to the current Chair to foster continuity in conducting UEC business.

      The Vice Chair serves for one year and acts as Chair of the organizing committee for the annual Users’ Meeting. The Vice Chair becomes Chair the subsequent year.

      The Secretary is responsible for recording and preparation of the Minutes of meetings, which, after approval by the Chair, shall be distributed to all members of the Users’ Association promptly.

      The Outreach Officer is responsible for organizing outreach activities on behalf of the UEC, including (but not limited to) visits to local or Washington DC offices of government officials, coordination with the activities of the Society for Science at User Research Facilities (SSURF), and other community outreach and education activities. The position of Outreach Officer is open to all UEC members (including ex officio members).


    4. Roles of UEC Members

      UEC members shall serve as general points of contact for all Users’ Association members. They shall also agree to serve as points of contact for specific groups of users interested in advancing synchrotron research in a particular area. In this way, all Users’ Association members will be able to identify one or more UEC members representing their special interests, while each UEC member assumes responsibility for the interests of a particular subset of the Users’ Association.


    5. Resignations

      The current Vice Chair shall assume the additional responsibility of Chair for the remainder of the term should the Chair resign, and then serve in the normal sequence of succession. The UEC shall elect a replacement should a vacancy of any other office occur.


  4. UEC Nominations and Elections

    1. Nominating Committee Membership for Election of Members

      The Nominating Committee shall consist of a chair, appointed by the UEC Chair, and at least two additional Users’ Association members. The Nominating Committee should be formed at least six months prior to the annual Users’ Meeting.


    2. Rules for the Nominating Committee for Election of Members

      Nominations for election as members of the UEC shall be solicited from the Users’ Association. All interested parties are entitled to nominate candidates including NSLS-II users and potential users, UEC members, Nominating Committee Members and NSLS-II staff. All nominations must be emailed to the Chair of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall then prepare a slate of at least ten candidates, ensuring that at least one candidate is associated with each of the NSLS-II Science Programs (Complex Scattering, Hard X-ray Scattering & Spectroscopy, Imaging & Microscopy, Soft X-ray Scattering & Spectroscopy, and Structural Biology). The Committee is expected to identify and nominate further people if desired or needed to prepare an adequate list of candidates. It is the Nominating Committee’s responsibility to ensure that the slate of candidates is balanced among various user interests, techniques, scientific areas and that all candidates are well-placed to impartially advocate for the interests of NSLS-II Users. The purpose of the nominating committee is to decide on these matters. In exceptional circumstances, the Nomination Committee may ask for input from others such as UEC members and nominees. The UEC acknowledges that the UEC members most familiar with the professional record of a candidate may also know the candidate personally. It is understood that UEC members will act in the best interests of UEC even in these difficult circumstances. A list of the selected candidates and suggested candidates who were not selected should be circulated among the UEC with the opportunity to comment. The final slate of candidates shall be approved by a quorum of the UEC. The UEC is not obligated to provide feedback to non-selected candidates. The slate of candidates, with a brief biographical sketch of each nominee, shall be announced to the Users’ Association at least one month in advance of the annual Users’ Meeting.


    3. Election of UEC Members and Officers

      The Users’ Association, through an electronic voting procedure, shall elect six members each year. The open election period shall precede the Users’ Meeting by no fewer than two weeks, and shall close during the Users’ Meeting. All members of the Users’ Association are eligible to vote. In order to ensure representation of all beamline program interests, each of the NSLS-II Science Programs must be represented by at least one UEC member. To ensure that this user balance is maintained, the absolute vote tally from election will not exclusively be used for the selection of the UEC members. If a Science Program did not have an associated UEC member elected in the prior year, the candidate associated with that Program with the highest vote tally shall be elected to the UEC. After candidates from all Science Programs have been elected, the remainder of the six UEC positions for the year shall go to the remaining candidates with the highest vote totals to fill the UEC.

      At the first full meeting following the Users’ Meeting, the UEC shall elect a new Vice Chair, Secretary, and Outreach Officer from among all elected UEC members. If the person elected Vice Chair is in the second year of their elected UEC term, their term shall automatically be extended by 1 year.


  5. Users’ Association Meetings

    The Users’ Association, in collaboration with the Photon Sciences Directorate, shall organize an annual Users’ Meeting and shall hold periodic Town Meetings for the purpose of open discussion of current issues of interest to the community.

    UEC meetings shall be held at the discretion of the Chair or as called for by a majority of UEC members, at a minimum of twice per year. The annual Users’ Meeting and UEC meetings shall have a prepared agenda disseminated in advance. Minutes of all meetings shall be recorded including results of deliberative discussions.


  6. UEC Quorum and Charter Revisions

    A quorum of the UEC shall require the presence of eight (8) of its voting members. A simple majority of the quorum in attendance shall determine the sense of the Users’ Association.

    This charter may be amended at the Users’ Meeting or by ballot (electronic or otherwise) as needs emerge. Agreement of two-thirds of the Users' Association membership responding to a proposed amendment shall be required for its passage.


  7. (Revised May 19, 2020)

    This revision amends all prior versions of the Users’ Association Charter.