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CONSTITUTION SUPERSONIC TUNNEL ASSOCIATION, International
Approved : 1 November 1965
Amended : 30 October 1967
Amended : 9 October 1980
Amended : 30 March 1993
Amended : 15 April 1996
Amended : 26 April 1999
Amended : 15 April 2002
Amended : 13 October 2003
1. INTRODUCTION
The Supersonic Tunnel Association was formed in April 1954 to
provide an organisation for operators of aerodynamic facilities.
At the 85th Business Meeting held on 15th. April 1996, the membership
voted to change the name to the Supersonic Tunnel Association,
International in recognition of the Association's international
character.
2. OBJECTIVES
The broad objective of the organisation is: "To provide
at the operational level a means of interchange of ideas, techniques
and solutions of problems".
The general area of interest will include, but not be limited
to:
a. Design, performance and economics of test
facilities.
b. Physical measurements, instrumentation,
handling and reduction of data.
c. Facility operation and maintenance problems.
No limitations shall be placed on the speed ranges that may
be covered in the discussions.
To ensure the integrity of the Supersonic Tunnel Association,
International and to maintain an environment conducive to the
free and open exchange of information within the STA, the unsolicited
marketing of equipment or services by any member to any other
member(s) at STA meetings is prohibited.
3. ORGANIZATION
3.1 Executive Committee and Officers
a. The governing board of the Supersonic Tunnel Association, International
shall be an Executive Committee, composed of the President,
the President-elect, Secretary, two immediate Past- presidents
and two Members-at-large. The Executive Committee shall transact
all business of the Association except the election of officers,
changes to the Constitution and election of new members.
b. The President shall:
1. Prepare agendas for and preside
over the Executive Committee and business meetings;
2. Handle official correspondence including invitation of guests
and applicants;
3. Appoint committees including tenure thereof; and
4. Convene the Executive Committee to transact any business required
of the Supersonic Tunnel Association, International.
c. The President-elect shall conduct the
business of the Supersonic Tunnel Association, International
in the absence of the President.
d. The most recent Past-president present shall conduct the business
of the Supersonic Tunnel Association, International in the absence
of both the President and President-elect.
e. The Secretary shall keep minutes of the business meetings and,
in cooperation with the host facility, provide members with
copies of same. The Secretary shall, at the direction of the
President, take care of required correspondence.
f. Business of the Executive Committee will be conducted on the
basis of a simple majority of those members in attendance at
any meeting.
3.2 Election and Term of Officers
Officers shall be elected annually at the Spring meeting in
a secret ballot by a simple majority of members attending and
with each member facility having one vote. Nominations of officers
shall not be closed until at least two names have been entered
(for each position).
The President, President-elect and the two elected Members-at-large
may be elected to their respective positions for only one year
and cannot succeed themselves in their respective offices. The
Secretary is elected for a one-year term and may not hold the
Secretary's office for more than three consecutive years.
a. The officers to be elected are the President-elect,
Secretary and two Members-at- large, except for the special
situation described in 3.2(d) below wherein a President is also
elected.
b. The President's term shall customarily begin upon succession
from the President-elect position to fill a vacancy arising
from the prior President having completed either a normal term
in office or a shortened term occasioned by resignation, death
etc. Under the special conditions of 3.2(d) wherein the President
is elected directly to that office, his or her term shall begin
30 days after election.
The President's term shall end 30 days after the
first Spring meeting which follows a Fall meeting for which
he or she was President.
c. The President-elect's term in that capacity
shall begin 30 days after election during the Spring meeting
and shall end upon succession to the Presidency.
d. If the office of President-elect becomes vacant, except when
a President-elect succeeds to the Presidency between the Fall
and Spring meetings, the President with the advice of the Executive
Committee shall immediately name a Nominating Committee to nominate
for the offices of President and President-elect a total of
three candidates. The three nominees will become non-voting
members of the Executive Committee until the next Spring election.
At that time, the membership shall first vote to elect a President
by a majority vote from these three plus any nominations from
the floor, and secondly shall vote to elect a President-elect
by majority vote from the remaining nominees. If no nominee
receives a majority on the initial ballot for each office, a
run-off ballot shall be held between the two nominees receiving
the most votes in the initial ballot.
e. The terms of the Secretary and two Members-at-large shall begin
30 days after their election and shall end 30 days after the
election of their successors in office. A vacancy in the office
of Secretary shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive
Committee. A single Member- at-large or Past-president vacancy
shall not be filled, but a dual vacancy in either position may
be partially filled by Presidential appointment, with concurrence
of the Executive Committee, of a Past-president not currently
serving on the Executive Committee.
3.3 Voting
Voting on all matters except Constitutional changes shall be
based on a simple majority with each member facility having
one vote. Except for election of officers, which is by secret
ballot, the method of voting shall be at the discretion of the
presiding officer.
3.4 Meetings
a. Meetings shall be held semi-annually on a rotating basis at one or more of the member facilities.
b. The host facility shall select for each meeting a program based
on the objectives outlined in paragraph 2 above. The program
shall provide the participants with a brief description and
inspection of the host facility.
c. There shall be no limitation on the number of meeting attendees
from any member organisation, except that the host may limit
total attendance if there is insufficient space to accommodate
all who desire to attend.
d. Permission for representatives of non- member organisations
to attend meetings may be granted by the President with the
concurrence of the host facility. Non-members will not attend
the business meeting.
3.5 Proceedings
a. The host organization shall assemble submitted
papers into Proceedings for distribution to the membership as
per the paper guidelines. Requests by Members for additional
copies of the Proceedings on a regular basis shall be submitted
in writing to the President for consideration by the Executive
Committee. The hosting organization for the meeting shallarrange
to send the Proceedings to the official representative of member
organizations not present.
b. Member organizations shall be eligible to receive, at a minimum,
one Proceedings, or copy thereof, from and only from meetings
held during the member's tenure of membership. New members are
eligible to receive the Proceedings for the meeting at which
they are accepted for membership.
c. Papers in the Proceedings are for members only and not for distribution
outside the STA. Members may obtain particular papers, or copies
thereof, from Proceedings without regard to eligibility as defined
in Section 3.5(b), directly from the organization originating
the paper, at the discretion of the originating member. Papers
in the Proceedings shall not be referenced in print outside
the Proceedings.
3.6 Membership
a. Membership shall be limited to those organisations
currently operating aerodynamic facilities which are of sufficient
size for significant research and/or development work and which
have transonic or supersonic capability.
b. Representation: Each member facility shall nominate one of its
staff as its official representative to this Association and
so inform the President by letter. All correspondence to the
member facility shall be addressed to this official representative.
c. The Secretary shall make available to any organization requesting
information about the STAI an Information Sheet briefly describing
the Objectives and the Membership Requirements. If the organization
expresses interest in membership, he shall also furnish a copy
of the Constitution. The Information Sheet and Constitution
shall also be posted by the Secretary on the STAI's Internet
Web Site.
d. To apply for membership, an organization shall:
1. Send a letter to the President from a responsible official,
requesting membership and agreeing to abide by the Constitution;
and
2. Furnish the President with sufficient information to enable
the members to determine whether the applicant fulfils the membership
requirements.
e. If the Executive Committee decides, by a simple majority of
those present and voting, that the application merits consideration
by the full membership, then:
1. The Executive Committee shall invite the applying organization
to present its credentials from membership, in the form of a
paper describing its aerodynamic facilities, at the next STAI
Meeting;
2. The applying organization shall be allowed by the host organization
to present said paper at the next STAI Meeting in a Technical
Session preceding the Business Meeting; and
3. The President shall bring the application up for vote at the
Business Meeting.
f. Voting for admission of new members shall be by a simple majority
of the membership present and voting, with each member facility
having one vote.
g. Membership can be terminated by a letter to the President from
a responsible official of the member facility.
h. Organisations which have independent facilities at separate
divisions may apply for separate membership for each facility.
i. A member facility shall participate in the activities of STA
by (1) submitting at least one technical contribution (either
written, oral, or both) and (2) attending at least one meeting,
every two consecutive meetings. The member facility is responsible
for obtaining all necessary clearances for their technical contributions.
j. If a member facility fails to participate in accordance with
Section 3.6(g), the Secretary will advise the member facility
in writing that its membership will be terminated if it fails
to participate in the next meeting. If a member facility fails
to comply with Section 3.6(g) and has been duly warned by the
Secretary and fails to participate, as required, in the next
meeting, its membership will terminate automatically unless
the Executive Committee recommends to the contrary. This recommendation
of the Executive Committee will be submitted to the member facilities
for vote. The member facility will be notified by the Secretary
of the action taken. Reinstatement of membership shall be reconsidered
by the same procedure as used for new admissions at the second
regular meeting following termination.
k. Membership of facilities which appear no longer to qualify shall
be reconsidered by the same procedure as that used for new admissions
at the recommendation of the Executive Committee.
3.7 Changes to the Constitution
Any member may propose Constitutional changes to the Executive
Committee. The Executive Committee shall forward the proposed
changes, either as submitted or with modifications acceptable
to the proposing member, to the membership at least two weeks
prior to the next semi-annual meeting. The proposal shall be
voted upon at this meeting and the Constitution changed only
if the proposed change receives an approving vote which is at
least two-thirds of the membership present and voting and which
is not less than a majority of the entire membership.
3.8 Members Emeritus
A past member of the STAI may be accorded the honorary position
of Member Emeritus at the discretion of the Executive Council.
A candidate for Member Emeritus must have made significant contributions
to the organization through many years of participation in the
STAI and/or service on the Executive Council. After nomination
of the candidate through an Executive Council member, a unanimous
vote of the Executive Council members is necessary to make this
designation. The President will announce new Member Emeritus
selections to the membership at the Business meeting.
Members Emeritus are welcome to attend all of the STAI semi-annual
meetings and will receive STAI correspondence.
Members Emeritus have no attendance or presentation requirements
or voting rights.
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and Accessibility Certification