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The Users' Executive Committee

The Users' Executive Committee is charged with providing critical feedback and recommendations to the Foundry management team regarding the quality of the User Program. The UEC also reports their findings and recommendations directly to the DOE. The committee is comprised of elected representatives of the user community, with current members being:

Dr. Thomas Schenkel, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Chair)
Prof. Annelise Barron, Stanford University (Vice Chair)
Prof. Oscar Dubon, University of California, Berkeley & LBNL
Dr. Feng Wang,  University of California, Berkeley (Secretary)
Prof. Jie Song,  University of Massachusetts Medical School (past Chair)

Molecular Foundry Users' Association Charter

The purpose of the Molecular Foundry Users' Association (TMFUA) is to provide an organized framework for the interaction between those who use the Molecular Foundry (TMF) at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) for their research and the TMF management, as well as to provide a channel for communication with other Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs) and, on suitable occasions, with federal agencies. The TMFUA, representing the research workers, will be in a position to make known to the TMF management the needs and desires of Users regarding operating policy, use of the TMF, user support, and other relevant issues of concern to those engaged in research at this facility. The TMFUA will further provide a means for the TMF management to inform Users with regard to current and future plans for the facility. Thorough discussion with Users of current projects, as well as plans for the future, will place TMF management in a better position to evaluate the needs of Users and will enable Users to plan more efficiently the utilization of the facility. The role of the TMFUA shall be to advise the TMF Director on matters of concern to Users. Responsibility for the TMF and the research program carried out at the TMF resides with the TMF Director.

A. Organization

1. Membership

Membership in the TMFUA shall be open to all those who have ever submitted a research proposal to the Foundry, and is to include anyone named as a collaborator on a proposal.  Prospective Users, who have registered on the TMF database but not yet submitted a proposal, are also eligible for membership. Membership status will be reviewed annually. To maintain an active membership in the TMFUA, an annual attendance at a TMF-sponsored workshop or User meeting, an active User project, a proposal submission, service on the TMF UEC, or service on the TMF review panel is required.

2. Standing Committees

a. The Users' Executive Committee is charged with conducting the day-to-day business of the TMFUA. The Users' Executive Committee shall consist of the Chair, the Vice Chair, the Past Chair, the Secretary, and six additional members, at least two of whom shall be an industrial representative and another a student representative. The members of the Users' Executive Committee shall be elected by the members of the TMFUA by written ballot, for staggered terms of office, as soon as practicable after the annual meeting of the membership of the TMFUA. Newly elected members of the Users' Executive Committee shall take office on the first of January of the year following their election. The terms of office of members of the Users' Executive Committee shall be 3 years, except for officers, who shall be elected by the committee from among its members, as specified in section A-3 below.
b. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members appointed by the executive committee. The Nominating Committee is charged with preparing a slate of candidates for election to the executive committee. The slate is to be presented to the membership of the TMFUA at or shortly before the annual meeting. In preparing this slate, the Nominating Committee shall formally solicit widespread input from the membership of the TMFUA. The Nominating Committee shall include on the slate nominations submitted in writing over the signatures of at least five members of the TMFUA, including those submitted at the meeting. The slate shall, as nearly as possible, reflect a balance of interests among active research fields pursued at the TMF and among institutional affiliations of the Users and shall be twice as large as the number of positions to be filled on the Users' Executive Committee.

3. Officers

a. The Chair of the Users' Executive Committee shall serve as Chair of the TMFUA. The Chair's term of office shall be 1 year. To assure continuity, the Chair shall continue to serve on the Users' Executive Committee for one additional year as Past Chair.
b. The Vice Chair of the Users' Executive Committee shall serve as Vice Chair of the TMFUA. The Vice Chair shall stand in for the Chair if he or she is unavailable and shall assist the Chair in the discharge of his or her duties. The Vice Chair shall be elected by the Users' Executive Committee from among its members. His or her term of office shall be 1 year, upon expiration of which term he or she shall assume the position of Chair.
c. The Secretary of the Users' Executive Committee, appointed by the Chair, shall serve as Secretary of the TMFUA. The term of office of the Secretary shall be 1 year and shall be renewable.
d. The Users' Executive Committee can appoint a representative for the “National User Facilities Organization” (NUFO) and other advocacy groups. The representative is appointed annually and does not need to be a current member of the Users' Executive Committee. The appointed representative can serve for multiple years in order to maintain and enhance the experience of the TMFUA in general educational efforts promoting the importance and impact of the research performed at the TMF.

B. Meetings

1. Meetings of the membership of the TMFUA shall be called by the Chair. Normally, one meeting per year shall be held. Location of the meetings shall normally be Berkeley, but other sites may be selected by the Users' Executive Committee. Except under unusual circumstances, notice of meetings shall be given to the membership at least three months in advance.
2. An agenda for each meeting shall be provided by the Chair upon advice of the Users' Executive Committee. A short written description of the items on the agenda shall be provided to members of the TMFUA in advance of a meeting. During the meeting the TMFUA will have an opportunity to present research performed at the TMF and also to discuss the current status and future developments of the TMF.
3. The Users' Executive Committee shall meet at the call of the Chair to transact all such business as shall be required between general meetings of the membership of the TMFUA.
4. The Users'’ Executive Committee shall manage the annual User Workshop held at the Molecular Foundry.  They, together with the TMFUA and in consultation with TMF management, shall determine the agenda for that meeting.

C. Procedural Rules

1. Minutes of all meetings shall be recorded by the Secretary and shall include a brief resume of the results of the meeting. After approval by the Chair, copies of the minutes of the meetings of the TMFUA shall be provided to all members, e.g., by posting them on the Internet, and minutes of the meetings of the Users' Executive Committee shall be made available to members of the TMFUA upon request.
2. Meetings of the TMFUA and of the Users' Executive Committee shall abide by parliamentary rules as stated in Robert's Rules of Order.
3. This charter can be amended by a mail or web-based ballot of the members of the TMFUA conducted by the Users' Executive Committee. A two-thirds majority of those members voting in the balloting must vote in favor of an amendment for it to be adopted.
4. In the event that a position on the Users' Executive Committee should be vacated before expiration of its term, the committee shall appoint a member of the TMFUA to fill the position for the duration of the unexpired term.
5. The Users' Executive Committee shall advise the Director of the TMF with regard to the membership of relevant committees that may be established. The TMF Director shall keep the Users' Executive Committee advised of proposed changes in the operation of the TMF and of future plans; the committee shall bear responsibility for making appropriate recommendations to the TMF Director regarding such matters, including future directions, major equipment, and changing user needs.

D. Elections to the UEC

1. UEC elections shall take place at the annual TMFUA User Workshop. 
2. Five UEC members shall be elected the first year. Two new UEC members shall be elected each year until the full compliment of nine (9) members is established.  Afterwards, only the seats vacated by those whose term is expiring (i.e. after 3 years of service) will be up for election.
3. Nominations shall be presented at the general assembly during the TMFUA User Workshop.  There shall be twice the number of nominations as there are positions to be filled.  Nominated UEC members need not be active Users at the time of their election.
4. Voting is to take place on-line and shall conclude one month after the Workshop.  Newly elected UEC officers will be announced on-line.

Revised July 2007

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