Constitution
of the
Hong Kong Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

Article I : Name

Section 1

 The name of the Society shall be The Hong Kong Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, hereafter referred to as the Society.

Section 2

 The Chinese name of the Society shall be .


Article II : Registered Office

Section 1

 The registered office of the Society shall be the principal place of occupation of the president then in office, or any other place which may be decided by the Executive Committee (Article VI) of the Society and approved by the Registrar of Societies.


Article III: Objectives

Section 1

 The general objective of the Society is to promote the advancement of science of mechanics and its applications.

Section 2

 The specific objectives of the Society are as follows:-
  1. To facilitate the exchange of information in mechanics among persons engaged in scientific work in mechanics.
  2. To sponsor academic and social activities among members.
  3. To cooperate and affiliate with other national, international or regional learned and professional societies having objectives similar to the objectives of the Society.
  4. To issue publications.


Article IV : General Assembly

Section 1

 The highest authority of the Society is its General Assembly.

Section 2

 Membership of the General Assembly is defined in Article V.

Section 3

 The General Assembly has the power to decide all questions affecting the Society, including alterations of the Constitution. On specific questions it may delegate its power to appropriate bodies.

Section 4

 To execute the decisions of the General Assembly and to carry out work between meetings of the General Assembly, the General Assembly elects members of the Executive Committee (Article VI).

Section 5

 Meeting of the General Assembly will take place at times decided by the Executive Committee, or on the request of at least 10 members of the General Assembly. The annual meeting of the General Assembly shall be held annually in the first quarter of the year.

Section 6

 At least fourteen days' notice shall be given for the meeting of General Assembly.


Article V : Membership

Section 1

 There shall be three categories of membership:
  1. Full Member,
  2. Student Member,
  3. Institution Member.

Section 2

 Both categories of individual membership are nominated by two members and ratified by the Executive Committee. Institution memberships are invited by the Executive Committee.

Section 3

 Student members and Institution members have no voting power.
Section 4 To recognize the contribution of distinguished scholars outside Hong Kong to the Society, the Society will honor Guest Fellows nominated by 2 full members and approved by the Executive Committee. A Guest Fellow will serve for 4 years.
Section 5 To recognize the significant contribution of a full member of HKSTAM for at least four years service, who has retired, or is at the age of sixty-five or above, the society will award Honorary Fellow to the suitable candidate nominated by two full members and approved by the Executive Committee.


Article VI: The Executive Committee

Section 1

 The Executive Committee consists of
  1. President
  2. Vice-President
  3. Secretary
  4. Treasurer
  5. Immediate Past President
  6. No more than fifteen Members at large.
Section 2 The terms of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President are two years. The terms of other committee members are one year.
Section 3 The Vice-President is also President-elect for the next term, and performs the duty of President in the absence of President.
Section 4 The President presides over the meeting of General Assembly.
Section 5 All Past Presidents are automatically Honorary Advisors of the Society and can participate in the Executive Committee meetings. Honorary Advisors have no voting power in the Executive Committee meetings.


Article VII : Elections

Section 1

 Nominations of offices in the Executive Committee shall be invited from members not less than twenty-eight days before the date of the annual meeting of the General Assembly. Any eligible member for nomination must be nominated by a member and seconded by another member. Such nomination must be sent in writing to the Secretary together with the written consent of the nominee at least fourteen days before the date of annual meeting. If only one
nomination is received for an office, the nominee shall be declared elected ipso facto.
Section 2 The letter ballot will be sent to members with the notice for the annual meeting.
Section 3 Mailed ballots will be counted only if they are received before the voting at the annual meeting.

11/3/2006 Rev.