The physics researchers and teachers of Northeast India felt for long the necessity of having a common platform of their own to deliberate upon the scientific and academic aspects of the subject. The concept was methodically discussed in a seminar on celebrating the hundred years of the discovery of electron, held at I.I.T. Guwahati on November 11, 1997. On April 6, 1998 the envisioned platform was formally established by the name of the Physics Academy of the North East for the Promotion of Physics Education and Research in North-East India.
The name of the Academy shall be ‘Physics Academy of the North East (PANE)’ registered under the “Registration of Societies Act XXI of 1860” and to be hereinafter called PANE.
PANE will be headquartered in Guwahati.
The objectives of PANE shall be to take measures for the promotion of the following aspects:
i) Research in physics and inter-related disciplines
ii) Physics education and physics education research
iii) Physics information dissemination
iv) Physics thought, temper and awareness
v) Taking all measures (like organizing seminars, conferences, workshops, conducting examinations, arranging voluntary teaching sessions for students, felicitating physicists, etc.) as may be necessary for the fulfilment of the above objectives
PANE has the following categories of membership, each category having different subscription fees and selection processes as determined by the Executive Body (defined in Article 8) from time to time.
i) Life membership: Any person with a postgraduate degree in physics or related disciplines of study, such as, astronomy and astrophysics, geophysics, atmospheric and space sciences, physical chemistry and biophysics (the list is indicative and not exhaustive), is eligible for membership of PANE. For foreign nationals, norms/rules of the Government of India shall be kept in mind.
ii) Institutional life membership: Any academic and/or research institution engaged in science and/or technology education/research may apply for institutional membership of PANE. For foreign institutes, norms/rules of the Government of India shall be kept in mind.
iii) Honorary life membership: PANE may offer honorary membership for life to eminent persons for their contributions to physical sciences and/or technology or persons who have contributed significantly for the fulfilment of the objectives of PANE or both. The General Body (defined in Article 7) of PANE will elect honorary members in its meeting on the recommendation of the Executive Body.
i) An individual member or institution may resign from membership of PANE by writing to the Executive President (defined in Article 9B) of PANE. The resignation will be effective after acceptance by the Executive Body of PANE.
ii) Membership of an individual member or institution may be terminated, if their actions are against the interests and objectives of PANE, by the Executive Body with at least two-thirds of the members supporting the termination. However, before taking any such action, the affected party must be given at least a month’s notice to explain his/her or the institution’s action.
iii) Membership of an individual may also be terminated by the Executive Body with at least two-thirds of the members supporting the termination if he/she has been convicted of any criminal offence by a court of law.
For all official purposes, the financial year, i.e., 1st April to 31st March of the following year, will be the official year of PANE.
i) The GB of PANE shall be composed of all life members and institutional members of PANE. Each institutional member of PANE may nominate two persons to represent it in the GB.
ii) Each life member will have one vote, while each institutional member will have two votes.
iii) The notice of a meeting of the GB shall be issued by the GS at least 15 days before the date of the meeting.
iv) A requisitioned meeting of the GB can be convened if at least onethird of the members of the Executive Body or at least 25 members of the GB request it in writing.
v) The GB may frame bye-laws or modify/approve bye-laws framed by the Executive Body.
vi) The GB may decide the membership fee or modify/approve those suggested by the Executive Body.
The management of PANE will be vested in the EB, consisting of the following:
i) President
ii) Executive President
iii) Vice-President (two)
iv) General Secretary
v) Joint Secretary (two)
vi)Treasurer
vii) Editor in Chief (Newsletter)
viii) Publicity Secretary
ix) State Representatives (one from each of the eight states of the Northeast)
x) Editors of PANE Journal of Physics (ex officio)
The EB may co-opt members, if the positions are not filled up by an electoral process.
The EB should meet at least four times in a year.
The term of the EB will be for two consecutive years after which the EB will hand over charge to the newly elected EB on the Foundation Day immediately following the end of term on 31st March.
No person should hold a substantive post of the EB for more than two consecutive terms to encourage participation of a wider community in managing the affairs of PANE.
A Returning Officer is to be appointed by the EP on the recommendation of the EB. The Returning Officer must, certainly, not be aspiring for any position and the election process must be conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
A) President:
i) The President shall be elected by the GB from a panel of three senior life members of PANE who are recommended by the EB after obtaining consent from the persons. Before making any recommendation, the EB will invite suggestions from life and institutional members of PANE for inclusion of names in the proposed list.
ii) The President will preside over GB meetings.
iii) The President is vested with the responsibility of providing guidance and advice to EB and GB of PANE.
iv) Though the President may not participate in routine meetings of the EB, he/she may do so as per his discretion and in such cases shall preside over the meeting of the EB.
B) Executive President (EP):
i) The EP shall be elected by the GB and he/she shall be a life member of PANE.
ii) The EP will preside over all EB meetings in accordance with provision of Article 9 A(iv).
iii) The EP shall preside over GB meetings in the absence of the President.
iv) The EP shall be the ex officio member of all sub-committees formed by PANE and shall preside over such meetings.
C) Vice-Presidents (VP):
i) Two VPs shall be elected from among the life members of PANE.
ii) In the absence of the President and the EP, one of the VPs nominated by the EB, will preside over the meetings of the GB, EB or any sub-committee.
iii) In case the EP is unable to carry on his/her responsibilities due to any reason the EB will empower one of the VPs to assume responsibility of the EP till fresh election is held.
D) General Secretary (GS):
i) The GS will be elected by the GB. He/she should be a life member of PANE working at an institution in a place where the HQ of PANE is located, i.e., the address of his/her affiliation should be Guwahati.
ii) The GS shall be responsible for the overall management of PANE in accordance with its rules and regulations.
iii) The GS shall keep records of the proceedings of the meetings.
iv) The GS shall be the ex officio member of any sub-committee formed by PANE.
v) In consultation with the EB and/or the EP, the GS shall convene meetings of the EB.
vi) In consultation with the President and the EP, the GS shall convene meetings of the GB.
vii) The GS shall maintain an up-to-date list of members of PANE of all categories.
viii) The GS shall submit the report of the activities of PANE in the GB meetings.
ix) The GS shall be the publisher of all publications and material published by PANE.
x) In his/her absence, he/she may hand over charge to one of the Joint Secretaries with the approval of the EP.
E) Joint Secretaries (JS):
i) Two JSs shall be elected by the GB from amongst its life members.
ii) The JSs will assist the GS in carrying out his/her activities and responsibilities related to PANE.
iii) One of the JSs may be asked to assume charge as GS in the absence of the GS as per provision of Article 9D(x).
F) Treasurer:
i) The Treasurer shall be elected by the GB from amongst its life members. He/she should be working at an institution in a place where the HQ of PANE is located, i.e., the address of his/her affiliation should be Guwahati.
ii) The Treasurer shall advise the EB on how best to maintain its assets and help raise resources for the activities of PANE.
iii) The funds of PANE shall be operated jointly by the Treasurer and GS in any nationalized bank in the name of “Physics Academy of the North East”.
iv) The treasurer shall keep all accounts of the PANE and shall prepare an annual statement of accounts for submission to the EB and GB after it is audited by a charted accountant (CA).
G) Editor in Chief (Newsletter):
i) The Editor in chief (Newsletter) shall be elected by the GB from amongst its life members.
ii) The Editor in chief (Newsletter) takes care of PANE Newsletter.
iii) The Editor in chief (Newsletter) may constitute an Editorial Board in consultation with EB.
H) Publicity Secretary:
i) The Publicity Secretary shall be elected by the EB from amongst its life members.
ii) The Publicity Secretary, in consultation with the GS shall publish news related to the activities of PANE.
I) State Representatives:
i) Eight State Representatives, one from each of the 8 northeastern states will be elected by the GB from among the life members.
ii) Every State Representative from each of the 8 north-eastern states may constitute a Regional Centre of PANE (RCP) in their respective states to initiate PANE activities in their respective states.
J) Functions and powers of the EB:
i) The EB shall have the power to determine the programmes and activities of PANE for the fulfilment of the objectives of PANE.
ii) The EB shall have the power to decide all financial matters of PANE.
iii) The EB shall have the power to constitute sub-committees for its various programmes and activities as and when necessary.
iv) The EB shall have the power to frame bye-laws of PANE which is to be rectified/approved by the GB.
v) The EB may prepare proposals for amendment to the Constitution, if any, to be placed before the GB for adoption or otherwise.
vi) The EB shall take steps to fill up any vacancy in the EB following the rules and regulations of PANE.
i) For a GB meeting 25 members shall constitute a quorum.
ii) For an EB meeting or any other meeting one-third of the members will constitute a quorum.
i) There will be a Regular PANE Conference (RPC) on physics at a place in North-East India on invitation of any academic or research institute. The regularity should preferably be annual in nature.
ii) The host of the forthcoming RPC shall be decided by the GB and announced in the preceding RPC.
iii) A local organizing committee (LOC) shall be formed before at least six months from the RPC. The EB will nominate two representatives to the LOC.
iv) The LOC shall fix the dates of the RPC at least six months prior to the RPC and preferably during the winter months (October to February) in consultation with the EB.
v) The LOC shall raise funds for the RPC. PANE may make a token contribution, if necessary, as decided by the EC.
vi) Although the LOC may meet the expenses of the RPC following the rules and regulations of its own institution, an audited report of the accounts should be sent to the EB after the RPC is over.
vii) Registration fees for PANE life members for RPC should be lesser than other participants, in all categories.
viii) Conference proceedings should be published by reputed publisher/s.
ix) Some renowned physicists of the region may be felicitated in RPC.
x) Memorial lectures may also be there in in the RPC.
As PANE encourages physics research from senior active life members, it offers a platform to them for their subsequent article publications, in the name of an honorary position namely, “Senior Research Affiliate of PANE”. The EB will select such suitable names from the life members who are senior academicians above the age of 60 years and who have adequate research contribution as deemed fit by the EB of PANE. The list will later be approved in the GB meeting.
i) Fellows of PANE, whose number shall not exceed 100, will be elected on the basis of distinguished contributions to new physics knowledge and/or promotion of physics education and/or application of physics for social welfare. They shall be elected on the basis of their contributions in terms of documentation, publications, patents, etc. In case of physicists working in National Security Areas, their overall contribution to the progress of that field may be given special consideration.
ii) Physicists who are/were working in the institutes of Northeast India can be nominated for the Fellowship.
iii) Distinguished physicists from other parts of the country and foreign countries (who are nationals of foreign countries) may also be nominated if those physicists are/were associated with the development of physics education and/or research in Northeast India. The maximum number of such Fellows shall be 20 and there shall not be inclusion of more than 5 such Fellows in any one year.
iv) Each candidate shall be nominated and seconded by a FPANE, respectively. (The nomination form will only be available with the existing FPANE.) [To start, persons who are Fellows of at least one of the three academies of India and are/were working in the institutes of Northeast India (or, are/were associated with the development of physics education and/or research in the Northeast) would be recommended by the EB to be the initial Fellows of PANE for making the first nominations for Fellows of PANE].
v) A Fellow may nominate up to four candidates each year for election to the Fellowship of the Academy.
vi) Proposer must sign on the Nomination Paper. The Seconder should either sign on the Nomination Paper or write letters to the Proposer.
vii) The duly filled nomination paper and information as desired on Proforma Template should be sent to the GS of PANE by 1st October every year. The GS should maintain all the confidentialities and during his/her term he/she cannot be an aspirant of FPANE.
viii) The list of nominees will be sent out to a Scrutinising Committee of 5 members, all Fellows of PANE, and covering different areas of Physics (as chosen by the Fellows of PANE from among themselves following procedures decided by the founding Fellows of PANE). The Scrutinising Committee, chaired by one of the five Committee members, would suggest the names of the nominees for possible election to the Fellowship of PANE based on the criteria discussed above, while maintaining high standards and embracing diversity. The five-member Committee may invite any Fellow of either PANE or any of the three National Academies for the deliberations if they think necessary.
ix) The Scrutinising Committee will take a holistic view of all the inputs provided in the Proforma of Nomination Paper, and may seek external inputs to judge the nominee’s contributions especially in the case of large collaborations.
x) The shortlisted nominees will be again sent to the GS of PANE for arranging a voting. The GS would then send the list to every Fellow for voting, not later than the 31st of October.
xi) The nominees receiving votes from more than 50% of the Fellows of PANE, participating in the voting, will be serially elected as Fellows starting with the ones receiving maximum number of votes, provided the total number of Fellows has not exceeded 100.
xii) Nominations made for the Fellowship of the Academy shall remain in good standing for a period of five years; every nominee would be asked for their updated CV once in every year during that period.
xiii) A physicist whose nomination for Fellowship has remained in good standing for a period of 5 years and who is not elected during this period, may be re-nominated after a gap of 2 years.
PANE will publish a regular peer reviewed physics journal called PANE Journal of Physics. The Editor in Chief and two Editors will be selected by EB for a term of 5 years. The Editor in Chief and the two editors will be ex officio members of EB. Other Editorial Board members and/or Advisory Board members are decided by the Editor in Chief together with the two Editors.
i) NEIPTS Examinations would be periodically conducted by PANE, mainly for school students (preferably of class 11) and/or Under Graduate students, with the dual intention of improving the concepts of physics among young students and selection of the best physics talents of the region at young ages for their encouragements.
ii) The talent search should be of two stages. The first stage will be an MCQ based examination (with the provision of negative marking for wrong answers) to select Centre Toppers (10 for each centre) and to shortlist 100 applicants; these 100 finalists will consist of State Toppers (10 for each state) and remaining 20 candidates selected only as per merit. In the second stage online interview will be held for all the 100 finalists for the final selection of 10 North East India Toppers.
iii) The first stage may be conducted during October/November and the second stage can be completed by December.
iv) A Central Examination Committee (CEC) with a coordinator will be formed by the EB of PANE. The CEC will receive 10% of the total examination fees for meeting various types of expenditures and honorariums.
v) CEC coordinator will do the needful for the preparation of questions (together with the answer keys).
vi) Physics Departments of various institutions of the Northeast can apply for being an examination centre. Preferably one of the centres of every state should be the one where the State Representative of PANE is affiliated. The selection of centres will be made by the CEC in consultation with the respective State Representatives of PANE. Every centre will receive 25% of the total examination fees of the students choosing that examination centre.
vii) After finalising the centres, the examination information will be circulated and online registration of students will start.
viii) Question papers and answer sheets will be sent to the examination centres well in advance.
ix) There will be provisions for pre-examination guidance, preferably in online mode.
x) Examination will be conducted by the respective centre in-charges. The filled up answer sheets will be sent to the CEC.
xi) Evaluation will be done by the CEC and Centre Toppers and State Toppers will be declared.
xii) Finalists including State Toppers will have an interview arranged by the CEC for selection of North East India Toppers. The toppers would be given prizes and possibly, other academic assistance.
Any proposal of amendment of the Constitution from any life or institutional member of PANE has to be notified in writing to the EP or GS. The EB will consider all such proposals and prepare necessary amendment proposals for the GB. The proposal prepared by the EB and duly notified by the GS will be considered to be adopted if supported by at least two thirds majority of the eligible life members present in a GB meeting.
i) A special GB meeting shall be convened specifically for the purpose of dissolution of PANE with not less than six months’ notice.
ii) At least two-thirds of all eligible life and institutional members of PANE must vote for the dissolution of PANE for this to happen.
iii) In the event of dissolution, any assets left after payment of all debts and liabilities of PANE, shall be donated to some other registered academy/society/association having similar objectives as that of PANE, to be decided by GB.