MRS FAQs (MRS Frequently Asked Questions)
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Letter from the President
MRS FAQs (MRS Frequently Asked Questions) In January, when you receive this latest copy of MRS Bulletin, I will formally be the Materials Research Society’s 28th president. Usually the first letter from the new president is full of sincere offers of openness, accessibility, and accountability. It inevitably ends with a call to all members to phone, e-mail, or write with their urgent concerns. And, each year, exactly one person writes in response to this letter. Usually it is one of the previous past presidents who, having gone through this ritual, takes knowing pity on the idealism of the newly elected officer. But, having occupied the halls of MRS most of my professional life, I can venture a guess as to what a good fraction of the un-uttered questions might be. They are the Old Faithfuls, the swallows of Capistrano, the recurring issues that come home to MRS year after year after year in committee meetings, symposium organizer wrap-up meetings, and poster sessions. So, in advance of their yearly appearance this year, here they are: the four most common MRS FAQs.
4
Why does MRS publish proceedings? They don’t count for anything in the tenure process. O, ye of academia. It is absolutely true that most U.S. professors do not receive “credit” for publishing in a proceedings. It is also absolutely true that not everyone is a U.S. professor. Authors from emerging nations use the Proceedings to reach a global audience. Graduate students use them as a comprehensible digest of the latest advances in the field they are trying to learn. Industry members use them in lieu of the library their company does not have. And many national laboratory employees do get at least partial credit in their annual review cycle for publishing in the MRS proceedings. In fact, MRS polls show that nearly 80% of symposium attendees want to publish in a proceedings, and about 50% end up doing so. Data on circulation rates of the proceedings within academic libraries also show that they are heavily used. We have a diverse membership, and our Proceedings serve a significant segment of this membership. Not insignificantly, in my view, the Proceedings are also one of the two MRS endeavors that actually makes a sizeable net profit. The other is the equipment exhibit at MRS meetings. The MRS Proceedings therefore subsidize many other activities, like the Web site, that would otherwise be economically impossible. Of
MRS BULLETIN/JANUARY 2003
membership from meeting registration, it may be that we could support more membership benefits than we currently do.
2
“In our current rate structure, our membership fees are set to be exactly break-even.”
course, there are improvements to be made: We are still trying to find a way to get the Proceedings cited by ISI.
3
Why is it that MRS membership costs $100 and I get only the MRS Bulletin, while membership in Society X is $100 and I get their membership magazine, their full article journal, their letters journal, reduced conference registration rates, life insurance, auto insur
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