Yorkshire
Chairs Report
THE INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS
YORKSHIRE BRANCH AGM – 17 SEPTEMBER 2007
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
2006-2007 was another eventful year. We arranged several interesting early-evening lectures free-of-charge in the Universities of Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York, all of them open to the general public. An exception was the one in Leeds on 16 March, which was held in the early afternoon, successfully attracting an audience of mainly school students.
We also arranged a visit to Drax Power Station. Drax is the largest power station in the UK, producing 7% of the nation’s electrical power and consuming 10 million tons of coal each year. This popular visit quickly became fully booked, so consideration is being given to a repeat arrangement.
A plaque commemorating the life and work of Rev John Michell BD FRS 1724-1793 was erected on Thornhill Parish Church (near Dewsbury, West Yorkshire), where he was Rector from 1767 until 1793. This is not an IOP plaque, having been organised by a local history group and funded by a grant from the Local Authority, but we co-operated with them to agree wording for the plaque and our members, Richard Crossley and Chris Butlin, researched the background. Chris has produced an excellent mini-booklet providing extra information, and copies are offered for sale in the Church with the proceeds being donated to church funds.
As Chair of the Branch, I was invited with my wife to attend the annual Awards Dinner arranged by the Institute at the Savoy Hotel. The weather was so bad that day, that my train was stopped outside Peterborough station for three hours then a decision was made to return to Yorkshire, where we alighted seven hours after boarding, having been nowhere while drinking several gallons of free coffee! If I go again, I shall take a trip from Einstein and travel on a light beam instead of a train. However, it is pleasing to report that Philip Britton, our Immediate Past Chairman, did arrive at the Dinner, albeit later than planned, where he was presented with his Award.
This report would not be complete without a mention of some tensions between the Branch and the Institute’s Headquarters staff. It is a shame that we have found ourselves in that position.
The Branch have found it difficult to understand some decisions made nationally – the expensive introduction of a second journal and student bursaries (both at a time when Branches were being urged to minimise expenditure) and the replacement of Paperclip Physics with SciCast Physics. Then we have had the unhappy experience of unsatisfactory arrangements for the printing of our Yorkshire Physics News including removal of the Yorkshire Rose (later re-instated) without explanation. I have made myself unpopular at Headquarters by drawing attention to these matters, but I make no apology for that: I would be failing in my duty if I did not reflect local opinions at the national level.
On a positive note, we have instituted a dialogue with senior people at Headquarters hoping to resolve our concerns, which we know are shared by some other Branches. A change of committee members at this meeting will not remove the concerns, which centre around a perceived lack of consultation and a desire to impose centralised direction and control, both being likely to discourage the involvement of members, which of course the Institute wants to encourage. I trust that the face-to-face dialogue will be productive.
John W Hemingway
September 2007
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