From the Editor: Full Membership in ICSU

Since the establishment of IUPESM in the early 80s we have been an associate member of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) through IUPESM. In Nice 1997, a decision was made to make a concerted effort to reach full membership. The President of IUPESM, Keith Boddy, with the support of Gary Fullerton, Secretary-General of IUPESM and the Administrative Council all devised an action plan for this and started working on its implementation. Included in this issue of IFMBE News there are two stories about the progress made by Keith Boddy and Gary Fullerton so far.

Since the time Dr. Boddy wrote his letter to us, there has been quick and favourable progress in this issue. Dr. Boddy with Jean-Pierre Morucci (our President) were invited to meet with the Executive Committee of ICSU in Paris in early May to present our application for full membership. Based on that meeting the Executive Committee decided to endorse our application for full membership. Dr. Boddy was also requested to submit an article about IUPESM to the ICSU journal which he did. In that story he outlined our case in the following way:

“In case the need for such ‘appliance of science’ in Health Care is not obvious, let us think of the human body in scientific terms as follows:

The body can be regarded as a machine controlled by the world's most sophisticated microcomputer, about the size of a grapefruit and largely self-programmable. The machine is self-propelled in any direction with a forward speed of up to ~30 kmph or so but capable of only transient vertical travel to a maximum height of ~ 2.5 metres. It is largely waterproof, entirely rustproof and semi-immersible. Control is effected, with automatic feedback, through self-adjusting binoculars and by auditory, olefactory and tactile signals.

The machine is equipped with a pair of sophisticated remote manipulators. It is powered by a wide variety of fuels (ideally unleaded) via a multipurpose carburettor that is partly self-regulating. The machine can self-replicate and, though no guarantee is provided, has an expected lifetime of about 70 years.

To a large extent, the machine is self-repairing. However in the event of a malfunction, diagnosis of the problem (and its rectification) should be achieved ideally without lifting the bonnet and with minimal damage to external bodywork. However no manuals relating to construction, function or repair are provided.’

Now the matter is in the hands of ICSU’s member organisations. Our application will be voted in the forth- coming ICSU plenary conference in Cairo later this year. However, for the application to reach the voting stage it must have the written support of at least 12 ICSU members. This in turn means that we must now approach ICSU members very quickly with information about our application and a request for their support. Gary Fullerton and Keith Boddy are currently preparing their presentation material.

Additionally, and more importantly, we must have a good strategy in approaching ICSU members. ICSU members consist of two ‘family’, organisations such as IUPESM in different fields of science and the national academies of science in respective countries. What we need to do is, preferably, establish a direct contact with these organisations. Given the large number of members in the IFMBE and its sister organisation in medical physics (IOMP) there are bound to be individuals among us with good relations with colleagues in key positions in these organisations. We just need to identify these individuals. I am sure both Keith Boddy and Gary Fullerton will appreciate hearing from you as volunteers to contact ICSU members. Obtaining full membership in ICSU is finally within our reach. Keith Boddy has made a remarkable effort in getting us this far. To succeed we need the support of all our members!

Niilo Saranummi

Email: niilo.saranummi@vtt.fi