Letter from the President of IUPESM
Dear Fellow Member of IUPESM and ICSU,
Continuing my analogy of likening these Presidential Letters to a soap opera, this is the final episode in which I shall appear as your President. It has been a great honour to serve you in this capacity and together we have won an historic 'Oscar', as scripted in the following paragraph quoted from ICSU's letter:
'For the record, I take great pleasure in informing you that the 26th General Assembly of ICSU held in Cairo, Egypt from 28-30 September 1999 voted to admit the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM), already an International Scientific Associate of ICSU since 1982, as a Full Scientific Union Member. We are very pleased to welcome you more closely into the ICSU family.'
However, before retiring from this role, there is much remaining to be done in preparing the script for our future. Having achieved the status of a Full Member of ICSU, IUPESM is among the elite of International Unions. We must be able to play a full part in establishing our own programmes and collaborating with other members of the ICSU family on projects of global significance.
Viewed from the Presidency, it is essential to our future to revise thoroughly not only the now outdated Constitution and Bylaws of IUPESM but also simultaneously our structure and methods of operation. Our Constituent Organisations, IOMP and IFMBE, are the essence of IUPESM but we must recognise that it is IUPESM which is a Full Member of ICSU and not our individual organisations. Symbiosis of the highest quality is vital if we are to achieve the full potential of our new status.
The Millennium World Congress in Chicago will provide us with an excellent and timely opportunity to address these issues fully and frankly without inhibitions. A 'no holds barred' approach will allow us to consider a range of possibilities from, perhaps the most radical (and logical?), of merging IOMP and IFMBE within ICSU to the minimum requirement of much improved collaboration. As the alleged curse says, 'May you live in interesting times!'
We must also identify how best to relate to and function within ICSU, to become an influential advocate globally for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. An application has been made to ICSU for grant support of our Key Programme on Public Understanding of Science: Contributions of Science and Engineering in Health Care. The proposal is to establish a well-illustrated 'brochure', written in populist language readily understandable by the public and politicians, available on the IUPESM web-site and as a publication. If successful, it should also catalyse relationships and collaboration with other members of the ICSU family. A decision by ICSU should be known in time to be reported at the World Congress. We need to develop our existing Key Programmes and establish others of sufficient prestige to attract resources not only from ICSU but also other international sources of funding.
In concluding this three-year long series of soap operas, I wish to applaud, on your behalf also, the other 'members of the cast'. Any progress during this period has been a team effort. I am extremely grateful to the Members of Council and others for their unstinting support but especially the Presidents of IOMP and IFMBE and our energetic and innovative Secretary General for their constant wisdom, encouragement and friendship. It is with utmost confidence that I will hand over the 'Leading Role' of IUPESM to Professor Jean-Pierre Morucci. There could be no better successor.
Thank you again for the honour of being your President.
Keith Boddy CBE, DSc, FRSE