Category "IAU Junior Member"

The IAU Executive Committee is proposing to create the new Category "IAU Junior Member". The new Category is intended to be open to PhD Students and/or early career post-Doc researchers in Astronomy/Astrophysics. The Junior Members should be proposed by the National Members and would be admitted for an initial period of 3 years, renewable only once. At the expiration of the initial period they can be renewed as Junior Members for a final three year period, proposed as regular Individual Members or their Junior Membership will end. The Junior Member would have the same rights as the Individual Members.

The obvious motivation for introducing the new Category is to increase the direct participation of young researchers in the activities of the Union. It is expected that the admission of the new Category will increase substantially the number of individual Members of the Union and, as an additional benefit, it should improve its overall gender balance.

The Junior Category was not so far introduced because it would have represented a substantial additional work load on the Secretariat and consequently a possible increase in the National Member dues. By now, the extensive use of electronic facilities will allow us to easily support the extra work, avoiding any increase in the dues.

The creation of the new Category of Junior Member requires a modification of the Statutes that must be approved by the General Assembly. Considering the relevance and reach of the proposal, the Executive Committee wishes to sound the opinion of the National Members well in advance with respect to the next XXX General Assembly (Vienna, August 2018).

I will be grateful if you would provide an assessment of the Proposal by answering this simple Questionnaire. All answers received by the end of December 2016 will be considered.

October 25th, 2016

Piero Benvenuti
IAU General Secretary