Message from the President
Unfortunately, I have to start this ICUMSA News on a sad note. A few weeks ago, our dear friend Prof. Dr. Rud Frik Madsen passed away (see also p.283). He was an active participant in the work of ICUMSA. He was the Chairman of ICUMSA News right up until last year’s meeting in Pune and was devoted to his role which he carried out with enthusiasm and devotion. For those who would like to read more about Dr Madsen’s career you may also like to refer to page 218 of our book “The History of ICUMSA – The first 100 Years”.
We have now completed the collection and collation of discussions and Recommendations for all ICUMSA Subjects. The discussions were posted on the ICUMSA web site and National Committees were invited to add their opinions on the Recommendations proposed. Voting has now finished and all of the proposed Recommendations have been accepted with the percentage of votes in favor ranging from 55 to 75% of the votes cast. Details of the results of voting will be added to the web site and they will be sent to the Chairmen of National Committees in due course. We are grateful for the constructive comments of some National Committees who have pointed out some minor contradictions between some of the proposed Recommendations. As a result of these comments we have made slight changes to the text of some Recommendations without changing their overall content. The final Recommendations, together with the discussions of the various Subjects and the final text of the Reports, will be published in the Proceedings of the 23rd Session in Pune. The book can be ordered from Bartens Verlag for 85 Euro (www.bartens.com). Publication date: June 2003.
The supplement 2003 of the ICUMSA Methods book will be available in the summer 2003. I am very grateful as always for the contribution of John Dutton in the preparation of changes to the Methods Book.
National Committees have completely accepted the new structure of ICUMSA. We have already published the new structure on the web site together with details regarding an intermediate meeting next year in Atlanta at the conclusion of the SPRI meeting. In order to make the organization of this meeting easier, we would ask all those interested in participating to fill in the form posted on the ICUMSA web site. During the meeting in Atlanta we will have to consider many issues which were not resolved in Pune and some which have arisen during the discussion phase after that meeting. We are currently considering the structure of Subjects within ICUMSA. This is due to the resignation of some Referees as well as discussions since the Pune meeting.
I recommend that you visit the web site regularly so that you are up to date with the changes. I take this opportunity to ask Referees to alter their records as soon as possible and keep the new Associate Referees up to date with the progression of work during this Session – particularly collaborative laboratory work.
Prof. G. Vaccari, ICUMSA President