Revised March 2024, in accordance with a vote of Full Members.
1. Name of the Institute
The present bylaws define the objective and governing structure of a university institute entitled “McGill Institute for Advanced Materials” (MIAM). MIAM was approved by the Board of Governors of McGill University in November 2001 and was created with the objective of promoting and coordinating research and graduate training in the field of advanced materials at McGill.
2. Vision Statement
The fundamental vision underlying the McGill Institute for Advanced Materials is to discover, design, fabricate and understand new materials. MIAM will strengthen interdisciplinary interactions and partnerships among many different faculties and departments at McGill University involved in new materials. It will foster creativity, promote scholarship, enhance research capabilities, accelerate the transfer of research results into engineering practices, attract world-class faculty, students and post-docs, develop interactions with industry and create new funding opportunities. MIAM will achieve this by financially supporting the operation of core materials research infrastructure, developing new academic initiatives and increasing the internal as well as the external visibility of Materials Science and Engineering at McGill University.
3. Mission Statements
MIAM will carry out interdisciplinary teaching and research in the area of materials science and engineering. The specific goals of the Institute will be to:
- Foster cross-disciplinary and inter-faculty activities in materials at McGill.
- Increase the visibility of materials research both within the McGill community and the broader context of academic institutions in Quebec, Canada, and abroad – as well as industry.
- Develop new and emerging areas of materials research, such as in the fields of nanoscience/technology, biomaterials, electronics, and aerospace materials.
- Develop new funding opportunities by taking advantage of the team-research granting programs becoming available in the area of advanced technologies.
- Coordinate the acquisition of facilities and equipment required for materials research, characterization, and processing.
4. Location and Reporting Faculties
The Institute has its headquarters in the Frank Dawson Adams Building, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 2A7. The Institute is hosted by the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Science. These faculties constitute the Reporting Faculties. Other faculties may be included into the list of Reporting Faculties on the mutual agreement of all of the Deans of the current Reporting Faculties.
5. Management
The governance of the Institute is the responsibility of its Board. The institute is co-directed by two Co-directors selected one from the faculty of science and one from the faculty of engineering. They are responsible for the management of the Institute and report to the Deans of their Reporting Faculties. These Deans will jointly appoint a Chair of the Board (which may be one of the Deans).
6. Membership of the Board
The membership of the Board of the Institute will include the Deans of the Reporting Faculties, the Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) or delegate, the Co-directors of MIAM, two active Full Members of the Institute, a graduate student, and at least one person from outside the University not directly involved in MIAM.
The Board members who are also members of MIAM, and who are not there ex-officio, will be elected by their appropriate constituencies at the Annual General Meeting. The terms of appointment of the elected Board members will normally be three years for faculty and one year for students.
7. Appointment of the Co-directors
Recommendations for nominations for the Co-directors of the Institute will be made to the Board by a subcommittee consisting of the Deans of the Reporting Faculties or their delegates, two active Full Members of the Institute and one other member of the Board. The appointments of the Co-directors will normally be for a term of three years, renewable up to a maximum of two times. The positions of Co-directors of the Institute do not automatically involve any teaching release. Decisions on teaching release are the responsibility of the Chairs/Directors of the home units of the Co-directors of the Institute.
8. Annual Report
The Co-directors of the Institute will prepare the Annual Report, which will include all financial details of the operation of the Institute, and will present it to the Board for approval. Following its approval, the Annual Report will be submitted to the Deans of the Reporting Faculties.
9. Membership
The Institute will have the following classes of membership:
- Full Member: A senior researcher or faculty member affiliated with McGill.
- Trainee Member: A postdoctoral researcher or student affiliated with McGill.
- Research Professional Member: A research associate, research assistant or technician affiliated with McGill.
- Associate Member: A senior researcher, faculty member, postdoctoral researcher or student not affiliated with McGill.
Candidates for Full membership may submit a request for membership directly to the Board for approval, accompanied by a full curriculum vitae. Nominations of candidates for other classes of membership must be made to the Board by existing Full Members and should also be accompanied by a full curriculum vitae.
10. Resource Allocations and Budget
The Institute’s budget is prepared by the Co-directors for approval by the Board. Recommendations for the allocation of any Institute resources to Members will also be made by the Co-directors to the Board. Appeals concerning resource allocation can be brought by Full Members to the Board, whose decision will be final. Where necessary, the Board, may approve the creation of additional committees or user groups to control specific facilities, which will be responsible for maintaining records of income and expenditure, and which will report to the Co-directors.
11. MIAM Advisory Council
An Advisory Council will be formed in order to advise the Co-directors on future directions and opportunities for the Institute. The Advisory Council will include as a minimum one member from each of the faculties of Science, Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry and Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, together with at least one member external to McGill. Other members (such as Directors of other McGill Centres, or their representatives) may also be invited to serve on the Advisory Council. Members of the Advisory Council cannot serve simultaneously on the Board. The Advisory Council will meet at least one time per year. Membership on the Advisory Council will be via nomination of the Board and should be limited to three years for members who are not present ex officio. The Board will also approve the Chair of the Advisory Committee. The Co-directors of MIAM will be present at Advisory Committee meetings.
12. Annual General Meeting
There will be an Annual General Meeting of all members of the Institute during which the Annual Report will be presented. The Annual General Meeting elects the elected members of the Board. The presence of one third of the Full Members constitutes a quorum. All Full Members have voting rights at the Annual General Meeting
13. Meetings of Board
The Board must meet at least once a year to receive and approve the Annual Report, to review activities and membership, to approve the budget for the coming year, and to help resolve any difficulties that may have arisen during the past year. An Extraordinary Meeting of the Board will be convened if a written request to do so, signed by at least two thirds of the Full Members of the Institute, is submitted to the Chair of the Board.
14. Amendments
Bylaws or membership may be amended at any official meeting of the Members. A notice of motion for a proposed amendment shall be distributed to members at least three weeks in advance of the meeting. The motion may originate from the Co-directors or any Full Member of the Institute. To amend bylaws on the administrative structure of the Institute, or to exclude members or any class of members, a two-thirds majority vote will be required to carry the motion. However, a simple majority vote is sufficient to carry a motion to amend any other bylaw.