April 14, 2023, 13:30-14:00, University of Zurich, Irchel Campus, lecture hall G40. The minutes are published in CHIMIA 5/2023 and on the website.
1. Welcome; Approval of the Agenda
During the lunch break of the SCS Spring Meeting, Christian Bochet, President, and David Spichiger, Executive Director, opened the assembly and welcomed all members/attendees. The agenda was approved.
2. Election of the Vote Counter
At the beginning 21 SCS members were present and until the end of the assembly 35 participants joined the assembly. In consideration of the manageable number of votes, David Spichiger proposed to take over the counting. The assembly approved the proposal unanimously.
3. Minutes from the 32st GA from April 22, 2022
The minutes were published in CHIMIA (2022, 76, No. 5, A496f).
The minutes were approved unanimously and without abstention.
4. Annual Report 2022
The annual report was published in CHIMIA (2023, 77, No. 1-2, A91ff). It was approved unanimously.
5. Financial Report 2022 and Audit Report
David Spichiger presented the financial statement. Operating incomes of CHF 1’827’926 and operating expenses of CHF -1’830’336 result in an operating loss before taxes of CHF -2’410. The portfolio at Bank von Graffenried followed the trend of the financial markets and a loss of -485’330 resulted. Considering taxes, non-periodic income, cost allocation to the funds and the dissolution of 450’000 asset fluctuation buffer an overall surplus of CHF +103’921 resulted.
The assets of all SCS funds decreased by CHF -154’901.
As of 31.12.2022 the assets summed up to CHF 4’566’936.
Audit Report: In the audit report from April 4, 2023, provided by BDO AG, Bern, no inconsistencies are mentioned, and the financial statement fulfills the legal requirements according to the SCS bylaws and the Swiss Civil law.
The assembly approved the financial statement 2022 and the audit report unanimously with no abstention.
6. Discharge the Organs of the Society
The assembly discharged the board members and the financial audit unanimously with four abstentions.
7a. Elections: SCS Executive Board, ExB (and BoD)
The assembly confirmed unanimously
- Maud Reiter, Firmenich SA, as treasurer and member with signing rights in twos for a second term (2024-2026). As ExB member, she also takes a seat on the Board of Directors ex-officio.
7b. Elections: SCS Board of Directors, BoD, and Financial Audit
The assembly confirmed the re-elections for a second term of:
- Leslie Fendt, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (2024-2026)
- Corinne Jud, Agroscope (2024-2026)
The assembly elected:
- Tomas Bürgi, University of Geneva, as member (and president of the Division Fundamental Research) with no signing rights.
The three elected persons accepted their election.
The following BoD member stepped down and the entry in the commercial register will be deleted with immediate effect.
- Stefan Willitsch, University of Basel.
The assembly confirmed BDO AG, Bern unanimously as audit instance for the financials 2023.
8. Membership fees
The annual membership fees 2024 were approved unanimously:
Regular member CHF 150.00
Student member CHF 50.00
Retired member / unemployed members CHF 80.00
Institutional member (institutions) CHF 800.00
SCS Partnership (institutions) CHF 3’000.00
Additional Fees for Divisions
Industrial & Applied Chemistry - Regular/Student CHF 20.00
- Company CHF 100.00
Photochemistry Section - Regular CHF 40.00
- Student CHF 20.00
15% discount on collective memberships for university research groups.
9. News and Strategic Projects
The Board of Directors decided on the following, strategic initiatives that will be pushed in the coming months:
- Establish the network to stimulate industry jobs for Ph.D. students and internships for MSc.
- Further strengthen relationship to industry and include industrial speakers in teaching at Universities and Summer Schools.
- Implement SCS Mentoring Program to accelerate the personal and professional development of mentees. The focus of the SCS Mentoring Program is on career development.
- Merger of the Division Polymers, Colloids and Interfaces with the Materials Chemistry network as of January 2024.
10. Event Outlook 2023
In 2023 twenty-nine conferences and symposia took place or will take place under the direct organization of SCS. In addition, four SCS Lectureship are planned and a dozen of smaller, local, events will be organized.
The list of SCS events is updated regularly and is available on http://scg.ch/events.
11. Varia
No requests to speak were requested from the audience. The President thanked for the confidence and closed the meeting.
Zurich, April 14, 2023
Prof. Christian Bochet David Spichiger
President Executive Director
Documents
David Spichiger, SCS
21.04.2023