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1. Board membership
   
   The Board welcomed Dr Bojan Boskovic from Dunlop Braking systems to the Board. Bojan is taking on the role of developing the Divisions contacts with schools as well as contributing fully to the operation of the Division
   
   At the November meeting Mr James Ball finally stood down from the Board. James retired from Airbus a few years ago but stayed on the Board to provide continuity and experience which was greatly appreciated. The Board wish James a happy but inevitably hectic retirement!
   
   Board Members 2007:
   Mr James Ball Retired (Airbus)
   Dr Bojan O. Boskovic Dunlop Aerospace Braking Systems
   Professor Bill Clyne University of Cambridge
   Dr Roger Digby Airbus UK Ltd
   Dr. Rod Martin MERL
   Professor Ivana Partridge Cranfield University
   Mr Andy Rendell EPSRC
   Dr. Graham Sims National Physical Laboratory
   Professor Paul Smith Surrey University
   Dr John Summerscales University of Plymouth
   Dr Garry Wells  Dstl
   Professor Michael Wisnom University of Bristol

 

2. Board meetings
   

    

   The board held three normal meetings in 2007 and an extraordinary meeting in November to pursue actions resulting from the Launch of the British Composite Society in October.

 

3. Opportunities for growth of Division Community or constraints
   

    

   The major development affecting the Division in 2007 has been the transformation of the Division into the British Composites Society. This move, which is in line with the emerging federal structure of the Institute and parallels changes within other Divisions (e.g. Iron and Steel, Polymers) is intended to provide a boost to the activities of the Division and facilitate renewal and revitalisation.
   
   It is hoped that the formation of the Society with allow the new body to closely identify its membership and renew the links between individual members and the Institute which were perceived to have become distant.  The new body will also achieve greater international and national exposure and become a more obvious focus for engineers and scientists working in the general field of composite materials.
   
   As a part of the formation of the Society, the Institute hosted a launch meeting in order to allow members to state their views and to help shape the agenda of the new body. The overwhelming reaction of members to the change was positive and a number of initiatives were proposed including the formation of local BCS sub groups, the establishment of a national research conference and the introduction of a more democratic processes for election the officers of the division, based on the establishment of a constituency drawn from the membership of the institute.
   
   The aspiration of facilitating membership of the BCS for non-members of the institute who were member of other professional bodies was clearly held by many members and this will be pursued with the Institute itself.
   
   The Division in its new guise as the BNCS now has many opportunities for growth and to expand the services and benefits on offer to members.
   
   Regional groups will be considered, probably linked with centres of composites research (e.g. at universities).
   
   The Society will take a lead in developing a professional framework for assessing skill and competence levels for professional working in small and medium sized companies in order to achieve greater recognition of achievements and to facilitate easier progression towards Chartered engineer/scientist.

 

4. Technical programme
   

    

   (Highlights only – detail in Appendix A)
   
   Review of:
   
   a) events run in previous 12 months (Date, location, state)
   Organised with IOM3 and Organised solely by division.
   
   b) events planned for next 12 months
   Organised with IOM3 and Organised solely by division.

 

5. Foresight / Innovation and Growth
   

    

   The Foresight Report on Composites produced in collaboration with the national Composite Network was published and is now freely available from the BCS website Foresight page and the NCN website: http://www.ncn-uk.co.uk/DesktopModules/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=632

 

6. Professional membership developments
   

    

   New membership/upgrades strategy
   Links to IOM3 Local Societies/Branches
   Other issues

 

7. National and international linkages with other Societies /Institutes
   

    

   The Division has established links with most of the significant overseas composites organisations as part of its involvement in the planning of the ICCM-17 meeting in Edinburgh in 2009. It is intended to develop these links further with the possibility of generating joint meetings and exchanges with such relevant bodies in the future. Professor Mike Wisnom and Professor Paul Smith have been leading this development of the division.

 

8. Government interfaces
   

    

   A representative of EPSRC and Dstl serves on the main BCS Board and a representative of UKTI chairs the Meetings and marketing committee. This ensure good feedback between the society and relevant government bodies.

 

9. Awards/prizes
   

    

   The Holliday Prize for 2007 was awarded to Professor Paul Hogg, Chairman of the Composites Division.