Biophysical Society Bulletin | December 2022

President’s Message

Officers President

Gail Robertson President-Elect Taekjip Ha Past-President Frances Separovic Secretary Erin Sheets Treasurer Samantha Harris Council Patricia Bassereau Henry Colecraft Erin C. Dueber Martin Gruebele Gilad Haran Kumiko Hayashi Syma Khalid Francesca Marassi Susan Marqusee Carolyn A. Moores

ensued regarding Council’s need to be more intentional in maintaining industry represen tation on Council. Stay tuned for more on this topic after the next Council meeting. As mentioned in our column from Council in San Francisco (https:/ biophysics.cld.bz/Bio physical-Society-Bulletin-April-2022/2/), we created a Task Force on Awards Nominations to look into reducing barriers to nominations. Task force discussions and recommendations were reported to Council, who approved the recommendation to implement a self-nomina tion process for BPS Society awards beginning with the 2024 awards cycle. This new process is intended to increase the diversity of nom inations and the accessibility of awards to the broader BPS membership. Whether these benchmarks are achieved will be determined after a three-year trial period. Another effort aimed at reducing barriers for nominations includes a workshop hosted by Council and Task Force member Susan Marqusee at BPS 2023 on writing effective award nomination and support letters. Secretary Erin Sheets provided an update on Subgroups and presented the “Subgroup Re port Card,” which was implemented just over a year ago primarily as an objective assess ment aid for Subgroup leadership. Director of Publications John Long presented Biophysical Journal’ s editorial board appointments for 2023 from Editor-in-Chief Vasanthi Jayaraman . President-Elect Taekjip Ha led a discussion about Spring Council 2023, which will be held at the BPS offices in Rockville, Maryland in June. Use Your Expertise to Make a Difference!

Council agreed that an in-person meeting is beneficial not only to the incoming Council members but also for building and maintaining the relationships that allow us to effectively engage and respectfully discuss all issues, challenging or otherwise, in pursuit of our mission. Efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive global community were apparent throughout the Council meeting. Co-chairs expressed chal lenges in supporting speakers with family care responsibilities, especially those with young children, and others facing ongoing travel restrictions or financial limitations. Council re viewed feedback from a speaker demographic and inclusion survey, a starting point in our efforts to ensure a welcoming environment. These themes continued with the presentation of new proposals for a refugee support fund and low-income country travel awards, the discussion of trainee or early career members in leadership, awards nominations, and more. Integrity and transparency figured prominently in discussions of process. Overall, the meeting was a success owing to the commitment of Council members to respectful discussions and meaningful change. As always, we welcome your questions and feedback at any time (garobert@wisc.edu and jpesanelli@biophysics.org) and thank you for being a part of this vibrant organization! — Gail Robertson , President — Jennifer Pesanelli , Executive Officer

Kandice Tanner Valeria Vasquez Biophysical Journal Vasanthi Jayaraman Editor-in-Chief The Biophysicist Sam Safran Editor-in-Chief Biophysical Reports

Jörg Enderlein Editor-in-Chief

Society Office Jennifer Pesanelli Executive Officer Newsletter

Executive Editor Jennifer Pesanelli Managing Editor John Long Production Ray Wolfe Proofreader/Copy Editor The Biophysical Society Newsletter (ISSN 0006-3495) is published eleven times per year, January-December, by the Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Distributed to USA members and other countries at no cost. Cana dian GST No. 898477062. Postmaster: Send address changes to Biophysical Society, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 1110, Rockville, MD 20852. Copyright © 2022 by the Biophysical Society. Darren Early Laura Phelan

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December 2022

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