International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science

Mission

To promote research and development in the field of Machines and Mechanisms by theoretical and experimental methods, along with their practical application.

History

It was on September 29, 1969m at the Second World Congress on Theory of Mechanisms and Machines which took place in Zakopane (Poland), that two scientists, Ivan Artobolevski (USSR) and Erskine Crossley (USA), proposed to establish an International Federation of scientists and engineers to facilitate worldwide collaboration. Representatives of 13 countries signed the foundation act and the International Federation for the Theory of Machines (IFToMM) came to existence. In the 1999, the Executive Council decided to recognize the changing role of the organization in international collaboration and approved a new name: "The International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science". The Executive Council considered that the abbreviation IFToMM was widely used, and therefore suggested to keep it (along with the logo) as a short version of the organization name.

Meetings

1st IFToMM World Congress, Varna, Bulgaria, September 27–30, 1965

2nd IFToMM World Congress, Zakopane, Poland, September 23–27, 1969

3rd IFToMM World Congress, Kupari, Yugoslavia, September 1971

4th IFToMM World Congress, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, September 8–12, 1975

5th IFToMM World Congress, Montreal, Canada. July 8–13, 1979

6th IFToMM World Congress, New Delhi, India, December 15–20, 1983

7th IFToMM World Congress, Seville, Spain, September 17–22, 1987

8th IFToMM World Congress, Prague, Czech Republic, August 26–31, 1991

9th IFToMM World Congress, Milan, Italy, August 29 - September 5, 1995

10th IFToMM World Congress, Oulu, Finland, June 20–24, 1999

11th IFToMM World Congress, Tianjin, China, April 1–4, 2004 (postponed from August 18–21, 2003, due to SARS)

12th IFToMM World Congress, Besançon, France, June 17–20, 2007

13th IFToMM World Congress, Guanajuato, Mexico, June 19–25, 2011

14th IFToMM World Congress, Taipei, Taiwan, October 25–30, 2015 (hosted by National Taiwan University.)

15th IFToMM World Congress scheduled for Kraków, Poland, 2019.

Members

Membership in IFToMM is not individual. Instead, it is by Member Organization (MO) which are akin to national or territorial organizations. Full list of Member Organizations available on the IFToMM web site. Each MO has its own individual or group membership rules.

As of the 2015 General Assembly held in Taipei (Taiwan), IFToMM has 47 Member Organizations. In early 2017, Lebanon joined the IFToMM making them the 48th MO in IFToMM.

Organizational structure

The organizational structure of IFToMM includes following bodies

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the supreme body of the Federation that determines policy. It is composed of the Chief Delegates of IFToMM Members and members of the Executive Council.

Executive Council

The Executive Council is responsible for managing the affairs of the Federation between the sessions of the General Assembly. The Executive Council includes the President, Vice-President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and six ordinary members.

Commissions and Committees

There are four Permanent Commissions (PCs) and 14 Technical Committees (TCs) established under IFToMM supervision. Each Permanent Commission and Technical Committee is composed of a Chairperson, appointed by the Executive Council, and a Secretary and members, nominated by the Chairperson and appointed by the Executive Council. The general goals for the work of the Commissions and Committees are aimed at promoting their fields of interest by attracting researchers and practitioners, including young individuals. The four PCs are:

While the 14 TCs are: