Minutes of the BoD Meeting at Crypto 2000

Board of Directors Meeting
Crypto 2000
Santa Barbara
20 August 2000

_______________________________________________________________________

The Board President called the meeting to order at 10:00am.

Present were Balenson, Beaver, Benaloh, Berson, Biham, Cachin, Dawson,
Feigenbaum, Franklin, Kim, Landrock, Langford, McCurley, E. Okamoto, T.
Okamoto,  Preneel, and Van Oorschot.  Also present as an observer was
Mickey Swick.

Proxies were held by McCurley for Maurer, by Van Oorschot for Diffie, by
Landrock  for Vanderwalle, by Preneel for Posch, and by T. Okamoto for
Matsumoto.
_______________________________________________________________________

McCurley solicited additions to the agenda.  Feigenbaum asked for
maintenance of  service lists to be added to the agenda.  Landrock asked
that the election  committee be discussed.

************************************************************************
Minutes of the 14 May 2000 meeting were approved with a spelling
correction.   Motion by McCurley seconded by Feigenbaum carried 19 to 0.
************************************************************************
_______________________________________________________________________

Feigenbaum congratulated Franklin on his recent marriage.
Congratulations were  added by others.
_______________________________________________________________________

Crypto 2000 General Chair Franklin then reported on Crypto 2000 status.

He indicated 468 registrants as of August 17 which appeared to be
slightly lower  than that of '99.  He said that management closely
matched that of the previous  year and that budget items were on target.

Beaver asked about student support.  Franklin said that this was the
same as the  previous year.  He added that support totaling $13,100 was
given to 21 students  and that student authors were given free
registration and stipends while student  non-authors were generally
given free registration alone.

McCurley asked if registration had been smooth.  Franklin responded that
it had  been but that budget formats differed from the previous year.
Langford agreed to  meet with Swick to look into this.

McCurley asked about sponsorships and conference facilities.  Franklin
responded  that the facilities were in good shape and that no corporate
sponsorships had  been solicited.

McCurley asked about travel expenses and other difficulties.  Franklin
responded  that there had been some co-ordination difficulties with
Crypto 2000 Program  Chair Bellare, and it was agreed that guidelines
for reimbursement of program  committee member travel expenses need to
be clarified.

McCurley offered thanks to Franklin for his work and all concurred.
_______________________________________________________________________

The issue of IACR Distinguished Lectures was then raised.

McCurley reported that Tom Berson would be delivering the IACR
Distinguished  Lecture at Asiacrypt 2000.

It was felt by McCurley and others that a clear process was needed to
select the  venue and lecturer for future distinguished lectures.

Feigenbaum suggested better co-ordination with program chairs was
necessary.

Biham suggested that these decisions needed to be made further in
advance.

Cachin observed that the Board had decided that it would select
lecturers.

McCurley suggested that many of the difficulties could be avoided if the
board  established a clear process and made its selections far in
advance.  He then  asked how often distinguished lectures should be
given suggesting one per year or  one per conference as possible
schedules.

Benaloh suggested that the schedule would be simplest if distinguished
lectures  were given at every conference or annually at the same
conference.

Feigenbaum and Landrock suggested that the lecture should rotate between
conferences.  

McCurley supported the idea of one distinguished lecture per conference.

Van Oorschot suggested a rotation and observed that a "backwards"
rotation with a  lecture given at every other conference would allow an
increased frequency over a  once per year schedule.

Preneel suggested that some flexibility might be beneficial.

Cachin suggested a schedule wherein lectures would rotate, in order,
from  Eurocrypt to Crypto to Asiacrypt.

Biham and McCurley supported Preneel's view that more flexibility might
be  desirable.

Cachin expressed a desire for clarity.

Van Oorschot suggested an "overridable" default.

************************************************************************

Feigenbaum offered a motion that there be one IACR Distinguished Lecture
per year  with the venue alternating in order from Eurocrypt to Crypto
to Asiacrypt  (beginning with Eurocrypt in 2001) and that the
distinguished lecturer be chosen  the prior year at the August meeting
of the Board.  Cachin seconded the motion  which carried by a vote of 16
to 0 with 4 abstentions.

************************************************************************
 
McCurley wanted to make clear that the intent of the designation was to
honor  long-term contributions to the field.

An e-mail message from Maurer was read which included the suggestion
that the award should be given for profound and continuing achievement
in the field.

Feigenbaum suggested that "lifetime" be substituted for "long-term".

Berson asked what fraction of conference attendees are "first-timers"
and  wondered how important continuing achievements were to this
constituency.

Feigenbaum suggested that one of the selection criteria could be
speaking  ability.

Biham asked whether the title "Distinguished Lecturer" was appropriate.

McCurley suggested that the criteria should include "profound and
continuing research achievements and influence on the field".

Cachin asked if the selection should be accompanied by a citation and
referred to Maurer's e-mail message suggesting that the introduction be
given by the IACR  President whenever possible and that an announcement
of the selection be made at  the August Business meeting.

Van Oorschot and Cachin suggested that the introduction always be made
by a  member of the Board.

Berson emphasized the importance of putting these rules in writing as
part of the  general chair guidelines.

Van Oorschot suggested that information on distinguished lectures be
added to the  IACR web site.

Cachin agreed to make this addition and to include the actual addresses
when  available.

McCurley summarized that we have agreed that a citation by the Board
should be  given with each distinguished lecture and that the
introduction should be given  by the IACR President.

************************************************************************

The Board then voted to select Andrew Odlyzko as the IACR Distinguished
Lecturer  with the lecture to be presented at Eurocrypt 2001.

************************************************************************
________________________________________________________________________

Membership Secretary Beaver then reported on current issues.

Beaver said that a formal contract with the IACR Secretariat at Santa
Barbara was  to be finalized.  There was to be no on-site secretariat
support available after  Asiacrypt 2000.  He then asked whether off-site
services might be available and  reported on concerns from some members
that payments always be in US dollars.

Langford said that the infrastructure provided by the Secretariat is
advantageous.

Benaloh asserted that the single payment type was preferable.

Swick offered that the Secretariat could manage payments and services
remotely.

Beaver expressed concerns about flexibility for individual conferences.

Dawson noted that Asiacrypt 2001 is using a booking service.

McCurley rued that for Asiacrypt 2000, two separate forms must be
submitted.

Swick noted that this causes confusion and that it would be helpful to
have a  database of bookings available.

Swick then reported that in 1999, the IACR had 992 members (including 82
students) and that this decreased in 2000 to 937 members (including 65
students).

Berson asked how many nationalities were represented and Swick agreed to
explore  this.

Benaloh asked what the expectation was for a new contract.

Swick responded that having a contract this year would be desirable.

________________________________________________________________________

The Board then adjourned for lunch at 11:57 and reconvened at 12:14.

________________________________________________________________________


Journal Editor Feigenbaum reported on the Journal of Cryptology.  She
announced  that five new members had been added to the editorial board
replacing five  members who had retired.  She indicated that
approximately two or three issues  were complete and ready for
publication and that roughly ten additional papers  were nearly ready.
She also said that she was contemplating special issues and  soliciting
ideas in that regard.

McCurley asked about cost of the Journal, and Langford responded that we
had no  guarantees for the coming year.  Feigenbaum offered to get
McCurley the name of a  contact at Springer-Verlag.

McCurley asked about electronic publishing, and Feigenbaum responded
that she  believed that the production and formatting work done by
Springer-Verlag were  very valuable.

McCurley thanked Feigenbaum for her work on the Journal and unanimous
applause  was given.

________________________________________________________________________


A financial report was then given by Treasurer Langford.

Langford recommended no change in IACR dues and reported moving
approximately  $75,000 in funds from a checking account to a higher
interest liquid account.   She reported that 1999 taxes had been filed
and that errors had been discovered  in the 1998 tax forms which showed
approximately $70,000 in excess revenues and  for which a specialist CPA
had been hired to make corrections.

Langford also reported IACR assets of approximately $300,000 with funds
from the  current Crypto conference forthcoming.  Additionally, she
noted that the  Secretariat had thus far only billed the IACR for
services through September  1999.

Langford indicated that the two major outstanding issues were the
Journal and the  Secretariat.

________________________________________________________________________

Editor Cachin then reported on the Newsletter and Web Site.

Cachin noted that job listings had been added to the Newsletter.  He
said that  each listing is in a precise, pre-structured format and is
included in only one  issue of the Newsletter.  He also reported that
the Newsletter was being sent to  840 addresses of which approximately
35-45 are returned as invalid.

Cachin also asked if a version of the IACR logo was available in
electronic form.   McCurley answered that the original logo was in
"Corel Draw Format" (.cdr) and  came from Jimmy Upton.

Benaloh observed that the Board of Directors lists on the Web Site
needed  updating.

McCurley asked about archiving a video of the Crypto '98 conference.
Feigenbaum  suggested that we should avoid cluttering the Web Site.

McCurley then thanked Cachin for his work on the Newsletter and Web Site
and  unanimous applause was given.

Berson then noted that Langford had not been thanked for her work as
Treasurer  and thanked her as she received unanimous applause.

________________________________________________________________________


McCurley then raised the issue of Board elections noting that the terms
of  Berson, T. Okamoto, and van Oorschot were expiring.  He noted that
nomination  forms were available.

McCurley asked how many ballots were spoiled in the last election, and
Landrock  responded that there had been approximately 50 spoiled
ballots.

________________________________________________________________________

Preneel then reported on Eurocrypt 2000.

He said that complete numbers were not yet available as some invoices
may be  pending.

He reported 481 attendees of which 91 were students.  Approximately
$232,000 in  registration fees were collected and approximately $14,500
was received from  sponsors.  Approximately $103,000 was spent on
catering and approximately $7,000  on student stipends.  After other
expenses, the conference would likely return a  surplus of between
$20,000 and $25,000.

________________________________________________________________________

E. Okamoto then reported on the Asiacrypt Steering Committee.

He said that the steering committee had met during the Eurocrypt 2000
conference  to consider proposals for Asiacrypt 2002.  Proposals were
received for New  Zealand, Hong Kong, and India, and he reported that
the Steering Committee was  recommending the New Zealand proposal
together with recommendations for a Program  Chair.

McCurley asked if the Steering Committee was satisfied with the
selection process  and E. Okamoto responded that the members were happy.

McCurley expressed his pleasure with the Asiacrypt process and suggested
a  similar process be considered for Eurocrypt.  Cachin seconded the
idea.

________________________________________________________________________

E. Okamoto then reported on the upcoming Asiacrypt 2000 conference.

He noted that two separate registrations were required -- one for the
conference  and another for the hotel.  He reported 140 papers submitted
with 1 paper  withdrawn and 45 acceptances (a 32% acceptance rate).  He
indicated that it was  decided to not distinguish between the accepted
papers but that the presentation  times would vary between 20 and 25
minutes.  He also noted two invited talks --  the IACR Distinguished
Lecture to be given by Berson and a talk by Professor Imai  on Japanese
Government hardware standardization.

McCurley asked that 30 minutes be reserved for an IACR business meeting
and T.  Okamoto agreed to do so.

________________________________________________________________________


McCurley then raised the issue of Asiacrypt 2003.

E. Okamoto reported that two previously rejected proposals would both be
resubmitted.

Dawson reported that the Taiwan proposal (withdrawn after the
earthquake) would  also be resubmitted.

E. Okamoto said that a recommendation would be made by the Asiacrypt
steering  committee at the Asiacrypt 2000 meeting in Kyoto and that this
recommendation  would be presented to the Board at its meeting during
Eurocrypt 2001.

________________________________________________________________________


Progress in planning for Eurocrypt 2003 was then discussed.

McCurley described an attempt to move to London the site of an earlier
proposal  for Bristol.

Landrock told of a planned exploratory visit to Poland.

Preneel said that there would be another conference in Poland in late
2002.

Berson noted that IACR has a growing Polish membership.

Landrock said that he had not heard from the sponsors of last year's
proposal for  Italy about the possibility of resubmitting this year.

McCurley thanked Landrock for his efforts.

________________________________________________________________________


Feigenbaum then asked for a volunteer to take on the task of maintaining
lists of  general chairs, program committee members and chairs, and
potential new committee  members.

Benaloh agreed to add this to the responsibilities of the IACR
Secretary.

________________________________________________________________________


Franklin then left to attend to conference duties and gave his proxy to
Berson.

________________________________________________________________________


Planning for Asiacrypt 2002 was then discussed.

E. Okamoto presented the Asiacrypt Steering Committee's recommendation
for New  Zealand.

Henry Wolfe presented the proposal for conference dates of 1-5 December
2002 at  the Millennium Hotel in Queenstown, New Zealand.  The hotel
costs would be under  $100 per night.

************************************************************************

The motion to accept the New Zealand bid was offered by Berson and
seconded by  Beaver.  The motion carried 19 to 0 with 1 abstention.

************************************************************************

The Board then voted to ask Yuliang Zheng to serve as program chair.
[This offer  was subsequently accepted.]

________________________________________________________________________


Crypto 2001 General Chair Balenson then reported on the status of the
conference.

Balenson asked the Board about possible corporate sponsorship.  Members
felt that  seeking sponsorship was not necessary but could benefit
students by funding  stipends.  It was also noted that if sponsorships
were obtained then they should  be explicitly acknowledged by the IACR
President at the business meeting and any  other opportunities.

Balenson also raised questions about exhibits, the rump session, and a
possible  20th anniversary celebration.

________________________________________________________________________


The Board then discussed planning for Crypto 2002.  The Board voted to
ask  Rebecca Wright to serve as General Chair and Moti Yung to serve as
Program Chair.   [Both offers were subsequently accepted.]

________________________________________________________________________


The Board then heard from Preneel representing the ad hoc Conference
Committee  consisting of Biham, Maurer, and Preneel.

Preneel reported on many Crypto-related workshops that had become
established.   These included the Fast Software Encryption Workshop
(since 1993), the  Information Hiding Workshop (since 1996), Financial
Cryptography (since 1997),  the International Workshop on Practice and
Theory in Public Key Cryptography  (since 1998), and the Workshop on
Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems  (since 1999).

He noted that the IACR currently sponsors three major annual conferences
and  recommended that sponsorship be selectively extended to workshops
that have been  well-established for at least two years, that have
crypto-related content,  scientific criteria for acceptance, are
ongoing, do not conflict in scheduling  with other IACR activities, are
open and non-profit, and have reliable people in  charge.

He proposed that a steering committee make recommendations to the IACR
board on  General Chairs, Program Chairs, and conference venues.  He
also proposed an  exchange of representatives between the proposed
steering committee and the IACR  Board and a financial commitment from
the IACR.  Finally, it was recommended that  the IACR maintain a list of
candidate workshops.

Feigenbaum asked why the IACR should consider this expansion.  Biham
responded  that he felt that more specialized conferences were useful
and good for the IACR.

Berson observed that the IACR was established as a way to keep the
resources in  the community.

McCurley observed that the IACR was already paying for Secretariat
services that  allowed for better growth.

Berson said that he found the Asiacrypt Steering Committee model
attractive.

Cachin observed that this would change the managerial model for the IACR
Board.

McCurley suggested the need for a permanent conference committee.

Benaloh suggested separate steering committees for each affiliate
workshop.   Feigenbaum agreed adding a suggestion that these steering
committees provide the  IACR Board with a short list of possible Program
Chairs (rather than a single  selection).

Preneel agreed that the IACR should maintain control of Program Chair
selections.

Van Oorschot asked whether these events were best labeled as workshops
or  conferences.  Cachin added that we need to avoid calling Crypto a
workshop.

Preneel suggested the formation of a permanent conference committee to
consider  budgets for such affiliated workshops.  McCurley questioned
whether this was the  best use of the Board's time.

Dawson suggested that this might be too much work for the Board and
suggested  starting with a Eurocrypt steering committee.  Benaloh asked
how such a committee  would be structured.  Cachin suggested that such a
committee could be an  outgrowth of the Board with both Board members
and non-members.

McCurley again suggested the formation of a permanent conference
committee.   Benaloh asked if this would be an unnecessary layer.

Van Oorschot offered a motion to create a Eurocrypt steering committee
with the  responsibility of soliciting, evaluating, and recommending
conference particulars  including General Chairs, possible Program
Chairs, and venues.  He also proposed  that the Board appoint a chair of
this committee who is empowered to add other  members.  Preneel seconded
this motion.

Benaloh asked if there would be rules for who could join this committee.

McCurley appointed Cachin, Clark, Landrock, Maurer, and Preneel to serve
as  members of a new Eurocrypt Steering Committee.

McCurley then asked about the financial status of the Fast Software
Encryption  Workshop.

Preneel reported that the workshop had no reserves and had run on a
break-even  basis each year.

Kim said the he doesn't know what the financial model is for the Public
Key  Cryptography conference.

McCurley suggested that this process was optional.

************************************************************************

The formal motion to establish a Eurocrypt steering committee with the
responsibility of soliciting, evaluating, and recommending conference
particulars  including General Chairs, possible Program Chairs, and
venues was then voted on.   The motion carried 18 to 1 with 1
abstention.

************************************************************************

McCurley then asked for volunteers to take responsibility for contacting
other  conferences to explore the possibility of creating affiliations
and/or  sponsorships.

________________________________________________________________________


At this point, Berson noted that Clark had volunteered to serve as the
IACR  election returning officer but NOT as the Election Committee
Chair.  Benaloh  agreed to serve as Chair of the Election Committee.

________________________________________________________________________


The issue of the published IACR membership list was then discussed.

McCurley reported that several members have complained about SPAM
originating  from conference attendee list data.

Feigenbaum said that the consensus was that we allow members to not have
their  names listed.

Beaver asked if this was an issue for the business meeting.

Preneel asked if IACR members could use the lists for announcements.

________________________________________________________________________


McCurley then reported that he had two boxes of leftover proceedings
from Crypto  '98 and '99.

Preneel suggested that Program Committee members who did not attend the
conference get copies.

The consensus was that any leftover proceedings be sold.

________________________________________________________________________


McCurley then suggested amending the IACR by-laws by changing the quorum
requirement of 25 members at a business meeting to 25% of the
membership.   Preneel expressed a view that such a change was not
necessary.

Cachin asked if the by-laws should be amended to reflect new committees
being  established.  Berson said that the by-laws are a legal document
and that these  details did not belong there.

________________________________________________________________________


Cachin then reported that the E-print library was doing well and was up
to 50  submissions.

________________________________________________________________________


McCurley then solicited topics to be covered in the business meeting.

It was agreed that the following topics should be included.

- Announcement of Andrew Odlyzko as the 2001 IACR Distinguished Lecturer
- Journal of Cryptology report (Feigenbaum)
- Membership report (Beaver)
- Elections report (Benaloh)
- Discussion of possible affiliate workshops
- Discussion of membership list usage
- Asiacrypt 2000 report (E. Okamoto)
- Solicitation of future conference proposals
- Treasurers report (Langford)
- Newsletter report (Cachin -- to be delivered by McCurley)
- Announcements of upcoming conferences, Program Chairs, and General
Chairs

________________________________________________________________________

The meeting adjourned at 17:27.

________________________________________________________________________



Respectfully submitted
Josh Benaloh
IACR Secretary



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