The intensity of the scientific activity in the area represented by Commission B, i.e. "Fields and Waves", remains on a very high level and this is particularly true concerning areas which border on and overlap with other Commissions. As a consequence, in spite of the reduced time available, Commission B had a scientific program that was in essence as comprehensive as during previous General Assemblies.

Thus, Commission B organised by itself 10 half-day scientific sessions ( B1-B10 ) consisting of oral contributions and in addition there was a poster session organised around the same theme as each of the oral sessions. Two convenors had been appointed for each of the 10 session topic areas and the convenors were also responsible for the related poster sessions. Commission B also organised two comprehensive poster sessions which had no oral counterparts and which were subdivided into 5 and 4 subsessions respectively , with two convenors for each of these subsessions. In total, approximately 250 poster presentations were scheduled at poster sessions organised by Commission B.

The breadth of the Commission B interests are further illustrated by the fact that Commission B was involved in organising 9 sessions jointly with other Commissions, viz. A, C, D, E, F, J, and K ( sessions AB 1, AB 2, BD 1, BD 2, DB, EB, FAB, JBC, and KB ).

Commission B also contributed in an essential way to Modern Radio Science and Review of Radio Science, 1996-1999. The Commission B contributions to the latter was edited by Prof. Y. Rahmat-Samii., UCLA. As decided at the previous General Assembly in Lille, Commission B contributed to the contents of the CD-ROM with "Collected References" from 1996-1999, distributed together with "Review of Radio Science,1996-1999". The Editor for the Commission B part of this disk was Prof. M. Ando, Tokyo Institute of Technology. In this task he was assisted by 8 topic area editors.

The Commission B Tutorial Lecture, "Electromagnetic System Design Using Genetic Algorithms", authored by E. Michielssen, Y. Rahmat-Samii and D.S. Weile and presented by E. Michielssen was followed by a session ( B2 ) on the same topic and both enjoyed a very high attendance. Other sessions with a high attendance were B3 "Scattering and Diffraction", B4 "Electromagnetic Theory", and B5 "Time-domain Electromagnetics". In general, the attendance at all Commission B sessions was good.

In total there were some 350 ( oral and poster ) papers presented at Commission B sessions, out of a total of 1750. Therefore, Commission B has, as before, a strong interest in getting a share of the time and space available for the scientific program that is commensurate with the scientific contributions of the Commission B community.

The following views and sentiments concerning the arrangements during the Toronto General Assembly were often heard among the Commission B community:

1. The fact that the times for the individual talks were not listed in the final program was very much regretted. As a consequence it was difficult or impossible to plan how to switch between sessions
2. The "one week plus weekends" format for the General Assembly should be kept, but the Council meetings, various committee meetings, and Commission business meetings should be held as much as possible during the weekends at the beginning and the end of the General Assembly
3. Additional efforts should be made to avoid collisions between sessions dealing with closely related topics.

Do not schedule all the poster sessions belonging to one Commission for the same time, as was done for Commission B. The posters should be allowed to stay up some time beyond the time of the poster session.

During the General Assembly, Commission B held one business meeting. The Chair, Prof. Chalmers Butler, gave an exposé over the preparations for the General Assembly and thanked all involved: convenors, editors and others, who had contributed so generously with their time and professional experience. The contributions of all those who were involved in the organisation of the 1998 EM Theory Symposium in Thessaloniki were also recognised and thanked. In addition the Chair gave some statistics concerning the General Assembly, with focus on the Commission B participation.

An important point on the agenda was the completion of the vote concerning incoming vice-chair. The result was that Prof. M. Ando was elected, with Prof. K. Langenberg as alternate

( the URSI Council subsequently appointed Prof. Ando as Commission B vice-chair for the triennium 1999-2002 ).

Taking into consideration that a fairly large number of proposals concerning the venue for the 2004 EM Theory Symposium can be expected, the Chair proposed that, in order to avoid having a succession of votes ( which is time-consuming when conducted by mail ), a committee should be set up with the task of selecting the 2 ( or at most 3 ) most attractive proposals. The national representatives would then be asked to vote, in one ballot, on these proposals. An invitation to Commission B national representatives to submit a proposal will be sent out during the fall of 1999. The vote can then take place well in advance of the 2001 EM Theory Symposium in Victoria, thus giving the organisers of the 2004 Symposium more than three years for their preparations.

Prof. Jens Bornemann, Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the 2001 EM Theory Symposium in Victoria gave a brief presentation of the present status of the preparations for that event.

During the meeting of the Coordinating Committee on August 14, it was suggested that the Commissions should become more active in making sure that a sufficient number of qualified candidates were persuaded to stand for election. Thus it was suggested that the Commissions form a small committee consisting of the vice-chair plus a few experienced scientists which is then charged with the task of vitalising the elections. This pros and cons of this proposal were discussed and it was noted that, even if it is not formalised, Commission B usually operates in a way that is similar to what is now proposed.

The scientific program of a Commission is the responsibility of its Chair, who invites the convenors and editors and coaches them through the arduous process of creating a program that properly reviews and highlights the scientific status of the field. Therefore, on behalf of the Commission B community, I want to express our gratitude and appreciation to Prof. Chalmers Butler, past Chair of Commission B, for his dedicated and successful work in creating the excellent Commission B program at this General Assembly. The same gratitude and appreciation goes to all the convenors and editors for their very professional work.