I. Mission Statement

Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE) is an undergraduate student-led research group at Princeton University dedicated to advancing and promoting the field of robotics through competitive challenges, self-guided research and community outreach while providing extracurricular learning and leadership opportunities to student members.

II. Membership

Section 1: Membership Criteria
PAVE places no restriction on membership and does not discriminate on the basis of race/ethnicity, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. All students, both graduates and undergraduates, with an interest in PAVE activities are encouraged to join. Prior experience or technical knowledge in fields relating to robotics is not a requirement for membership eligibility.

Section 2: Responsibilities of Members
Members are responsible for attending all team meetings and actively contributing to PAVE, whether by being part of a specific project or assisting with other activities. Members are also responsible for reporting any occurrences of policy violations to the officers.

Section 3: Revocation of Membership
Engaging in the following activities is not tolerated for any member, and is grounds for dismissal from the group:

• Any form of harassment or abuse directed to other members
• Stealing or making unauthorized use of PAVE property.
• Causing substantial damage to PAVE property without compensation
• Making unfair use of PAVE facilities

Any violation of these policies should be reported to an officer immediately. All officers will then meet, examine the evidence and decide, based on a 66% majority vote, whether or not to dismiss the member in question. Members who have had their membership revoked are eligible to rejoin after one full semester has passed.

III. Officers

Section 1: Organizational Structure
PAVE maintains a flexible organization structure that consists of two levels of leadership. A small team of officers governs and oversees all PAVE activities. In addition, each individual research project has its own set of leaders along with a faculty advisor. Officers are allowed and encouraged to delegate portions of their responsibilities to other members.

Section 2: PAVE Officers
The PAVE leadership consists of three officers: the President, Director of Marketing, and Director of Outreach. The PAVE Officers have the primary responsibility of providing support to individual projects, in addition to the responsibilities described below:

Section 3: Project Officers
Each project within PAVE is required to have its own leadership consisting of a Project Manager and a Logistics Coordinator, whose responsibilities are listed below:

Section 4: Faculty Advisors
All projects must have a faculty advisor. PAVE projects are intended to be student-led and student-driven so the level of faculty involvement is flexible. By agreeing to advise a PAVE project, a faculty member is indicating their belief that the project represents significant academic work. A single faculty advisor may advise more than one project at a time.

Section 5: Selection of New Officers
New leaders are chosen via a selection process undertaken by the existing officers. The selection process is instituted midway through the academic year; during the month of December, before winter break.

Each PAVE officer is responsible for selecting a team member as their replacement and all of the officers must agree to the choice of all nominees. The nominees are informed and asked for consent. If all nominees consent, then the new officers assume their duties beginning on January 1. If any nominee declines, a new nominee is selected by the current officers. Project officers are selected using the same process.

The following selection criteria apply:

• New officers must be undergraduate students not in their senior year.
• Members may not hold more than one Project Officer position at a time, but may be actively involved with another project
• The PAVE Officers may also serve as Project Officers, provided that they are able to successfully fill both roles (see III.6).
• Members can only hold one PAVE officer position at a time
• There is no term limit, and an officer can continue to hold the same position so long as he/she meets the other criteria above.

Section 6: Impeachment of Officers

• Any officers can be impeached for the following reasons:
• Violation of any member policies (see II.3)
• Inability to fulfill their officer role
• Abuses of power

To initiate impeachment proceedings, a member alerts a PAVE officer of a specific violation of PAVE policies, corroborated by physical evidence or testimony from other members. A PAVE officer will then schedule an impeachment hearing, at which the officer is formally charged and the evidence is presented. The officer is given an opportunity to defend the charges. A 66% majority vote of all members in attendance, excluding the accused, is required to confirm impeachment.

An impeached officer may continue participation in PAVE as a member unless he/she engaged in activities warranting revocation of membership (see II.3).

Section 7: Filling Vacancies
In the event that an officer has been impeached or voluntarily steps down, a replacement will be selected in a timely manner. The remaining member(s) of the affected leadership team are responsible for filling the vacancy. For a PAVE officer, all officers must confirm the replacement. For a Project Officer, the new officer must be approved by a 51% majority of all members in the project.

IV. Meetings

To ensure good communication, PAVE mandates a weekly meeting of all officers, to be scheduled and chaired by the President.

Every-other weekly meeting will serve as a progress report meeting, with each project discussing its recent achievements and setbacks. This meeting is open to all members, who are encouraged to attend. These meetings allow for communication, and cooperative problem solving between projects.

Individual projects should also have their own meetings, scheduled and chaired by their respective Project Managers.

V. PAVE Projects

Section 1: Benefits Extended to All Projects
All projects that are administered through PAVE enjoy the shared use of all PAVE facilities and testing locations, as well as logistical support and contacts through which further funding and technical support may be obtained. They also benefit from the knowledge and expertise of other members of PAVE. Use of PAVE facilities is ultimately at the behest of their respective owners or administrators and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Section 2: Project Requirements
The following requirements accommodate a wide range of projects while ensuring that they are well executed and academically rigorous:

• A project must have a minimum of three team members, two of them designated as the Project Manager and Logistics Coordinator, respectively.
• The project must have an achievable goal that aligns with the mission of PAVE.
• Each project is required to have a faculty advisor.
• Each project must be responsible for obtaining their own funding.

Section 3: The Project Approval Process
Any member of PAVE is allowed to submit a project proposal to the President. The proposal shall include the project proposal form with additional supporting materials including, but not limited to:

• A rough plan of action for the project, including facility requirements for implementation and testing.
• A timeline for the entire duration of the project.
• A preliminary budget, including a discussion on the intended means of financing the project.

Once a proposal has been received, the PAVE officers will meet with the project’s officers, at which time they will be given the opportunity to pitch the merits of the project and answer questions from the officers. The officers will then confer and render a unanimous verdict. The decision is final.

VI. Amendments and Ratification

The by-laws discussed in this charter may be temporarily exceeded on a semester-by-semester basis, based on a unanimous decision by all PAVE Officers.

The PAVE Officers must conduct a yearly review of this charter, in consultation with the Project Officers, at the beginning of each academic year. Any PAVE member may also suggest changes to this charter. Any changes must be unanimously approved by the PAVE Officers.

This charter and any subsequent revisions must be approved by a 66% majority of PAVE members.