Message from the President

MESSAGE FROM THE 2007 CAS SOCIETY PRESIDENT*
The Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) has begun 2007 with a healthy financial picture and great opportunities to introduce new initiatives and projects to be pursued throughout the year. Leadership: The members of the CASS Executive Committee (ExCom) held their annual spring meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada. They also participated in the “IEEE Circuits and Systems Workshop, Spring 2007” with talks that promoted a variety of topics within the Circuits and Systems Society's field of interest. The workshop was attended by graduate students, researchers, and professional engineers. At the ExCom meeting, several changes were proposed to the CASS Constitution and Bylaws Committee led by Prof. Georges Gielen. They promise to make the CAS Society more inclusive and equitable and its governance more transparent to our membership. In 2007, we also established a new ad-hoc Committee for Awards Nominations led by Prof. Chris Toumazou, whose charter is to solicit nominations for the major Society (other than the best paper) awards and thus increase the pool of worthy award nominees in 2008. The Society Awards have been selected by our 2007 Awards Committee led by Dr. Ellen Yoffa. The names of the Subcommittee Chairs and the Committee Members have been posted on the Society web page in recognition of their dedicated service. The Long-Term Strategy Committee became a standing committee in 2007. Prof. Thanos Stouraitis and his team are working on strategic plans for the betterment of the Society. The 2007 Society Fellow Evaluating Committee is chaired by Prof. Tony Davies.
Membership services: The CASS Board of Governors approved in 2006 a new initiative for the development and sustaining support of regional activities and local chapters. The goal is to build and support the grass-roots membership of the CAS Society by strengthening local activities and providing additional services to its members. The increased budgetary allocations to the Regional Vice Presidents will support administrative help to enable effective running of Chapter activities within each Region, monitor activities of local Chapters, help formulate programs that will increase Chapter activities, and help establish more frequent direct communications with Chapter Chairs. In 2006, a Chapter Chair’s Kit was produced. A Workshop Kit and a Mentoring Kit are also planned. Of special interest is the organization of chapter and regional workshops and design competitions. We also plan to increase funding to provide student author support for paper presentations at workshops. As part of this initiative, we have continued to proactively seek CASS Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) members and encourage their participation in the Society’s activities and governance.

Technical excellence: You may have already seen the inaugural issue of the new CAS Society Newsletter (Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Chi K. Tse). This is an electronic publication bringing the Society news and timely information on the latest technology and research results. The IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems is the new Society journal (Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Tor Sverre “Bassen” Lande), co-sponsored with the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS). It begins as a quarterly publication with the emphasis on microelectronic applications in life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. The CAS Society has also sponsored two modules in the collection of IEEE Expert Now online courses that feature the best of IEEE's educational content. The two one-hour courses are offered by Prof. George Moschytz and Prof. Gabor Temes and are made available through the IEEE Xplore digital library.
Collaboration with other IEEE Societies and Councils: We are revitalizing our ties with other Societies and Councils by relying on our active representatives to act as liaisons and promote interests of the CAS Society. Many of you have kindly volunteered to serve on various committees as CASS representatives. In 2007, we have also established a new Industry Liaison ad-hoc committee, led by Dr. Ellen Yoffa, with the goal to encourage closer collaboration with industry and to recruit new members. I reiterate my invitation to all members to provide feedback and suggestions, get involved in our Society, and take interest in its governance. The contact information for CASS Executive Office and the names and contact information of CASS volunteers are located on our website (http://www.ieee-cas.org).

Ljiljana Trajkovic President, IEEE Circuits and Systems Society

*This article will also appear in a future issue of the IEEE CAS Magazine.