MESSAGE FROM THE 2014-15 CAS SOCIETY PRESIDENT*

During 2014 we had three Executive Committee meetings: one in February, one in May and the last one in November.

We had two Board of Governors meetings: one during ISCAS in May and the other in November. In addition, I attended two IEEE Technical Advisory Board meetings.

Here is what was done and accomplished at and in-between those meetings:

First, IEEE CAS has been reviewed and the final stage of this review was conducted in February 2014 during our Executive Committee and TAB meetings in Los Angeles. The review committee report was issued in June 2014 and we passed our review without any major issues and remarks. One of the minor issues addressed was the large number of conferences sponsored by IEEE CAS. Our goal has been set to reduce the number of conferences sponsored or endorsed by IEEE CAS. This goal is driven by the desire to assure high quality of the material that is presented at our conferences and subsequently published in IEEE Xplore.

Secondly, we had a substantial change in our administration by changing from IEEE office to the outside contractor – “Conference Catalysts”. This change allowed us to have more direct control over our administration, fast communication and rapid response. In addition, it has saved us a substantial amount of money. We are passing this savings to our members in terms of increased financial support for our chapters, programs and awards, and no increase in membership and subscription fees.

We have strengthened our collaboration with other societies and have signed Memorandums of Understanding with: Technology and Engineering Management Society, IEEE Technical Committee on RFID, and Transportation Electrification Initiative. We also have a very strong relationship with Solid-State Circuits Society and we are co-sponsoring a number of journals with them.

At our Executive Committee and Board of Governors meetings in Melbourne, Australia, we set the course of IEEE CAS which can be summarized in four words: Quality, Reputation, Recognition, Relevance. IEEE CAS society must continuously strive for quality on all levels: publications, conferences, workshops, distinguished lecturer program, awards, and interaction with our chapters and chapter activities. Our chapter activities are the basis and a necessary ingredient for our success. While academic research is important in charting our future, we must also be relevant to our members, in particular to practitioners and those working in the industry. For that purpose, I have formed the Industrial Committee and appointed an industrial representative to the Board of Governors.

At our last Executive Committee and Board of Governors meetings in November, we have furthered our goals on high quality standards in our Distinguished Lecturer program. The Board approved formation of the Distinguished Lecturers committee, lead by our past VP Publications, Dr. Enrico Macii, which will guide the selection of CAS Distinguished Lecturers and assure that those representing CAS are the top experts in the field. The Chair of the Distinguished Lecturers program has also proposed a new set of rules, which were approved by the Board of Governors.

To protect the integrity of our journals, I have appointed Prof. Todd Reed as a Chair and Prof. Joseph Cavallaro as a Co-Chair of the committee that will deal with cases of plagiarism. They are in the process of appointing the members of this committee. The CAS VP Publications is looking into appropriate software packages that can help with handling plagiarism cases.

The CAS VP Conferences, Amara, is in the process of finishing the ISCAS organizers handbook. The BoG discussed, in-depth, the future of CAS-FEST, which is held in conjunction with ISCAS. We are looking forward to the growth and development of CAS-FEST, which is now under the direction of the CAS Long Term Strategy Committee, as voted by the BoG. In addition, on my recommendation, the Board of Governors has approved funds for conference software, which will facilitate the handling of the many conferences that CAS is currently sponsoring. We are also instituting conference leadership training for future conference organizers. With the goal of maintaining and increasing CAS conference quality, we have passed new rules to guide CAS conference sponsorship.

We conducted very active WiCAS events at almost every major CAS conference in 2014. At ISCAS in Melbourne, Australia we held a tutorial and a workshop. In addition, there was a cocktail reception and keynote address featuring Elizabeth Broderick from the Australian Human Rights Commission. At APCCAS 2014, WiCAS organized a lunch meeting to encourage the CAS members in Region 10. ICECS 2014 featured a WiCAS meeting and Young Professionals forum where prizes were awarded for the best papers.

In memory of our past president Prof. John Choma, the IEEE CAS Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve the proposal to rename the IEEE CAS Education Award to the IEEE CAS John Choma Education Award.

In the hopes of increasing student involvement and awarding hard-working students, the CAS Student Travel Awards requirements were changed to include conferences that have already occurred. This will allow for more applicants and more recipients.

We are proud of the progress and successes of IEEE CAS in 2014 and we look forward to the work to be done in 2015. I would be happy to receive any comments and suggestions that can be email to me at: vojin@ieee.org..

Vojin Oklobdzija

2014-15 President, IEEE Circuits and Systems Society

*This article will also be published in the 2015 first issue of the IEEE CAS Magazine.