The December edition of the Newsletter is typically written before the Fall AdCom meeting and the Technical Activity meeting series; it thus contains less than usual  ‘hot off the press’ content. It does however offer a good opportunity to share some reflections on the activities and progress that was made during the summer months  and some thoughts on priorities for the coming year. 

This process is particularly important this year as, in February 2024, our Society is due for a review by the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) Society and Council Review Committee (SCRC). These reviews occur every five years and their main purpose is to provide feedback and recommendations to the Society/Council to ensure they remain the top organizational unit in their field of interest, help the Societies/Councils in any area they need help, and share best practices among Societies and Councils. In preparation for the review, we need to compile an exhaustive report describing many aspects of the  operations of our Society. While this requires a significant amount of work, it also provides an excellent opportunity for an introspective assessment of what we are doing well and where improvements are needed. 

In the previous review (2019) our society was praised for its organization and  the multi-faceted services it provides to its members, ranging from well-run conferences and publications to educational and humanitarian activities: this has been a testament to a strong member engagement and clear leadership.   An outstanding recommendation by the SCRC was to define and implement a strategic plan.  This task was completed and our strategic plan has been posted on our website.  The current review form asks for the establishment of  a process that ensures that the strategic plan stays current with the overall IEEE vision and mission as well as with specific needs and goals arising from our society. Establishment of such a process will be discussed at the November AdCom meeting.

A new feature of the current review form is its emphasis on Standards by inquiring about our standards activity strategies. IEEE Standards Association is an important IEEE branch, as development of industry-relevant standards mutually benefits both IEEE and industry on several levels, ranging from financial aspects to ensuring manufacturing reliability. At the society level, identification of potential standardization opportunities related to our expertise has the potential to not only contribute to a stronger integration of the society with broader IEEE activities, but it can also directly benefit us by improving and adding value to our industry and academic relationships. Historically, our society has been strongly involved in standards activities including leading the development of NIM, CAMAC and FASTBUS standards in the 1980s and 1990s and also leading development of the µTCA standards in 2004/2005, although the latter were not IEEE standards. In the future greater engagement will be explored as a potential area of growth in the next several years.  We are soliciting input and thoughts on these topics from any of you.

Interestingly, such activity also reflects to some degree the broader IEEE Future Direction Committee  (FDC) resource investment strategy on ‘Megatrends, Roadmaps and Standards.’ This encompasses identification of major global movements (megatrends) likely going to have a significant impact on multiple global aspects of society followed by identification of gaps in technical tools relevant to such megatrends, followed by design of roadmaps on how to address such gaps and ultimately by  wide dissemination of such tools through industry according to agreed-upon standards. 

The recently presented  2024 IEEE TAB budget, likewise lists significant  budgetary investments in the future through support of technical community growth, of Future Direction Committee projects, increased industry engagement and open access (OA) initiatives. Among these, addressing issues related to climate change remains a top IEEE priority. By the time this newsletter reaches its audience, the IEEE Online Forum on Climate Change Technologies (Oct 23^rd – 26^th), will have already taken place. I believe it will be a very informative, action-defining meeting, where recent developments in IEEE technologies and solutions that promote climate stability will be highlighted. NPSS  is a meeting patron/sponsor, so please expect a more detailed report in the next newsletter. 

Importantly, any of these activities is always searching for volunteers; there is much more information about them and opportunities for involvement with associated benefits on several IEEE websites.

Now to some very important ‘housekeeping’ issues directly pertinent to our society:

• As reported in the last newsletter, at the last AdCom we agreed on some ‘best practices’ to be implemented across technical areas in an effort to improve communications and enhance the society value to members. We will hear a report on initial outcomes at the November AdCom meeting. Preliminary evidence suggests that briefly describing IEEE and NPSS activities in the introductory remarks in our meetings noticeably raises the interest in and appreciation of membership. 
• I would like to urge you to propose initiatives for funding and remind you of the new process.  Submitted projects will be discussed at the March AdCom meeting  to identify possible synergies between proposed projects and possible relevance to multiple technical areas. I encourage you to contact your technical area chairs for more information if you are planning to apply.
• There is also a new process for submission and evaluation of the nominations for IEEE Fellow status. The process was described in detail in the September newsletter. An important change is the shifting of the nomination  deadline  from March 1^st, 2024 to February 7^th, 2024. The Fellow Search Committee, chaired by Alberto del Guerra and Jane Lehr is happy to provide help with the assembly of the nominations.

And finally, this is the last time that you will be accessing our Newsletter as a pdf file; it will have a completely new format starting next year.  The new online format will be much more interactive, easier to navigate and easier to access from a larger variety of mobile devices.  We are hoping to receive positive feedback, however constructive criticism is also welcome  as we are continuously striving to better serve and inform our valued members. 

Much more in the new year!

Vesna Sossi, IEEE NPSS President, can be reached by E-mail at [email protected]