Preview of 2007 Issues

Proceedings of the IEEE is an archival, refereed, fully referenced monthly journal that covers all aspects of electronics, electrical engineering, and computer engineering with reviews, surveys, and tutorial papers.

Technology is an ever-changing influence on our world. More than a century ago, Thomas Edison said, in regards to invention and innovation, “There is always a better way.”

Those of us who have the privilege to be associated with this journal sincerely believe that this publication has a very special role to play – to keep its readers informed about placing these “better ways” in perspective and providing insight into the applications of new and emerging technologies. Today, every engineer is under increasing competitive pressure to be informed about the major trends in technologies in order to flourish in their chosen profession. And we hope that you, as dedicated readers of this publication, will continue to rely on this journal as one way to remain informed about better ways in our complex and ever-changing world.

Where are we headed in the year ahead? Our roadmap includes the continual refinement of our new format with a particular emphasis on the use of an ever-increasing amount of color illustrations to bring added life and informational content to the papers and articles that we publish. We also intend to continue all of our features including the two recent ones: 1) the reader letters feature entitled “Your Comments” and 2) a monthly column called “Point of View.”

Clearly, the monthly publication of Your Comments is directly dependent upon receiving letters and emails with your opinions, ideas, or suggestions for future topics to be covered.

In addition to this continuing process however, our journal will be celebrating its 95th continuous year of publication. It is therefore all the more appropriate that our Legacy Project has officially been declared as a “mission accomplished.”

Yes, Proceedings of the IEEE has completed the process of digitizing content back to the very first issue: Volume 1, Issue 1, January 1913. It is all accessible via IEEE Xplore. Let’s briefly consider the significance of this accomplishment.

Prior to the merger with the AIEE in the early 1960s, the Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was the flagship journal of the IRE, and it published all of the papers, discussions, and communications received from the membership. Over the years this material as well as the works of many extraordinary visionaries has been published. This body of work includes a virtual alphabetized directory, or a “Who’s Who” of the innovators of the 20th century, from Edwin Armstrong, the triode tube pioneer, to Zworykin, an important contributor to the development of television. Individuals such as Marconi, de Forest, Hopper, Claude Shannon (the creative genius behind information technology), and John Mauchly, of digital computer fame, also contributed to the journal. Not only can you read about their groundbreaking ideas, but you are able to read these ideas in their own words and writing styles.

Therefore, we hope that our readers can fully appreciate why we view the completion of this project as being of considerable educational and historical value and of importance not just for this journal but to the entire IEEE membership.

We hope you, as subscribers, will partake of the offerings of this illustrious and unique legacy. Of course, there will, as always, be a selection of new material published next year.

We hope you will enjoy the contents we are planning to publish during 2007, which include many exciting special issues, with some special focus on automotive technology, communications, emerging science, and technology and other topics.

We will start the new year with an issue on the subject of Technology of Networked Control Systems. This special issue will cover the state of the art regarding current and soon-to-appear applications. It will also report on a wide range of basic research currently underway in many diverse areas.

The technological evolution of the automobile will be the focus of two special issues in the next year. The first one will be Advanced Automobile Technologies. This special issue presents the foundations of the 21st-century digital automobile. The digital automobile is fast cruising into the information age and is being rapidly redefined through silicon and software; it is often stated that 90% of the future vehicle innovations will stem from these two “driving” technologies. The papers included in the issue will discuss architecture, systems, controls, communications, and computing (including embedded computers).

But how will we power these cars of the future? A special issue on Electric, Hybrid & Fuel Cell Vehicles will review the rapid development of electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. Each of these approaches has its own features and advantages and presently the most visible approach is hybrid vehicles. This special issue will provide a comprehensive overview of various technologies required for success. Significant emphasis will be placed on emerging technologies and trends.

We are very pleased that we have a trio of special issues covering the communications area.

Turbo Techniques: Algorithms and Applications: Turbo codes were invented in the early 1990s by C. Berrou and A. Glavieux. The concept of turbo processing is of primary importance for ensuring the dependability of today’s digital communications. This special issue will provide a comprehensive overview about coding and turbo coding, the design of turbo codes, SISO modules, implementation issues, applications, and related topics.

A special issue on Technical Advances in Deep Space Communications and Tracking will explore new developments in these technologies that enable progress and continue to push space exploration to new frontiers. Communications with planetary spacecraft and spacecraft navigation is possible via the use of a diversity of technological disciplines employing both hardware and software solutions. This special issue will provide a comprehensive overview of enabling technologies in deep space applications.

A third special issue in the communications area on the subject of Adaptive Modulation/Transmission in Wireless Systems will cover the state of the art in adaptive modulation and transmission in wireless communication systems, with a variety of informative papers. It will describe how adaptive systems yield a more efficient use of the limited radio spectrum.

A series of our scheduled special issues will focus on design topics and emerging trends in new technologies next year.

One special issue entitled Leading-edge CAD Solutions for Advanced Digital and Mixed-Signal SoC, will focus on the new challenges in using computer-aided design tools and methodologies due to the huge step-up in the ability to integrate more complex devices on a single silicon die. This special issue includes a diverse group of papers that provide a broad, in-depth review of system-level design and detailed design topics, including background information for readers not experts in the field.

Another special issue, A Future of Integrated Electronics: Moving off the Roadmap, will deal with emerging concepts in microelectronics technologies and approaches that portend to extend the performance of digital electronics and thereby maintain the progression of Moore’s Law. Moreover, the special issue will also present new approaches to electronics technology that enable circuit capabilities not constrained to follow the trends of Moore’s Law, but will enable new applications by delivering new capabilities for future systems.

Another special issue will present coverage of Large-Scale Dynamic Systems. Large-scale dynamic systems are an integral part of many of the disciplines and products that constitute the electrical engineering profession. This special issue deals with three important aspects of such systems: modeling, identification, and control.

We will also publish a special issue on Terahertz Technology: Security and Biological Applications. Terahertz radiation (also known as T-rays or sub-millimeter radiation), approximately in the 0.1–10-THz frequency range, has traditionally been inaccessible – consequently this part of the electromagnetic spectrum used to be called “the terahertz gap.” However, in 1995, Bell Labs found an efficient means of THz generation, demonstrating an imaging technique, coining the term “T-rays.” Historically, industry is transformed every time a new part of the electromagnetic spectrum becomes accessible – T-rays are expected to be at the next frontier. This special issue includes papers chosen so that all the hot application areas from biochemical sensing through to homeland security are represented.

The area of Optoelectronic Devices Based on Quantum Dots will also be covered. In the past few years, increasing interest has been focused on nanosciences and nanotechnology and,in that context, on semiconductor nanostructures. This is mainly due to their low-dimensional character, which allows one to tailor carrier quantum confinement as well as coulomb interaction. The most significant scientific and technological advancement in the field was the introduction of quasi-zero-dimensional (OD) systems, called semiconductorquantum dots, or semiconductor macroatoms. This special issue will provide a comprehensive overview of the explosive growth of quantum dot devices for present-day and future applications in optoelectronics.

We will also have a special issue on the subject of Multimodality Biomolecular Imaging. Recent advances in the molecular and cellular biology of disease processes are providing unique opportunities for biomedical imaging at the molecular scale. It is now possible to specifically target the molecules that signal tissues to prepare for tumor growth or respond to inflammation, vascular injury, and other common events leading to disability. Imaging technologies are now able to view molecular activity, in vivo,bringing the promise of earlier detection and diagnosis of the most debilitating diseases. The special issue provides a multifaceted view of this rapidly growing field of engineering research. It is the first such issue to be published in the Proceedings, and has the potential to be a highly successful publication.

Regular papers: During 2007, there will be an emphasis on invited papers for this journal. The ultimate goal is to publish a wide selection of informative tutorial and survey papers in regular papers issues, which will provide insight into other technologies, both inside as well as outside of readers’ specialties. Each regular paper will continue to be highlighted by an introductory prolog to provide added informational value to our readers.

We hope that our readers will enjoy what we have planned for next year and we strongly encourage you to share your opinions by sending your feedback to our attention. By contributing to our “Your Comments” letters feature, your thoughts will become part of the unique legacy of the Proceedings.

Robert J Trew
Editor-in-Chief

Jim Calder
Managing Editor