1. WELCOME

This issue - requests by the IEEE ComSoc WCET certification program, a call for IEEE Fellow nominations, the December Top Ten list, the ComSoc/Wiley Book of the Month for Februaryand The Best of the Best: Fifty Years of Communications and Networking Research plus and the latest in Standards, Periodicals, and Imminent Events.

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2. ANNOUNCEMENTS

Working in the Wireless Industry?... IEEE ComSoc Wireless Communications Engineering Technology (IEEE ComSoc WCET) certification program is looking for focus group applicants. If you are going to be in Barcelona (3GSM), Feb 15-16; Hong Kong (WCNC), 14-15 March, or Orlando (CTIA), 27-28 March and wish to participate in a 2-3 hour review of the draft practice analysis, you can apply by completing the form. Focus groups at Regional IEEE meetings include Lima, Peru, 7 March; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 22 March; Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 25 March, and Sophia, Bulgaria, 13 April. Click on a city name to apply.

New Online Tutorial Posted...Synchronization of Digital Telecommunications Networks by Stefano Bregni has recently become available. A free five minute preview is available. View all online tutorials at the ComSoc Tutorials Now program web page.

Special Prepublication offer for ComSoc members....a 700 page volume with 55 of the most significant journal papers published by the IEEE Communications Society -- The Best of the Best: Fifty Years of Communications and Networking Research edited by Tranter, Taylor, Ziemer, Maxemchuk, and Mark. It’s a compilation of the most outstanding papers published by ComSoc -- Cerf, Kahn, Kleinrock, Lucky, Baran, Viterbi, and many more. More… Order your copy at the prepublication price of $49. Order here. Type “PrePub” in the special instructions to receive the prepublication offer price. Valid until 31 Mar 2007. Copies are available for shipping.

You can achieve financial independence and retire! ...In the February ComSoc/Wiley Book of the Month Golio, an electrical engineer, guides you through all the salient questions and decisions. Whether retirement is imminent or many years off, Engineering Your Retirement provides you with a straightforward, analytical approach to financial independence and answers the critical questions to achieving successful, comfortable, and meaningful retirement.. Check the ComSoc www site each month for new special offers.  

Special Offer for online tutorials coming to renewing ComSoc members... 2007 ComSoc members who were members in 2006 (renewing members) should watch their e-mail for a special offer on selected Tutorials Now titles. Each $250 online tutorial will be offered for $25!!! This will be an e-mail only offer.  

Coming in April and May....Metropolitan Optical Networking and Wireless/Optical Integration, an IEEE Communications Society Webinar, in two 90 minute sessions, sponsored by NEC Labs America, similar to the Business Application Sessions at our major conferences. Part 1 (second week of April): Next Generation Access: Optical + Mobility. Moderated by Steve Weinstein, Comsoc's Chief Information Officer; Part 2, (second week of May): Implementing Optical/Wireless Integration. Moderated by Kazem Sohraby, Comsoc's Director of Online Content. No cost to audience. Watch for future messages on date, time and the URL for signup and viewing.

ABET Accrediation Criteria and Procedures Now Availablein in Spanish...The IEEE recently teamed with ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, to provide 2006-2007 accreditation criteria and procedures in Spanish. The translated documents are now available online. ABET, Inc. is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies. The project was supported by the Educational Activities Board and the IEEE Peru Section. For access to the translated documents, visit
http://dfl.ece.drexel.edu/icacit/index.php?PAGE=DOCUMENTS

IEEE Foundation Seeking 2007 Grant Applications...The IEEE Foundation is seeking grant applications for 2007 projects in accordance with its objective to improve the technological literacy of society from childhoodthrough adulthood.
During 2007, unsolicited applications will be accepted in three cycles from IEEE units and other organizations working in areas of relevance and importance to the IEEE and its membership. Projects should achieve one or more of the following objectives:
* Improve primary and secondary science, technology, and math learning;
* Encourage pre-university students to consider engineering as a career path;
* Increase the public's understanding of the role of engineers and technology in society;
* Preserve the history of IEEE associated technologies;
* Tap the technological expertise of IEEE members;
* Demonstrate ability to be replicated.

To learn more about the IEEE Foundation's grant guidelines, and to submit an online application, visit http://www.ieeefoundation.org.

Engineering Education Gets Its Own Reality Show... Reality television has exploded in popularity over the past few years,
introducing everything from survival on a deserted island to ballroom dancing. But can reality TV boost the popularity of engineering? Some believe it can, and to prove that point the IEEE is providing some of the funds for "Design Squad," a new half-hour weekly television program. Learn more at http://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/4972/08135741

Valparaiso Wins Region 4's First Ethics Competition...To judge by recent headlines, we live in a world increasingly troubled by unethical behavior. That's all the more reason to applaud Region 4 (central United States) for sponsoring a competition to promote
awareness of ethical concepts and challenges among engineering students. For more on the competition, visit
http://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/4977/08135741

Teaching Teachers a Smidgen of Engineering...In 2006, the IEEE Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) expanded beyond
the United States to Malaysia and South Africa, and this year the program has its sights set on Argentina, Kenya, and Peru. But before the volunteers can begin work, they need a little help themselves on how to inject engineering principles into lesson plans. Read on at
http://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/4981/08135741

Class of 2007 Fellows Posted Online...The 2007 Class of Fellows has been elected. To see the list of the
268 new Fellows, go to http://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/4982/08135741

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INDUSTRY EVENTS

The 3GSM World Congress
Where the Mobile Industry meets the future
Barcelona
12 - 15 February 2007
http://www.3gsmworldcongress.com

3. RECENT EVENTS

3.1 AWARDS

Digital Signal Processing and System Theorist Dr.Thomas Kailath Named 2007 IEEE Medal of Honor Recipient
Dr. Thomas Kailath, a respected leader in digital signal processing and systems theory, has been named the recipient of the 2007 IEEE Medal of Honor for “exceptional development of powerful algorithms in the fields of communications, computing, control and signal processing.” Some of Kailath’s most recent research has influenced modern work in semiconductor manufacturing and wireless communications. Kailath, a professor of engineering at Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., will be presented with the award at the annual IEEE Honors Ceremony in June 2007. The award is sponsored by the IEEE Foundation. To view the full press release, visit
http://www.ieee.org.

For a full listing of 2007 IEEE Medal recipients and other honorees, visit:
http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/2007medalrecips.html

Nominations Due Soon for IEEE Tomiyasu Award
The deadline to nominate a colleague for the IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award is 31 January 2007. The award is given to individuals or teams of up to three people for outstanding contributions made in early or mid career that laid the groundwork for innovative applications in the IEEE's fields of interests. Read more at http://bmsmail3.ieee.org:80/u/4919/08135741

For information about ComSoc awards, visit http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/org/operation/awards/index.html

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3.2 SOCIETY NEWS

If you are not already a member, you can join ComSoc online. Find out more about the benefits of becoming a ComSoc member and to apply for membership visit: http://www.comsoc.org/join/index.html

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3.3 CHAPTER NEWS

The North America Region Regional Chapter Chair Congress was attended by over 30 chapters chairs and was held in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada , Jan 11th to Jan 13th, 2007. For more information, please go to: http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/org/chapters/RCCC/2007/NA/index.html

The Latin American Regional Chapter Chair Congress will be held in Lima, Peru, March 6th to March 8th, 2007

Several ComSoc chapter promote interesting seminars for their associate members. Please, check below a sample of these seminars.
The series of seminars of the Rochester Communications Chapter can be checked at http://ewh.ieee.org/r1/rochester/

The ComSoc Portugal Chapter also promotes interesting talks. Incoming talks are:

Talk:Optimisation of 3G Networks
Speaker: Ian Oppermann, University of Oulu and Nokia Networks, Finland.

GPL, MIT, BSD, OSS (and me): Introduction to Open Source
Therese Catanzariti, GE Healthcare, Finland.

All the relevant information concerning the ComSoc Portugal Chapter is available at: http://www.comsoc.org/portugal/index_eng.htm

The Chicago chapter is another example of chapter which is active in promoting seminars.

Talk: WiMAX update
Speaker: Dr. Darcy Poulin
Date: 2007-02-13

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r4/chicago/php/meeting_detail.php?mcode=89

Talk: Wireless IPTV
Date: 2007-03-13
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r4/chicago/php/meeting_detail.php?mcode=66
For more information, please check:
http://www.ieeechicago.org/meetings.php

The IEEE North Jersey Section of the Communication Society is one the chapters with a long history of offering outstanding seminars. Please, check tits page:

http://www-ec.njit.edu/~ieeenj/comm.html

For more information about ComSoc chapters, see http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/org/chapters/index.html

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3.4 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE NEWS

The latest newsletter of the Satellite and Space Communications Technical Committee are now available

Newsletter Vol 16, No. 2:
http://www.comsoc.org/%7Essc/about/newsletter/sscnlv16n2.pdf

The winner of the 2006 Satellite Communications Distinguished Service Award is Prof. Abbas Jamalipour (past chair of the TC) from the University of Sydney. A nice picture of the current SSC TC chair Mario handling the award to Abbas is available on the front page of the SSC TC website.
http://www.comsoc.org/~ssc/

For information about ComSoc technical committees, see http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/org/operation/techcom/committees.html

3.5 STANDARDS NEWS

New 802 Networks Standard, IEEE 802.16?/Conformance04-2006: Conforming to the MAN Standard below 11 GHz
Anyone involved with metropolitan area networks should be interested in the newly published IEEE 802.16?/Conformance04-2006, "Standard for Conformance to IEEE 802.16 - Part 4: Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) Proforma for Frequencies below 11 GHz".

This specification lets those who supply base or subscriber stations operating at less then 11 GHz state which capabilities and options are included in their equipment when they claim to have implemented the protocol. It also gives users a way to evaluate a product's conformance and see if it meets their needs.

IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications for Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)
IEEE's standard for low-rate, wireless personal area networks has seen broad and growing use since it was approved in 2003. Now the standard, which allows inexpensive wireless communications for industrial sensors, smart tags, interactive toy, inventory tracking and other applications, has been extended and made easier to use.

The new version, IEEE 802.15.4 - 2006, "Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications for Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs)", removes ambiguities and unnecessary complexity. It also addresses such issues as making security more flexible, reducing association time for non-beacon networks, and adding a method for shared time-base distribution. Beyond this, it supports new frequency allocations in Europe, China and Japan and extends 2.4 GHz modulation to yield higher data rates at lower frequency bands. and transformers as well as interrupters such as circuit breakers and fuses.

Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks: Enabling Wireless Sensors with IEEE 802.15.4
This Second Edition of Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks: Enabling Wireless Sensors with IEEE 802.15.4 is the newest handbook in the IEEE Standards Wireless Networks Series. This updated version now includes detailed information from the revised IEEE 802.15.4-2006 standard, including amendment IEEE 802.15.4b

For news regarding IEEE Standards development work go to http://standards.ieee.org/announcements/index.html.

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3.6 PUBLICATIONS NEWS

3.6.1 CURRENT ISSUES MAGAZINES

MAGAZINES
IEEE Communications Magazine
IEEE Network
IEEE Wireless Communications

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3.6.2 PERIODICALS

Recent special reports in IEEE Spectrum:

• Nuclear Wasteland The French are recycling nuclear waste. Should other countries follow suit?
• Putting up the Ritz Can pneumatic buildings breathe life into space tourism?

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3.6.3 NEW BOOKS

For information about books published by the Wiley-IEEE Press, see http://www.ieee.org/organizations/pubs/press/

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3.7 SISTER SOCIETIES

For information about ComSoc Sister Societies, see http://www.comsoc.org/socstr/org/operation/socrel/societies.html.

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4. IMMINENT EVENTS

4.1 CONFERENCES

Optical Fiber Communication Conf & Exposition & the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference
25-30 Mar 2007 / Anaheim CA US / http://www.ofcnfoec.org/

IEEE Wireless Communications & Networking Conf
11-15 Mar 2007 / Hong Kong / http://www.ieee-wcnc.org/2007/

IEEE @ CTIA WIRELESS 2007 - IEEE Portable & IEEE Mobile WiMAX & IEEE ISBMSB
25-29 Mar 2007 / Orlando, Florida USA / http://www.comsoc.org/confs/ieee/index.html

IEEE International Symposium on Power Line Communications (ISPLC) & Its Applications
26-28 Mar 2007 / Pisa, Italy / http://www.ieee-isplc.org/2007/

IEEE International Symposium on Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks
18-20 April 2007 / Dublin, Ireland / http://www.ieee-dyspan.org/2007/

International Symposium on Integrated Network Management
21-25 May 2007 / Munich, Germany / http://www.ieee-im.org/2007

IEEE Conference on Sensor & Ad Hoc Communications & Network
18-21 Jun 2007 / San Diego CA US / http://www.ieee-secon.org/2007/

IEEE International Conference on Communications
24-28 Jun 2007 / Glasgow, Scotland / http://www.ieee-icc.org/2007/

IEEE Int'l Conf on Multimedia & Expo
2-5 Jul 2007 / Beijing CN / http://www.comsoc.org/confs/icme/index.html

IEEE International Symposium on Personal, Indoor & Mobile Radio Communications
3-6 September 2007 / Athens, Greece / http://www.pimrc2007.org/

International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing
21-23 September 2007 / Shanghai, P.R. China / http://www.arcst.whu.edu.cn/wicom2007/index.aspx

Military Communications Conference
29-31 Oct 2007 / Orlando FL US / http://www.milcom.org/2007/

IEEE Global Communications Conference
26-30 Nov 2007 / Washington DC US http://www.comsoc.org/confs/globecom/2007/index.html

Additional upcoming conferences are listed at http://www.comsoc.org/confs/index.html.

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4.2 CONFERENCE CFPS

Additional upcoming ComSoc conference Calls For Papers are listed at http://www.comsoc.org/confs/calendar/2007/confscfp.html.

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5. SPECIAL ISSUES OF PUBLICATIONS

5.1 MAGAZINES

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5.1 JOURNALS

5.3 CALLS FOR PAPERS

5.3.1 JOURNAL CFPS

New ComSoc online publication elevated to IEEE Journal status. View the current issue of the Communications Society's newest online publication IEEE e-Transactions on Network and Service Management (eTNMS)

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5.3.2 MAGAZINE CFPS

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6. ANNIVERSARIES

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

Birthdays

31 January, 1881 Irving Langmuir was born in Brooklyn, NY USA. He was a major contributor to the science of electrical engineering, especially that of electron tubes and also served as Director of Research at General Electric.

2 February, 1897 Gertrude Blanch (née Gittel Kamovitz), a pioneering mathematician who made great advances in numerical analysis, was born in Poland.She was also a manager of human “computers” at the Mathematical Tables Project.

3 February, 1850 Oliver Heaviside, a key contributor to the early science of electrical engineering, was born in London.

6 February, 1802 Sir Charles Wheatstone was born in at Barnwood, England. He was a physicist who popularized the “Wheatstone bridge” which | served to measure electrical resistance with high precision. He also made contributions to an early form of the telegraph.

7 February, 1920 An Wang was born in Shanghai. Developer of the ferrite core memory, he founded Wang Laboratories.

11 February,1915 IEEE Fellow Richard Wesley Hamming, inventor of error-correcting codes, was born in Chicago. He died on 7 January 1998 in Monterey,California.

15 February, 1826 George Johnston Stoney was born in Ireland. In 1874, at a scientific meeting at Belfast, this physicist introduced
the term electron for the fundamental unit of electricity.

18 February, 1745 Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta was born in Como, Italy. Inventor of the battery, the unit “volt” is named for him.

27 February, 1910 Happy 95th anniversary Clarence Leonard “Kelly" Johnson. He was an American aeronautical engineer who helped design more than 40 airplanes, including, what were at the time, the fastest supersonic and highest-flying airplanes in the world.

Events:

1 February, 1972 Hewlett-Packard introduced the HP-35 pocket calculator, the first to compute trigonometric functions and logarithms.

9 February, 1928 John Logie Baird demonstrated television transmission and reception across the Atlantic Ocean.

12 February, 1935 Robert Watson-Watt sent a memorandum to the British Air Ministry entitled “Detection of Aircraft by Radio Methods,” which was considered by many to mark the birth of the radar. Two weeks later he demonstrated the principle.

13 February, 1924 With the movie "Hawthorne", Western Electric demonstrated a sound-on-disc movie system; this was one of the first sound-picture systems.

14 February, 1876 Perhaps anticipating the telephone’s use as a courtship tool, Alexander Graham Bell chose Valentine’s Day to file for a patent on a device for the electrical transmission of speech.

21 February, 1940 John T. Randall and Henry A. H. Boot first successfully tested the cavity magnetron, which was crucial to shortwave radar systems in World War II.

24 February, 1910 The first commercial radiotelephone service offered to the general public began operation in North America.

25 February, 1907 John Stone Stone founded, in Boston, the Society of Wireless Telegraph Engineers (SWTE). In 1912, SWTE merged with The Radio Institute to from the Institute of Radio Engineers, one of IEEE’s predecessor societies.

26 February, 1939 RCA's first experimental television broadcast took place from the New York World's Fair, but before the Fair's opening. This event took place just one day shy of RCA leader David Sarnoff’s 48th birthday.

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