2025 President's Letter

Myung Hoon Sunwoo, President of the IEEE CAS Society

75th Anniversary of the IEEE CAS Society 

Last year, the IEEE Circuits and Systems (CAS) Society celebrated its 75th Anniversary. Our journey began in 1949 with the Circuit Theory Group of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE). In 1963, our transition to IEEE solidified our legacy, a milestone that all our members can proudly celebrate. 

The celebrations were kicked off with a comprehensive Promotion Toolkit, which included a memorable 75th Anniversary logo and a unique mascot, enhancing the Society's visibility and fostering a unified celebratory atmosphere across all chapters. In the lead-up to the IEEE International Symposium of Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) 2024, a series of pre-event activities was organized from April 5th to May 10th, 2024, featuring 27 events across various regions, totaling 11,525 participants – 765 IEEE members and 10,786 non-IEEE members, showcasing the Society's global reach and engagement [1]. 

The pinnacle of the Anniversary celebrations took place at IEEE ISCAS 2024, where the Society launched the 2nd Edition of "A Short History of Circuits and Systems" [2], deepening members' understanding of the Society's impact on technology. A documentary and a montage video were produced to celebrate the Society's rich history and significant achievements, with a special focus on its contributions to the engineering and scientific community. The event was made even more memorable with a Photo Booth equipped with a 75th Anniversary Photo Mosaic, an award ceremony recognizing notable contributions, and a ceremonial cake cutting. Adding a musical touch, our CAS Society's band performed a special anniversary song.

의류, 사람, 실내, 미소이(가) 표시된 사진 자동 생성된 설명

Fig. 1. Celebration at the IEEE ISCAS 2024.

Society Review

This year, our IEEE CAS Society underwent a comprehensive review by the IEEE Society/Council Review Committee (SCRC), conducted every five years. The review helps us identify our Society's strengths and weaknesses, including our strategic planning, efforts in global membership, and outreach activities. We are committed to supporting our members from low and middle-income economies through new initiatives. Our dedication to education and professional development through programs like Distinguished Lectures, Seasonal Schools, and our CAS Society-Wide Webinar Program was also commended, earning us the IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) Society/Council Professional Development Award [3]. While the review has provided valuable feedback, our Society remains dedicated to continuous improvement to serve better its members and the broader circuits and systems community.

Membership Increase and Student Travel Grants

This year, we have witnessed a significant increase in its membership, number of chapters, and student branch chapters (SBC), as shown below.

  • The total number of CAS Society members was 19,799 in Oct. 2024, was increased from 12,221 in Oct. 2023 (a 62% increase).

  • The total numbers of CAS Society's chapters and student branch chapters (SBC) are now 133 (a 6% increase) and 167 (a 43% increase), increased from 126 and 117 in Oct. 2023, respectively.

Our Society has been actively supporting the SBC with startup and outreach funds for their activities. In 2024, the student travel grants (STG) were increased to $70K to support students attending nine flagship conferences. To celebrate our CAS Society's 75th Anniversary, we have waived our membership fees for first-time members. In addition, five ambassadors were appointed to promote CAS Society's members worldwide, and they are now focusing on rejuvenating inactive chapters. I would also like to thank Francois Rivet, R8 ambassador, who has contributed significantly to this effort. Our task for 2025 is to retain our members, especially student members, and recruit more industry members.

New Industry Engagement Committee and VP-Industry Position

As the President-Elect in 2022, I launched the Industry Engagement Committee (IEC) and initiated the establishment of a new VP-industry position through the approval of IEEE, where an election was held this year. Rajiv Joshi of IBM was elected to the position. This new role aims to promote our Society within the industry, recruit more industry members globally, and foster industrial engagement within our Society.

Revised IEEE Fellow Evaluation Process

The elevation of IEEE Fellows must be based on significant technical contributions in their respective fields. In particular, those elevated by the CAS Society must be recognized as outstanding contributors to the technical field of circuits and systems. Therefore, we have revised our CAS Society Fellow Committee Bylaws to emphasize the significance of technical contributions to the field of circuits and systems area in the evaluation process for IEEE Fellows. These updated bylaws ensure that our CAS Society members have greater opportunities to be elevated to IEEE Fellow, further demonstrating our commitment to recognizing significant achievements within our Society.

A New Machine-Learning Circuits and Systems (MLCAS) TC 

To meet the demand for emerging technologies, we are excited to announce the establishment of a new technical committee (TC): the Machine-Learning Circuits and Systems (MLCAS). This Committee will focus on promoting research and development in the rapidly evolving field of machine learning within circuits and systems. The MLCAS will organize dedicated paper tracks at ISCAS conferences and encourage submissions to ISCAS, AICAS, and IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Artificial Intelligence (TCASAI). We believe these changes will enhance the quality and scope of our Society's activities, providing valuable support to researchers and practitioners in the field. 

A New Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Artificial Intelligence (TCASAI)

As an IEEE CAS Society's VP-Conference in 2018, I founded the IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Circuits and Systems (AICAS). The first IEEE AICAS, held in Hsinchu, Taiwan, in 2019, was a remarkable success despite being the inaugural edition. Subsequently, it has become our premier flagship conference in our Society. We are also thrilled to announce the inaugural issue and second issue of IEEE Transactions for Circuits and Systems for Artificial Intelligence (TCASAI). This journal is co-sponsored by the CAS Society, the Council on Electronic Design (CEDA), and the Solid-State Circuits Society (SSCS). It is technically co-sponsored by the Electron Devices Society (EDS) and the Nanotechnology Council. As the first IEEE periodical dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) hardware, IEEE TCASAI published its September 2024 issue, featuring contributions related to circuits and systems for artificial intelligence, including circuit and electronic system design, implementation, and demonstration. 

Improvement in our Journal Impact Factors

Our CAS Society's journals have performed better than any other society and council of the IEEE concerning publication time. TAFE, TBioCAS, TCAS-II, and JETCAS have been marked as high performers this quarter. More than 45 societies/councils in the IEEE and 180 publications have been considered here. 4 out of 27 high-performance finalists are CAS Society's journals. This is a summary of their performance.

  • TCAS-I's JIF has gone from 4.1 (2021) to 5.1 (2022) and then to 5.2 (2023). It was in the 2nd quartile (Q2) from 2019 until 2021. It returned to Q1 in 2022 and 2023. 

  • TCAS-II's JIF has gone from 3.7 (2021) to 4.4 (2022) and then to 4 (2023). It has always been a 2nd quartile journal since it was dedicated to short papers only.

  • TCSVT's JIF has gone from 5.9 (2021) to 8.4 (2022) and then to 8.3 (2023). It has been in Q1 for over ten consecutive years and is more substantial and stronger.

  • Our CAS Magazine's JIF has gone from 4 (2021) to 6.9 (2022) and then to 5.6 (2023). It was in the 2nd quartile (Q2) from 2019 until 2021. It returned to Q1 in 2022 and 2023, just like TCAS-I.

CAS Society's Flagship and Premier Conferences

Our CAS Society sponsors and co-sponsors 35 conferences due to its wide range of 15 technical areas. Conferences sponsored by the CAS Society fall into two categories:  financially sponsored (FS) and technically co-sponsored (TCS). A further classification is according to their importance and impact. Our CAS Society has six flagship conferences with ISCAS, the main global conference, and five regional conferences aligned with all the IEEE regions. At the same level of importance and impact as the flagship conferences, the Premier conferences are on selected topics such as AICAS, BioCAS, and ISICAS. Most other conferences are co-sponsored with other IEEE societies, particularly with the sister societies, SSCS, CEDA, and EDS, and societies in related fields such as the Sensor Council, RFID, EMBS, Nano Council, and others. The importance of high-quality CAS Society conferences to their members is reflected by the high impact factors of our CAS Society's journals publishing their best papers and their financial impact on Society and to IEEE.

CAS Society's Education and Communication

Building on the prestigious IEEE EAB Society/Council Professional Development Award received in 2023, CAS Society's Education achieved significant milestones in 2024. It advanced regional and gender diversity while increasing industry participation among educators by 30%. Educational programs and initiatives gained considerable momentum, with engagement levels in Q3'24 surpassing those of 2023. Our CAS Society contributed valuable educational resources to the IEEE Future Directions - Global Semiconductors initiative and saw widespread interest in CAS Society-authored books, including translations into non-English language, broadening accessibility. Collaboration across Societies and Councils thrived through a special cross-CAS Society webinar series. At the same time, new initiatives such as Industry DLP, Continuing Education at CAS Society conferences, and a mentoring program further enriched its offerings. The division also played a key role in the year-long celebration of CAS Society's 75th Anniversary, featuring global chapter events, anniversary trivia, new editions of its history book, montage and documentary videos, and live photo mosaics at conferences, highlighting its legacy and forward-looking vision.

All the Successes go to our CAS Society members, student members, VPs, and BoGs.

As one team, our VPs and BoGs have performed their duties exceptionally. As the President of the IEEE CAS Society in 2024-2025, I sincerely thank our dedicated members, diligent volunteers, and visionary past Presidents. I look forward to serving all our members and working with members, volunteers, committees, and all chapter members. Your ideas and suggestions will spark the Society's advancement. With your support, we can take our Society to a greater height. I hope the new year 2025 will be a happy, healthy, and prosperous year for you and your family.

Acknowledgment

I appreciate CAS Society's Vice Presidents and BoGs, and Special Thanks to BoGs, especially Yongfu Li, who helped me immensely with the 75th Anniversary and established new chapters worldwide.

 

[1] Yongfu Li, Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani, Hanho Lee, Kea-Tiong Tang, Jie Chen, Mohd Hafiz Ismail, Yoko Uwate, Molly Brackin, Amara Amara, and Myung Hoon Sunwoo, "IEEE CAS Society Turns 75 – Commemorative Events and Celebrations", IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine (CASM), vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 17-21, Dec. 2024.

[2] Franco Maloberti, and Anthony C. Davies, Yongfu Li, Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani, Hanho Lee, Fidel Makatia, Myung Hoon Sunwoo, "A Short History Of Circuits and Systems (2nd Edition)", IEEE River, pp. 1-411, 2024.

[3] Fakhrul Zaman Rokhani, Xinmiao Zhang, Manuel Delgado-Restituto, Rajiv Joshi, Ricardo Reis, Victor Grimblatt, Kea-Tiong Tang, Yongfu Li, and Amara Amara, "Past and Future of CASS Educational Programs and Initiatives Feature," IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine (CASM), vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 7-15, June 2024.