Signal Processing Theory and Methods Technical Committee
(Approved and adopted by committee vote on June 20, 2008)
1. Name: Signal Processing Theory and Methods (SPTM) Technical Committee (TC).
2. Purpose: The purpose of the SPTM TC is to promote the advancement of the theory and methods of Signal Processing, including the technical areas of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Statistical Signal Processing (SSP).
3. Scope of Interest: SPTM has a broad span, ranging from digital filtering and adaptive signal processing to statistical signal analysis, estimation and detection. Specific areas of interest are listed in the Editors' Information Classification Scheme (EDICS) of the SPTM TC.
4. Scope of Activities:
a. Assist in the review of papers submitted to IEEE Signal Processing Society conferences. The TC Chair shall coordinate the review for papers submitted to the IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) under the SPTM EDICS. All current TC members shall participate in the paper review.
b. Solicit proposals for running bi-annually the two workshops: IEEE International Workshop on Statistical Signal Processing and
IEEE International Workshop on Digital Signal Processing. The TC shall invite potential organizers to defend their conference proposal at an SPTM meeting (usually held at ICASSP). After discussion and vote within the TC, a decision will be made and the organizers will be immediately notified.
c. Nominations for awards: The TC members are encouraged to submit nominations for awards within the technical scope of the SPTM TC prior to announced deadlines and using the TC's online interface. All nominations are subjected to discussions and vote within the TC. A single nominee will be chosen in each category provided that the nominee receives a sufficient percentage of the membership vote and a sufficient number of members participate in the voting process. The specific percentages required shall be determined by the TC and announced to the members prior to the voting process.
d. Nominations for Distinguished Lecturers: TC members are encouraged to nominate candidates for the Distinguished Lecturer Award. The selection of the winning candidate follows the same voting procedure as the one outlined under item c.
e. Nomination for Associate Editors: Assist the Editors-In-Chief of IEEE SPS journals in recruiting qualified Associate Editors. The TC reaches broad consensus on potential candidates and the Chair forwards the names of the nominees to the respective Editor-In-Chief.
f. Organization of Special Sessions: TC members are encouraged to organize special sessions on SPTM related topics at IEEE SPS conferences and workshops. The proposals for special sessions are discussed among the TC members and submitted to the Technical Chairs of the conferences and workshops.
g. Organization of Special Issues: TC members are encouraged to edit special issues on SPTM related topics for IEEE SPS journals. The proposals for special issues are discussed within the SPTM TC. The Chair will submit the proposal to the Editor-In-Chief of the respective journal.
5. TC Membership:
a. The TC members shall be current SPS members of good standing, and be elected by current members of the TC.
b. The SPTM TC shall consist of 40 members plus the Chair, the Vice Chair, and the Past-Chair. All TC members are voting members. Each member shall ordinarily serve two consecutive three-year terms, but membership may be terminated at any time if the Chair and the Vice-Chair agree that the member has not fulfilled their TC responsibilities. A member whose two three-year terms expire will be eligible for re-election only after a one-year pause.
c. Each member of the TC is expected to participate in at least 75% of the votes. Members not meeting their obligations will not be considered for renewal of their first three-year term. Renewal of the first three-year term is subject to a vote by the TC members, and is conducted along with the election of new members as outlined in Bylaw 6 below.
6. Member Election Procedure:
a. Some memberships expire at the end of each year. A call for nominations is extended to all TC members around September and the election of new members is completed and the results announced by mid December. The members-elect will take office in January of the subsequent year.
b. The TC Chair and Vice-Chair are responsible to publicize the rules of nomination and prepare a ballot for election.
c. Nominations are open to all IEEE SPS members with good standing. The nominator is responsible for contacting the nominee before the nomination and provides a succinct case for the candidate.
d. The candidates who receive the highest number of votes will be elected. In the event of a tie, a swift election is conducted. The quorum for a winning election is 50% of the TC membership.
e. The election will be conducted via e-mail, unless another means is proposed and approved by the TC.
7. TC Chair and Vice-Chair:
a. The TC members will nominate the Chair and Vice-Chair, following the procedure described in Bylaw 8. The Society Executive Committee appoints the Chair and Vice-Chair. The term of office of the Chair and Vice-Chair shall be no more than two calendar years, unless otherwise designated by the Board of Governors.
b. The Chair and Vice-Chair will maintain a web-page of membership and communicate the Technical Committee's activities to the IEEE Signal Processing Society.
c. After serving two years, the Chair will remain a member of the TC as The Past-Chair for one more year.
8. TC Chair and Vice-Chair Nomination Procedure:
a. The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected for a two-year term. Election of a new Chair takes place at the face-to-face meeting during ICASSP. Members who will be unable to attend ICASSP will cast their vote prior to ICASSP via email. The results are announced at the face-to-face meeting and the positions are effective at the beginning of the following year.
b. An election subcommittee consisting of the current Chair and any additional TC members whom the Chair might choose to appoint organizes the election. The subcommittee nominates one or more chairs and vice-chair candidates.
c. Any member of the TC may nominate another TC member who agrees to serve.
d. The election is conducted by secret ballot.
e. If none of the candidates receives more than 50% of votes, voting is repeated with only the top two candidates.
f. At least half of the committee members must cast a vote.
9. Technical Committee Meeting:
a. The TC will meet face-to-face at least once a year during ICASSP. The TC will also hold meetings at SPTM workshops. A quorum of the TC shall be one-half of the voting members. The TC also holds email meetings when necessary.
b. TC approval requires a majority of the votes cast by the quorum.
10. Amendments:
a. Bylaws and amendments thereto may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the members of the TC present at a regularly convened meeting, provided there is a quorum. Bylaws and amendments may also be adopted by an email vote receiving approval by two-third (2/3) of the members of the TC.
b. Following the adoption by the TC members, the proposed bylaws or amendments shall become effective after the SPS Board of Governors approves them.
Committee Bylaws