For our May 2016 issue, we cover recent patents granted in the area of Markovian probabilistic modeling in signal processing applications, including Markov chains, Hidden Markov Models, Markov Random fields and Monte Carlo simulations.

The goal of the Special Issue of SPM on Brain Signal Analytics May 2016 is to bring together a diverse but complementary set of tutorial/review articles demonstrating the importance of incorporating signal processing strategies into the advances in neuroimaging techniques, data analytics, and modeling for brain function.

Michelle K. Lee, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), recently announced new open data initiatives that will make access to tons of patent data much easier.

For our February 2016 issue, we cover recent patents dealing with range image formation and processing.

Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of the IEEE Speech and Language Processing Technical Committee's Newsletter! This issue of the newsletter includes 5 articles and announcements from 6 contributors, including our own staff reporters and editors. Thank you all for your contributions!

The Information Forensics and Security Technical Committee (IFS TC) reports on the 2016 Signal Processing Cup, the election of societal awards and the organization of the next WIFS'16 workshop.

The Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing (AASP) technical committee reports on augmented reality devices, 3D acoustic localization, binaural recording and rendering and spatial audio processing technologies.

The Sensor Array and Multichannel (SAM) technical committee reports on the upcoming IEEE SAM workshop in Rio de Janeiro, an announcement of the 2017 IEEE CAMSAP workshop, new SAM members and award nominations.