As I take on the President of the Signal Processing Society (SPS) role, I am excited to connect with you through this column. I look forward to introducing myself and inviting you, the members, to join our volunteers in shaping our shared future.

The flexibility and dexterity of human limbs rely on the processing of a vast quantity of signals within the sensory-motor networks in the brain and spinal cord, distilled into stimuli that govern the commands and movements. Hence, the use of assistive devices, such as robotic limbs or exoskeletons, is critically dependent on the processing of a large number of heterogeneous signals to mimic natural movements.

By “social learning,” in this article we refer to mechanisms for opinion formation and decision making over graphs and the study of how agents’ decisions evolve dynamically through interactions with neighbors and the environment. The study of social learning strategies is critical for at least two reasons.

We opened the year with the theme of “embracing interdisciplinarity,” emphasizing the fact that signal processing naturally builds bridges across different domains and disciplines. The front cover image of an organic bridge across mature trees giving birth to a sapling helped convey our message. After two special issues (two parts of one special issue), we come back to you with an issue comprised of feature articles and columns, which all reinforce the message in our first issue of 2024.

In the first issue of 2024, we introduced the new lead editorial team of IEEE Signal Processing Magazine ( SPM ), composed of our four area editors. Their terms started with mine this January, and they oversee the Society e-newsletter and the three main components of our magazine: feature articles, special issues, and columns and forum articles.