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The IEEE Signal Processing Society was founded 2 June 1948 as IEEE Professional Group on Audio. It then evolved to the Professional Technical Group on Audio (1963); the Group on Audio (20 October 1964); the Audio and Electro-Acoustics Group (2 June 1965); the Group on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (11 October 1973); the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing Society (1 January 1976); and finally the Signal Processing Society (1 January 1990).
As stated in its Constitution (Article I, Section 3), amended 11 September 2003:
The Signal Processing Society is an international organization whose purpose is to: advance and disseminate state-of-the-art scientific information and resources; educate the signal processing community; and provide a venue for people to interact and exchange ideas.
The Society's Field of Interest (as approved by the IEEE Technical Activities Board, June 26, 2010):
Signal processing is the enabling technology for the generation, transformation, extraction, and interpretation of information. It comprises the theory, algorithms with associated architectures and implementations, and applications related to processing information contained in many different formats broadly designated as signals. Signal processing uses mathematical, statistical, computational, heuristic, and/or linguistic representations, formalisms, modeling techniques and algorithms for generating, transforming, transmitting, and learning from signals.
The Society's Board of Governors, at its 25 October 1995 meeting, established a Policy and Procedures Manual for the Society to record the Society's philosophy and operating procedures for Society activities. For Society's general inquiries, please contact the SPS office.
1.1. Termination.
Members who become delinquent in the payment of dues and fees shall be treated in accordance with IEEE rules and procedures. In addition, members who breach the IEEE Code of Ethics shall be subject to sanctions as provided in the IEEE bylaws.
1.2. Resignation.
A member in good standing may resign by submitting a written resignation to the IEEE Secretary.
Subject to the rules and procedures of the IEEE, a resigned member may resume membership upon payment of the current dues, assessments, and fees, as appropriate. Continuity of membership may be obtained by payment of the dues and any assessments or fees pertaining to the lapsed period.
1.3. Dues and Fees. (amended 15 September 2011)
1.4. Member Discipline. (amended 15 September 2011)
A member of the Society is subject to the rules and procedures of the IEEE for any action that is determined to constitute a material violation of the Constitution, Bylaws, Policies, Operational Manual or Code of Ethics of the IEEE, or other conduct which is seriously prejudicial to the IEEE. Such discipline may take the form of expulsion, suspension, or censure for cause by the IEEE.
Persons under expulsion, or for the period of suspension by the IEEE, shall be denied the rights and privileges of membership in this Society.
2.1. Officer Position Descriptions. (approved 20 May 2006)
2.1.1. President. (amended 15 September 2011)
The duties of the President include the oversight of all activities of the Signal Processing Society, including but not limited to, awards, conferences, membership, publications, technical directions, strategic and long-range planning, etc. The President is responsible for the TAB Five-Year Society Review and Publications Review with the assistance of the Vice Presidents. The President is responsible for enforcing the Society’s Constitution, Bylaws, and Policies, and ensuring that the Society is compliant with IEEE’s Constitution, Bylaws, and Policies. The President is a member of the IEEE Technical Activities Board and represents the Society’s point of view. The President is responsible for bringing IEEE and TAB issues that affect the Society’s operations to the Board of Governors’ attention. The President acts as an ambassador for the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations, representing the Society’s message as determined by its Board of Governors.
The President chairs the Society’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee. The President only votes on the Board if the vote is by secret ballot or unless the Chair’s vote can change the outcome of the vote . The President is an ex-officio, voting member on all Society Boards and Committees.
The President is responsible for making all nominations and appointments with the advice and consent of the cognizant Vice President or Technical Committee Chair for all liaison and joint Society, IEEE or non-IEEE activities.
2.1.2. President-Elect. (amended 20 October 2022)
The duties of the President-Elect include the oversight of strategic and long-range planning activities for the Society, by means of conference calls and in-person meetings of the Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee; chairing the Board of Governors Long-Range Planning Retreat and chairing the annual Executive Committee Strategic Planning meeting; preparing agendas and documentation for the retreats and tracking action items; preparation and forecasting of Society budgets as well as monitoring of the Society's expenses, surpluses, and investments; assisting in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; and representing the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations on strategic and long-range planning activities or on other Society activities as requested by the President or by the Society’s Board of Governors. The President-Elect provides guidance to the Conferences Board, Membership Board and Publications Board on matters concerning finances, including the Society’s membership fee; technical meeting registration prices, publication fees, page budgets, etc.
The President-Elect chairs the TC Review Committee and acts as a liaison to the Board of Governors regarding all activities of this committee.
The President-Elect chairs the Long-Range Planning and Implementation Committee and acts as a liaison to the Board of Governors for all strategic and long-range planning activities; the President-Elect serves on, and is a voting member of, the Society's Board of Governors, Executive Committee, Conferences Board, Membership Board and Publications Board.
The President-Elect is also responsible for the minutes of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee.
2.1.3. Vice President-Membership. (amended 26 September 2019)
The duties of the Vice President-Membership include the oversight of the activities of the Membership Development, Student Services, Women in Signal Processing and Young Professionals Committees; tracking membership trends; drafting strategic and long-term plans regarding the Society’s membership activities for recommendation to the Board of Governors; overseeing the Society’s Chapter activities; assisting in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; and representing the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations on membership matters or as requested by the Society’s President or Board.
The Vice President-Membership chairs the Membership Board and acts as liaison to the Board of Governors for all membership activities; and serves on and is a voting member of the Society's Board of Governors and Executive Committee.
2.1.4. Vice President-Conferences. (amended 20 October 2022)
The duties of the Vice President-Conferences include management responsibility for all Society conference and workshop teams; identification of locations to propose future ICASSP, ICIP, and any other SPS-sponsored major conference locations; recommend policy to the Board of Governors in the area of management of the Society’s technical meetings and apply such policy on behalf of the Board of Governors; enforce IEEE policy as it applies to the Society’s technical meetings; creation of strategic and long-term plans for the Society’s technical meeting activities; assist in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; and represent the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations on conference matters or as requested by the Society’s President or Board.
The Vice President-Conferences chairs the Conferences Board and acts as liaison to the Board of Governors for all technical meeting activity; the Vice President-Conferences also serves on, and is a voting member of, the Society's Board of Governors and Executive Committee. The Vice President-Conferences also represents the Society to IEEE or to other organizations, on behalf of the Society, on matters concerned with the Society’s technical meetings.
2.1.5. Vice President-Publications. (amended 20 October 2022)
The duties of the Vice President-Publications include the oversight of Society publication activities; the identification and appointment (with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee) of Editors-in-Chief for the Society’s periodical journals, membership magazine, newsletter(s) or other magazines; management of the activities of the Editors-in-Chief; drafting strategic and long-term plans for the Society’s publications; oversight of financial matters pertaining to the Society’s publications such as page budgets; oversight of the Society's online manuscripts submission interface; management of online and electronic publication initiatives; responsible for the creation of the TAB Five-Year Publications Review document and assisting in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; assist in preparing of new periodical and publications/products proposals; represents the Society on the IEEE Panel of Editors; and represent the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations for publication matters or as requested by the Society’s President or Board.
The Vice President-Publications chairs the Publications Board and acts as liaison to the Board of Governors for all publication matters; the Vice President-Publications serves on, and is a voting member of, the Society's Board of Governors and Executive Committee.
2.1.6. Vice President-Technical Directions. (amended 20 October 2022)
The duties of the Vice President-Technical Directions is to oversee the activities of the Society’s technical community, as embodied in its Technical Committees, in order to improve the Society’s technical profile within and outside IEEE; to assist the Society in identifying emerging technologies at the nexus of signal processing; assist in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; and to proactively engage the Society’s members in strengthening the technical mission of the Society as defined in its Field of Interest.
The Vice President-Technical Directions is responsible for chairing the Technical Directions Board. The Vice President-Technical Directions is an ex-officio member of all the Society’s Technical Committees and serves on, and is a voting member of the Society's Board of Governors and Executive Committee.
2.1.7. Vice President-Education. (amended 20 October 2022)
The duties of the Vice President-Education include the oversight of the activities of the Education Board, the Resource Center and SigPort; tracking educational trends; leading the development of educational programs and professional development material; drafting strategic and long-term plans regarding the Society’s educational activities for recommendation to the Board of Governors; assisting in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; and representing the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations on education matters or as requested by the Society’s President or Board.
The Vice President-Education Chairs the Education Board and is an ex-officio, member of the Education Center Editorial Board and acts as liaison to the Board of Governors for all educational activities; and serves on and is a voting member of the Society's Board of Governors and ExCom.
2.2. Member-at-Large Position Description. (approved 20 May 2006)
Members-at-Large are directly elected by the Society's membership to represent the member viewpoint in Board of Governors decision-making. Members-at-Large typically review, discuss, and act upon a wide range of items affecting the actions, activities and health of the Society.
2.3. Regional Directors-at-Large Position Description. (amended 26 September 2019)
The duties of Regional Directors-at-Large are to:
2.4. Awards Board Chair. (approved 4 October 2012)
The duties of the Awards Board Chair include the oversight of Society award activities and Distinguished Lecturer nominations; presentation of Society awards at the Society’s annual Awards Ceremony usually held in conjunction with ICASSP; solicitation of nominations for IEEE Technical Field Awards, Best Paper Awards, Major Medals, or other awards given by IEEE or any of its organizational units in the areas of signal processing; solicitation of nominations for awards in the area of signal processing given by non-IEEE entities; solicitation of SPS Senior Members as candidates for nomination to IEEE Fellow grade; drafting strategic and long-term plans regarding the Society’s awards activities for recommendation to the Board of Governors; assisting in the creation of the TAB Five-Year Society Review document; and representing the Society at IEEE meetings or meetings of other organizations on award matters or as requested by the Society’s President or Board.
The Awards Board Chair acts as liaison to the Board of Governors for all award, fellow and distinguished lecturer activities.
2.5. Officer Incapacity and Vacancy
2.5.1. President.
An incapacity of the President that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the President may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the Board of Governors. During such incapacity, the President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President. If the President-Elect is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the President. In the event of a vacancy of the President, the President-Elect will succeed to the President position. An election will be held to nominate a new President-Elect.
2.5.2. President-Elect. (amended 15 September 2011)
An incapacity of the President-Elect that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the President-Elect may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the Past President shall assume the duties of the President-Elect. If the Past President is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the President-Elect. In the event of a vacancy of the President-Elect, the Board of Governors will hold an election to fill the vacancy.
2.5.3. Vice President-Membership. (amended 4 October 2012)
An incapacity of the Vice President-Membership that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the Vice President-Membership may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the immediate Past Vice President-Membership shall assume the duties of the Vice President-Membership. If the immediate Past Vice President-Membership is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the Vice President-Membership. In the event of a vacancy of the Vice President-Membership, the Board of Governors will hold an election to fill the vacancy.
2.5.4. Vice President-Conferences.
An incapacity of the Vice President-Conferences that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the Vice President-Conferences may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the immediate Past Vice President-Conferences shall assume the duties of the Vice President-Conferences. If the immediate Past Vice President-Conferences is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the Vice President-Conferences. In the event of a vacancy of the Vice President-Conferences, the Board of Governors will hold an election to fill the vacancy.
2.5.5. Vice President-Publications.
An incapacity of the Vice President-Publications that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the Vice President-Publications may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the immediate Past Vice President-Publications shall assume the duties of the Vice President-Publications. If the immediate Past Vice President-Publications is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the Vice President-Publications. In the event of a vacancy of the Vice President-Publications, the Board of Governors will hold an election to fill the vacancy.
2.5.6. Vice President-Technical Directions. (amended 20 October 2022)
The Vice President-Technical Directions is encouraged to attend meetings of the Technical Committees, so the Vice President-Technical Directions is knowledgeable of the issues/activities each group is encountering. Any support for travel to the Technical Committee meetings shall be strictly limited to that specifically detailed in the Policy and Procedures Manual. Travel approval is needed in advance by the Society President.
An incapacity of the Vice President-Technical Directions that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the Vice President-Technical Directions may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the immediate Past Vice President-Technical Directions shall assume the duties of the Vice President-Technical Directions. If the immediate Past Vice President-Technical Directions is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the Vice President-Technical Directions. In the event of a vacancy of the Vice President-Technical Directions, the Board of Governors will hold an election to fill the vacancy.
2.5.7. Vice President-Education. (approved 18 May 2019)
An incapacity of the Vice President-Education that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the Vice President-Education may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the immediate Past Vice President-Education shall assume the duties of the Vice President-Education. If the immediate Past Vice President- Education is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the Vice President- Education. In the event of a vacancy of the Vice President- Education, the Board of Governors will hold an election to fill the vacancy.
2.6. Past President.
An incapacity of the Past President that does not constitute a vacancy of office shall be determined by the Board of Governors, or by the Executive Committee, if the incapacity occurs at a time when it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the Board of Governors and there is a need for action. In addition, the Past President may declare a condition of incapacity and the duration thereof by written communication to the President. During such incapacity, the Senior Past President shall assume the duties of the Past President. If the Senior Past President is unavailable or incapacitated, the Board of Governors shall designate an individual to assume the duties of the Past President.
2.7. Officers-Elect. (amended 20 October 2022)
In order to provide for orderly and informed turnover of Society business from an Officer to the successor, the Society shall have Officers-Elect. To accomplish this, elections for Officer positions, which terms are due to expire at the end of the Calendar Year, shall occur at the beginning of each year, by e-mail ballot, in sufficient time to be confirmed at the Spring Board of Governors meeting. The newly elected individual(s) shall then hold the position of Officer(s)-Elect for the duration of the term of the incumbent. Officers-Elect shall be informed of and welcome to attend and participate, ex-officio, without vote, in meetings of their corresponding boards, the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee.
2.8. Order of Business. (amended 4 October 2012)
An appropriate order of business for the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors shall be:
Only those items considered to be non-controversial, and that are documented in the agenda materials distributed in advance of the meeting, may appear on the Consent Agenda. A single objection by a voting member of the Board of Governors shall be sufficient to move an item from the Consent Agenda to the Action Agenda.
2.9. Director-Membership Development Position Description. (amended 20 October 2022)
The Director-Membership Development shall be appointed by the Vice President-Membership with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. The duty is to identify value/benefit/services to members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting members. The Director shall chair the Membership Development Committee, which consists of five members appointed by the Director with the advice and consent of the Membership Board.
2.10. Director-Student Services Position Description. ( (amended 20 October 2022)
The Director-Student Services shall be appointed by the Vice President-Membership with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. The duty is to identify value/benefit/services to Student members and recommend policy/mechanism for recruiting Student members. The Director shall chair the Student Services Committee, which consists of five members appointed by the Director with the advice and consent of the Membership Board.
The Director-Student Services shall be responsible for the coordination of the Travel Grant Program for ICASSP and ICIP.
2.11. Editor-In-Chief Position Description. (amended 20 October 2022)
Editor-in-Chief duties include the identification of Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, and Deputy Editors-in-Chief to serve across the topical scope of the periodical journal, including special issue topics and guest editors; management of the day-to-day operations in Scholar One with the assistance of the Signal Processing Society's publications staff; identifying areas that require strengthening the scope of the Society and working with the Society and its technical committees to achieve that goal.
The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for working with the Society's Vice President-Publications to create strategic and long-term plans for the publication they oversee. The Editor-in-Chief chairs the Editorial Board for the publication they oversee and serves on and is a voting member of the Society's Publications Board.
The current Editor-in-Chief has ultimate authority on all issues, but works closely with the Past or Incoming Ediotr-in-Chief.
2.12. Resource Center Chief Editor Position Description. (amended 26 September 2019)
Chief Editor duties include identification of Editors to serve on the editorial board of the Resource Center; management of the day-to-day operations of the Resource Center; identifying areas that require strengthening of the Resource Center; coordinate and management of the Resource Center submissions; monitor the quality of the Resource Center; editorial coordination; oversee the Resource Center Editorial Board; library management of the Resource Center website; and ensure the visibility of the Resource Center.
The Chief Editor is responsible for working with the Society's Vice President-Education to create strategic and long-term plans for the Resource Center. The Chief Editor chairs the Resource Center Editorial Board and serves on and is a voting member of the Society's Education Board.
2.13. SigPort Chief Editor Position Description. (amended 26 September 2019)
Management of the day-to-day operations of SigPort through periodic reports and user feedback; identifying areas that require strengthening of SigPort; oversight of SigPort submissions; monitor the quality of SigPort; and ensure the visibility of SigPort.
The Chief Editor is responsible for working with the Society's Vice President-Education to create strategic and long-term plans for SigPort. The Chief Editor is a voting member of the Society's Education Board and is a member of the Resource Center Editorial Board.
2.14. Removal of an Editor-in-Chief, Director or Technical Committee Chair. (amended 20 October 2022)
An Editor-in-Chief or Director (Membership Development or Student Services) of the Society may be removed, with or without cause, by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members of the Executive Committee. An Editor-in-Chief or Director so removed shall be considered to be removed from all Society duties including, but not limited to, the Publications Board or Membership Board and the editorial board or committee the individual chairs.
A Technical Committee Chair of the Society may be removed as a member of that technical committee, with or without cause, by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members of the Executive Committee. A Technical Committee Chair so removed shall be considered to be removed from all Society duties including, but not limited to, the Technical Directions Board, and the technical committee the individual chairs.
2.15. Removal of a Committee Member.
A member of a Society major board or committee may be removed as a member of that board or committee, with or without cause, by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members of the appointing body.
2.16. Removal of Representatives. A Signal Processing Society representative appointed to another IEEE organization or to an organization outside IEEE may be removed, with or without cause, by the Society President.
2.17. Chapter of the Year Award. (amended 20 October 2022). The IEEE Signal Processing Society Chapter of the Year Award shall be presented annually to a Chapter that has provided its membership with the highest quality of programs, activities and services. All IEEE Signal Processing Society local chapters established more than one year are eligible. The award shall be presented annually in conjunction with the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing to the Chapter's representative. The award shall consist of a plaque and a check in the amount of $1,000 to support local chapter activities. In the event that multiple chapters are selected, each winner shall still receive $1,000. The winning Chapter shall be invited to publish an article in the IEEE Inside Signal Processing eNewsletter.
Nominations shall be solicited from the local Signal Processing Society Chapter Chairs through a call for nominations in the IEEE Inside Signal Processing eNewsletter. Self nominations are welcome from the local Society Chapter Chairs. The Regional Director-at-Large from each region should also help foster nominations.
The nominated Chapters shall be evaluated based on the following chapter activities, programs and services during the past year:
Selection shall be based on the nominator’s submission of the Chapter of the Year Award nomination form, the SPS Chapter Certification Form, which is valid for four years (optional) and the annual IEEE chapter report. If the Chapter indicates on the Chapter Certification Form that they would like to be considered for the Chapter of the Year Award, the Chapter Certification Form is sufficient to move the nomination forward.
2.18. Signal Processing Society Awards. (amended 1 June 2022)
The hierarchy of Signal Processing Society Awards is as follows:
Society Major Awards
Society Achievement Awards
Society Paper Awards
Society Conference Paper Award
The awards shall be:
2.19. Awards Nomination Process. (amended 20 October 2022)
A nominator may not serve as an endorser for a nomination the nominator is submitting. If the Society policies state that a particular Board/Committee/Individual is not eligible to nominate for a particular award, then that same group of individuals is not eligible to be an endorser. Members of a committee/board may participate as individual endorsers for other members of the same board/committee. All such endorsements should be written by single individuals and use the endorsement form that can be found on the Awards webpage. To be an endorser, there is no requirement for IEEE Signal Processing Society membership. Endorsement forms can be submitted by any individual for an IEEE Signal Processing Society award nomination. IEEE staff cannot serve as an endorser. Endorsements must be submitted on or before the nomination deadline of 1 September.
If, for three consecutive years, fewer than two nominees are received for a particular award, the Board of Governors must assess whether that award should be discontinued.
Conflict of interest shall be defined as any relationships, professional or otherwise, that can affect impartiality and objectivity. Such relationship includes, but are not limited to:
2.20. (approved 28 May 2011). Details of volunteer involvement in the activities of IEEE staff assigned to the Society is guided by the IEEE Employee Handbook, specifically:
2.21. Student Services Committee Subcommittee. (amended 26 September 2019)
2.22. Seasonal Schools Subcommittee. (amended 26 september 2019)
2.23. Open Meetings. (approved 8 June 2020)
Participation in any IEEE Signal Processing Society technical meeting or technical discussion is available to anyone who elects to participate. Society membership and/or registration fees may be required for participation.
3.1. Officer Nomination Criteria. (approved 20 May 2006)
All candidates for Officer positions in the Signal Processing Society must possess records of significant technical achievement and must hold the IEEE grade of Senior Member or higher. They must be at the time of nomination, and must remain throughout the term of service, members in good standing of IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. Candidates’ biographies must reflect some recent management experience.
Specific criteria, by position, appears below.
3.1.1. President-Elect. (amended 24 December 2018)
The President-Elect must have previously served as a Vice President of the Society. The President-Elect shall be an IEEE Fellow. The President-Elect position automatically succeeds to President.
3.1.2. Vice President-Membership. (amended 4 October 2012)
The Vice President-Membership should have a high level of management experience and should have previously served the Society in some capacity, such as: Director, Regional Director-at-Large, Section/Chapter Chair or Section Chair etc.
3.1.3. Vice President-Conferences. (amended 10 May 2014)
The Vice President-Conferences preferably should have served as a General Chair, Technical Program Chair or Finance Chair for an IEEE symposium or major conference. Preferred candidates are those who have served as past General Chair or Finance Chair for ICASSP, ICIP, or GlobalSIP.
3.1.4. Vice President-Publications. (approved 13 November 2020)
The Vice President-Publications must have served as an IEEE SPS Editor-in-Chief, or in an equivalent management capacity, for an archival journal of similar quality as the Society’s periodicals.
3.1.5. Vice President-Technical Directions. (amended 10 May 2014)
The Vice President-Technical Directions may have previously served as an elected Technical Committee Chair, and may have served in one or more of the following positions: General Chair or Technical Chair of ICASSP, ICIP or GlobalSIP; Editor-in-Chief of a Signal Processing Society sponsored publication.
3.1.6. Vice President-Education. (approved 18 May 2019)
The Vice President-Education should have a high level of management experience; previously served the Society in some capacity; and should have experience in developing curricula and/or professional development materials.
3.2. Member-at-Large Criteria. (amended 20 October 2022)
Members-at-Large candidates must demonstrate that they are active in one or more signal processing disciplines and shall have been a member of the Society for five years or more.
3.3. Regional Director-at-Large Criteria. (amended 20 October 2022)
The Regional Director-at-Large candidates must demonstrate that they are active in their local Section or Chapter, such as a Section or Chapter Officer or active in Society activities as evidenced by participating in conference/workshop organization, serving on one of the Society’s Boards, Standing Committees, Technical Committees or its journal’s Editorial Boards.
At the time of nomination, the Regional Directors-at-Large candidates shall have been members of the Society for five years or more. Moreover, the Regional Directors-at-Large candidates must be willing to travel to Chapters for outreach.
3.4. Editor-in-Chief Nomination Criteria. (approved 20 October 2022)
An Editor-in-Chief candidate must have served as an Associate Editor, Senior Area Editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Special Issue Editor, or in a management capacity for an archival journal published by IEEE. Preference shall be given to candidates who have served as Associate Editors of one or more Signal Processing Society archival publication.
3.5. Fellow Evaluation Committee Criteria. (approved 26 September 2019)
All Fellow Evaluation Committee members must be an active IEEE Fellow, an active member of the Society in good standing and cannot be a member of the IEEE Fellow Committee or the IEEE Board of Directors.
3.6. Awards Board Chair Criteria. (amended 6 December 2021)
The Awards Board Chair must be an IEEE Fellow, must have received one or more major Society awards, which excludes the paper awards, and must remain throughout the term of service, a member in good standing of IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. The profile of the Awards Board Chair should bring positive attention to the awards program.
3.7. Awards Board Members-at-Large Criteria. (approved 6 December 2021)
The Awards Board Members-at-Large must be an IEEE Fellow or a Fellow of some other scientific organization and must remain throughout the term of service, a member in good standing of IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. Preferred candidates should have received an award recognition, regardless of the IEEE society or type (major award, paper award, etc). Non-IEEE award may also be considered.
3.8. Nominations and Appointments Committee Member Criteria. (approved 6 December 2021)
Nominations and Appointments Committee members must be active in Society activities as evidenced by participating in conference/workshop organization, serving on one of the Society’s Boards, Standing Committees, Technical Committees, its journal’s Editorial Boards, Chapters, etc. and must remain throughout the term of service, members in good standing of IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. IEEE Member grade and higher will be considered for this position.
3.19. Resource Center Chief Editor Nomination Criteria. (approved 6 December 2013)
Nominations for the Chief Editor shall be restricted to members in good standing in the IEEE and the Society. Preference should be given, where possible, to individuals who have experience with society publications, such as former associate editors of IEEE publications and/or past members of the Publications Board.
3.10. SigPort Chief Editor Nomination Criteria. (approved 6 December 2013)
Nominations for the Chief Editor shall be restricted to members in good standing in the IEEE and the Society. Preference should be given, to individuals who have experience with both web-based platforms and have IEEE publications experience.
3.11. Nominations and Appointments Selection Procedures. (amended 20 October 2022) All candidate slate selections under its purview of the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall use the following procedures:
3.12. Board of Governors Selection Procedures for the Society President-Elect and Vice President Slates. (amended 20 October 2022) SPS President-Elect and Vice President candidate slates are selected by the Board of Governors using the following procedures:
3.13. Board of Governors Election - Email Voting Procedures. (amended 20 October 2022) SPS Awards Board, Nominations and Appointments Committee and other miscellaneous elections are elected by the Board of Governors using the following procedures:
3.14. Board of Governors Election – Physical or Virtual Meetings Voting Procedures. (amended 20 October 2022) SPS Officer positions and other miscellaneous elections are elected by the Board of Governors at a physical or virtual meeting using the following procedures:
3.15. President-Elect Election. (amended 22 August 2022)
a. Candidate Presentation. The nominated President-Elect candidates shall be required to be present at the Board of Governors meeting during the ICASSP meeting series. Presentation of the candidates may happen the day of the Board meeting or the evening before. The candidates will be required to submit a biography, which includes their Society, IEEE and other professional activities, as well as a photo and candidate statement of interest up to 500 words stating the nominee’s vision for the position. Each candidate shall be allocated approximately 20 minutes at the Board meeting to present their background/ qualifications, as well as respond to any questions from the Board. After the candidates have been presented to the Board, there will be a discussion period followed by a secret ballot to determine the final President-Elect slate of the two candidates to bring forward to the annual election. Petition candidates will be vetted by the Nominations and Appointments Committee to meet the specified requirements of the position. If the requirements are met, the petition candidate will be added to the President-Elect ballot.
The Society will cover the President-Elect candidates’ expenses for the hotel charges from the night before the Board of Governors meeting through the night of the Board of Governors meeting; all other nights must be paid by the candidate. All reimbursement requests must be made on the IEEE reimbursement form and original receipts must accompany the request to the Society's Executive Office.
b. Election Campaigning. The Society President-Elect candidates must adhere to the following procedures regarding election campaigning:
3.16. Notification of Officer and General Election Results. (amended 22 August 2022)
Procedures for announcing Officer and General Election results to candidates and SPS Membership:
3.16.1. Notification of Candidates. (amended 20 October 2022)
SPS Election Staff on behalf of the Chair of the Nominations and Appointments Committee shall notify candidates of their success in the Annual General Election. Upon request from any member of the Society, the member may receive the Officer, Member-at-Large and Regional Director-at-Large election results.
3.16.2. Vote Counts.
The results (vote counts) of the Society's elections shall not be published.
3.17. Distinguished Lecturers. (amended 24 March 2005)
Each year, up to ten (10) technically diverse and geographically dispersed individuals shall serve as Signal Processing Society Distinguished Lecturers (DLs). The formal term of appointment shall be two calendar years with five (5) individuals appointed each year.
3.17.1. Nomination. (amended 30 Septemer 2016)
The Awards Board shall make an open solicitation for all distinguished lecturer nominations reaching all Society members no later than 1 June of each year. Nominations will also be solicited from specific boards/committees of the Society, which include the technical committees, editorial boards and the major boards of the Society. Nominations may arise from any individual or committee/board. Nominations shall be submitted directly to the Society’s Awards Board. Distinguished Lecture nominations may include endorsements. Nominations by individuals can be accompanied by up to two endorsements by other individual members. Nominations supported by committees/boards cannot be accompanied by endorsements. Please review the endorsement form for full details and restrictions.
A board or committee cannot nominate one of its members for Distinguished Lecturer. However, a member of a board or committee can be nominated by another board or committee. Please note: boards or committees who submit nominations, but have voting Board of Governors members sitting on their boards or committees must ensure that Board of Governors voting members do not participate in the board/committee award nomination or selection process. Current officers and members of the Signal Processing Society Board of Governors and Awards Board are ineligible. Self-nominations are not accepted or considered. Members of the Awards Board and voting members of the Board of Governors are not permitted to submit nominations. Non-voting Board of Governors members are permitted to submit nominations.
All nominations will be considered by the Awards Board and a list of nominees and alternates, along with a list of their lecture topics, will be provided to the Board of Governors at least three weeks prior to its Fall meeting. The Board will consider this list at its Fall meeting and provide its advice and consent for the final selections, which shall be announced by the Awards Board Chair.
The list of nominees and alternates shall comprise individuals of distinction who are members of the IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society, who are recognized experts in their fields of endeavor, and who are capable of delivering a message of importance to the technical community as well as to the Society’s members organized in chapters around the world.
Following identification of the top five (5) candidates and alternates by the Board, the Society staff, on behalf of the Awards Board Chair, will reconfirm in writing the candidates’ willingness to serve as an SPS Distinguished Lecturer.
3.17.2. Criteria. (amended 20 October 2022)
Distinguished Lecturer candidates must be a recognized expert in a signal processing area of interest; must hold the IEEE grade of Senior Member or higher and be a member of the Signal Processing Society; and must be an engaging presenter. An engaging presenter is one who is a good presenter who can clearly convey the essence of their work to a wider audience, beyond the experts on the specific field, in a way that grasps the attention of the audience and motivates the participants. This can be supported by related evidence from previous lectures of the nominee.
3.17.3. Publicity. (amended 24 March 2005)
The Executive Director shall contact each lecturer and request, by fax or e-mail, a copy of each lecturer's brief biography and a listing and brief description of the lectures/short courses each DL is prepared to present. Each DL will be requested to provide such information within ten (10) working days of contact by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director shall also provide, at the time of this contact, a current listing of Society Chapter Chairs and their contact information, as well as information on working with the Chapters regarding their engagement, negotiation and expensing of travel, and any other pertinent details.
Upon receipt of the requested biography and lecture information, the Executive Director shall prepare and transmit a message by e-mail/fax to the Society's Chapters, announcing the names of the new class of DLs, providing biographical information, contact information, and the list and description of lectures/short courses for the coming calendar year. Such correspondence by the Executive Director to the Chapters also shall contain any changes to the DL program for the coming year, as well as describe the selection, engagement, negotiation, and expensing of DLs for presentations to the Chapters.
The Executive Director shall also be responsible for causing information regarding the new class of DLs to be posted to the Society's Web page, publishing the names and lecture titles in the next issue of the Society's Directory of Volunteer Leaders and Staff, and providing in a timely way full information about the Society's program for the coming term to the IEEE for publication in the IEEE Distinguished Lecturer website.
3.18. Distinguished Industry Speaker Program. (approved 10 March 2017)
Each year, up to ten (10) technically diverse and geographically dispersed individuals shall serve as Signal Processing Society Distinguished Industry Speaker (DIS). The formal term of appointment shall be two calendar years with up to five (5) individuals appointed each year.
3.18.1. Nomination.
The Awards Board shall make an open solicitation for all Distinguished Industry Speakers nominations reaching all Society members no later than 1 June of each year. Nominations will also be solicited from specific boards/committees of the Society, which include the Chapters, technical committees, editorial boards and the major boards of the Society. Nominations may arise from any individual or committee/board. Nominations shall be submitted directly to the Society’s Awards Board. Distinguished Industry Speaker nominations may include endorsements. Nominations by individuals can be accompanied by up to two endorsements by other individual members. Nominations supported by committees/boards cannot be accompanied by endorsements. Please review the endorsement form for full details and restrictions. A board or committee cannot nominate one of its members for Distinguished Industry Speaker. However, a member of a board or committee can be nominated by another board or committee. Please note: boards or committees who submit nominations, but have voting Board of Governors members sitting on their boards or committees must ensure that Board of Governors voting members do not participate in the board/committee award nomination or selection process. Current officers and members of the Signal Processing Society Board of Governors and Awards Board are ineligible. Self-nominations are not accepted or considered. Members of the Awards Board and voting members of the Board of Governors are not permitted to submit nominations. Non-voting Board of Governors members are permitted to submit nominations. All nominations will be considered by the Awards Board and a list of nominees and alternates, along with a list of their lecture topics, will be provided to the Board of Governors at least three weeks prior to its Fall meeting. The Board will consider this list at its Fall meeting and provide its advice and consent for the final selections, which shall be announced by the Awards Board Chair. The list of nominees and alternates shall comprise individuals of distinction who are members of the IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society, who are recognized experts with a background in industrial applications in the signal processing area and are well versed in the ongoing issues/activities in industry, and who are capable of delivering a message of importance to the technical community as well as to the Society’s members organized in chapters around the world. Following identification of the top five (5) candidates and alternates by the Board, the Society staff, on behalf of the Awards Board Chair, will reconfirm in writing the candidates’ willingness to serve as an SPS Distinguished Industry Speaker.
3.18.2. Criteria. (amended 20 October 2022)
Distinguished Industry Speaker candidates must be a recognized expert in a signal processing area of interest with a background in industrial applications and be well versed in the ongoing issues and activities in industry; must hold the IEEE grade of Senior Member or higher and be a member of the Signal Processing Society; and must work in industry and be an engaging presenter. An engaging presenter is one who is a good presenter who can clearly convey the essence of their work to a wider audience, beyond the experts on the specific field, in a way that grasps the attention of the audience and motivates the participants. This can be supported by related evidence from previous lectures of the nominee.
3.18.2. Publicity.
The Executive Director shall contact each speaker and request, by fax or e-mail, a copy of each speaker's brief biography and a listing and brief description of the lectures/short courses each DIS is prepared to present. Each DIS will be requested to provide such information within ten (10) working days of contact by the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall also provide, at the time of this contact, a current listing of Society Chapter Chairs and their contact information, as well as information on working with the Chapters regarding their engagement, negotiation and expensing of travel, and any other pertinent details. Upon receipt of the requested biography and lecture information, the Executive Director shall prepare and transmit a message by e-mail/fax to the Society's Chapters, announcing the names of the new class of DIS, providing biographical information, contact information, and the list and description of lectures/short courses for the coming calendar year. Such correspondence by the Executive Director to the Chapters also shall contain any changes to the DIS program for the coming year, as well as describe the selection, engagement, negotiation, and expensing of DIS for presentations to the Chapters. The Executive Director shall also be responsible for causing information regarding the new class of DIS to be posted to the Society's Web page, publishing the names and lecture titles in the next issue of the Society's Directory of Volunteer Leaders and Staff, and providing in a timely way full information about the Society's program for the coming term to the IEEE for publication in the IEEE Distinguished Lecturer website.
3.19. Resource Center Chief Editor Nomination Procedures. (amended 26 September 2019)
Nominations for the Chief Editor shall be restricted to individuals who have experience with society publications, such as former associate editors of IEEE publications and/or past members of the Publications Board and who are members in good standing of the IEEE and of the Society. It is strongly recommended that a slate of at least two names be brought forward.
Individuals who agree to be nominated shall be required to provide a brief biography and a statement of candidacy. These shall be circulated to the Executive Committee by the Vice President-Education, via e-mail, at least two weeks before the meeting at which the slate of names will be discussed.
The Executive Committee will review the candidates’ biographies and statements of candidacy and shall provide to the Vice President-Education, at the meeting, their endorsement of the preferred candidate, along with any additional comments. Should the Executive Committee not endorse any of the nominees, the Vice President-Education shall provide at least two new nominations within one month of the meeting. An e-mail ballot of the Executive Committee shall then be conducted and the results reported within 15 days.
Upon endorsement of a nominee by the Executive Committee, the Chief Editor will then be appointed by the Vice President-Education. The Vice President-Education will notify all candidates of the final decision. Once the candidates have been notified, the Vice President-Education will notify the Education Board and the SPS Executive Office on the outcome of the appointment process.
3.20. Resource Center Editors. (amended 20 October 2022)
Resource Center Editors shall be appointed by the Resource Center Chief Editor and must be a current member of the IEEE and the Signal Processing Society in good standing. The Society encourages outgoing and incoming Chief Editors to work in coordination to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. The selection of editorial board members, whose terms start on or after the term of the incoming Chief Editor, is the responsibility of the incoming Chief Editor. Prior to the start of their term, the new Chief Editor may submit recommendations for new members to the Vice President-Education.
A Resource Center Editor should have contributed a personally authored Resource Center before their editorial role commences. The role of the Editor is to solicit and coordinate submitted Resource Center reviews; recommend acceptance of Resource Center tutorials; ensure appropriate materials for Resource Center release; provide support for Resource Center contributors and solicitation of new Resource Center tutorials.
Editors shall have an initial term of no more than three years. After their initial term, Editors may be extended up to one additional year for exemplary service. Editors may serve more than one term on the Resource Center Editorial Board; however, such terms shall not be consecutive and shall have a minimum break of two years between service.
The Chief Editor shall have the right to terminate the terms of Editors. Appeals of such action by the Chief Editor shall be to the Signal Processing Society Vice President-Education, who shall have final authority in the matter.
3.21. SigPort Chief Editor Nomination Procedures. (amended 26 September 2019)
Nominations for the Chief Editor shall be restricted to individuals who have experience with society publications, such as former associate editors of IEEE publications and/or past members of the Publications Board and who are members in good standing of the IEEE and of the Society. It is strongly recommended that a slate of at least two names be brought forward.
Individuals who agree to be nominated shall be required to provide a brief biography and a statement of candidacy. These shall be circulated to the Executive Committee by the Vice President-Education, via e-mail, at least two weeks before the meeting at which the slate of names will be discussed.
The Executive Committee will review the candidates’ biographies and statements of candidacy and shall provide to the Vice President-Education, at the meeting, its endorsement of the preferred candidate, along with any additional comments. Should the Executive Committee not endorse any of the nominees, the Vice President-Education shall provide at least two new nominations within one month of the meeting. An e-mail ballot of the Executive Committee shall than be conducted and the results reported within 15 days.
Upon endorsement of a nominee by the Executive Committee, the Chief Editor will then be appointed by the Vice President-Education. The Vice President-Education will notify all candidates of the final decision. Once the candidates have been notified, the Vice President-Education will notify the Education Board and the SPS Executive Office on the outcome of the appointment process.
4.1. Establish a Chapter. (amended 15 September 2011) A petition to establish a Chapter must contain the following:
The petition for a Chapter shall be submitted to the Section Executive Committee for written approval and forwarded with the written approval to the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board. The Chapter will be considered established after the IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board has ascertained that the Regional Director and the Society President have no objection to its formation. The IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board shall so notify the IEEE Executive Committee, the Society President, and the Section Chair.
4.2. Establish a Student Branch Chapter. A petition to establish a Student Branch Chapter, on the required form supplied by the IEEE, must contain at least:
The petition for the Student Branch Chapter shall be submitted to the Manager of Student Services at IEEE Headquarters. The Student Branch Chapter shall be considered established following approval of the petition by the Regional Student Activities Committee Chair, the Regional Director, and the Society President.
4.3. Chapter Support. (amended 4 October 2012)
The Society shall provide financial assistance to its chapters in the form of support for travel, publicity, and coffee breaks or other small social gathering expenses for invited speakers. The maximum amount of such support available to each Chapter annually shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
Reimbursement to the Chapter for invited speaker travel expense, upon submission of a completed IEEE expense form and appropriate, original receipts, shall be on the basis of approval by both the Chapters Coordinator and the President-Elect.
The Society shall not, as a rule, provide other financial support to its Chapters. However, in the event of a specific request, the Chapter Coordinator shall make a recommendation to the President-Elect for relief.
4.4. Assistance to Needy Colleagues. (approved 25 April 1997)
The Society is aware of geographical and financial issues that may severely limit access by its members and colleagues to information about signal processing technology. For these reasons, the Society will, upon action by the Executive Committee, participate in library and other donation programs that provide service to its members and the community of peers.
The authority to create, merge, or dissolve, as well as change the name or scope of a Technical Committee lies with the Board of Governors, which acts upon the recommendation of the Technical Directions Board or TC Review Committee. The TC Review Committee’s and Technical Directions Board’s recommendation should be based on the technical needs of the Society’s membership and on the existing or expected levels of activity of the Technical Committee in question. (approved 28 May 2011)
5.1. Technical Directions Board. (approved 8 December 2009)
The Technical Directions Board has oversight of the Technical Committees and sets up policies and procedures for all of them. While Technical Committees may have additional Bylaws and Policies and Procedures, the Society’s Policies and Procedures will take precedence in case of conflict.
5.1.1. Creation and Termination of Megatrend Initiatives. (amended 20 October 2022) A megatrend is a large trending technical area that is relevant to many Technical Committees and Prospective Technical Committees within the Society. Identifying megatrends and creating initiatives in the technical area shall allow the Society to have more impact in that particular area, broaden the Society’s exposure outside of its traditional community, and provide access to a broader base of participants from outside the Society’s membership base.
Megatrend Initiatives shall have a finite life-span not exceeding six years in general, and an initial life-span of up to three years. When the term end of the Megatrend Initiative approaches, the Initiative will be subject to a review by the TC Review Committee to determine if the Initiative should continue or be terminated. The TC Review Committee Chair will bring forward the Committee’s recommendation to the Board of Governors for review and action. Upon its termination, the Megatrend Initiative’s scope should be integrated into the scopes of the Technical Committees, its successful activities should be carried on by Technical Committees and its participants from outside the society’s membership should be associated with the Technical Committees.
The Vice President-Technical Directions has the authority to identify megatrends and create and receive proposals for Megatrend Initiatives. The proposal shall contain as much information as possible in support of the proposal and shall include a suggested scope, membership roster, as well as a rationale as to why the Megatrend Initiative is needed at that particular time. The proposal will be reviewed by the Vice President-Technical Directions, who will then seek feedback from the Technical Directions Board. After feedback has been received, the Vice President-Technical Directions will bring forward a recommendation to the Executive Committee for review and action. The Executive Committee shall then consider the proposal and the Vice President’s recommendation, and may act to approve the creation of the new Megatrend Initiative. In the interest of coherence of the Society, the Vice President-Technical Directions and the Executive Committee may consider to limit the number of Megatrend Initiatives at any point in time.
After approval of the Megatrend Initiative, the Vice President-Technical Directions shall appoint the inaugural Chair of the Megatrend Initiative, who will become an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Technical Directions Board.
Megatrend Initiatives that are approved after the first quarter of the year will have an effective date of 1 January of the following year for determining their initial review year. This leeway will provide the Megatrend Initiative ample time to initiate its activities before their initial review meeting, which will determine its future.
5.1.1.1. Scope. (amended 8 June 2020) A Megatrend Initiative shall initiate and promote activities within the scope of the Society. It shall cover a particular area within the Society, act as a single point of contact, and be the voice of the Society within that area. The Megatrend Initiative shall represent the interests of all Technical Committees and Prospective Technical Committees, attract protagonists of the field from outside SPS, focus on both the theoretical foundations and its applications, and should aim at procurement and diligent use of Society’s initiative funds.
Megatrend Initiatives should attract critical mass, promote collaboration and cross-fertilization within SPS and beyond, as follows:
5.1.1.2. Management. Megatrend Initiatives shall be governed by a Steering Committee with a Chair conducting the day-to-day business and at least four other members, one of which shall be the Vice Chair. The Steering Committee members are appointed by the Vice President-Technical Directions for a term of two calendar years, renewable. The Chair and Vice Chair shall be elected by the members of the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee is responsible for supporting and setting the directions for the initiative, supporting the Chair and Vice Chair’s activities, initiating, organizing and setting the direction of the Working Groups. They are also responsible for nominating associate members and engaging all members in the initiative’s activities.
5.1.1.3. Chair.
5.1.1.4. Vice Chair.
5.1.1.5. Membership. Megatrend Initiatives will have two types of positions: Members and Associate Members.
5.1.1.6. Working Groups. Megatrend Initiatives should form working groups dedicated to the main activities of the initiative, such as:
5.1.1.7. Termination of a Megatrend Initiative. (amended 20 October 2022)
Upon recommendation from the TC Review Committee and approval by the Board of Governors to terminate a Megatrend Initiative, a report will be written by the Megatrend Initiative’s Steering Committee to provide its feedback on how and which Megatrend Initiative activities should be absorbed by the Technical Committees. The written report shall be submitted to the TC Review Committee and the Vice President-Technical Directions for review and a final decision.
5.1.2. Creation and Termination of New Prospective Technical Committees. (amended 26 September 2019)
From time to time, consonant with advances to the fields of signal processing, and in order to service the many activities of the Society (publications, conferences, awards, etc.) requiring easy access to a cadre of experts in a specific technical area, it may be appropriate to create a new Prospective Technical Committee (PTC).
The PTC shall have a finite life span up to five years with an initial review by the Vice President-Technical Directions during year two. The goal of the initial review during year two is to provide early feedback. In year three, the PTC will undergo a formal review by the TC Review Committee at ICASSP. The PTC can transition to a TC upon recommendation by the TC Review Committee and further approval by the Board of Governors. If the transition to a TC is not recommended, then the PTC shall undergo another review by the TC Review Committee in years 4 and 5. If the PTC does not receive a successful review by the TC Review Committee by the end of year five, the PTC shall be disbanded.
5.1.2.1. Recommendation for a New Prospective Technical Committee. (amended 20 October 2022)
A proposal for a new Prospective Technical Committee (PTC) shall be brought to the attention of the Technical Directions Board (TDB). The initial proposal shall specify the below noted details:
The TDB will review, investigate, and discuss the proposal and then shall vote to recommend action by the Board of Governors. The Board shall then, at its next regular meeting, consider the proposal and the TDB's recommendation, and may act to approve, in concept, the creation of the new PTC.
Following the Board's approval, the proposer shall be appointed as the PTC Chair. The PTC Chair will be an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Technical Directions Board. The following steps shall be followed to create the PTC:
5.1.2.2. Duties of a New Prospective Technical Committee. (amended 20 October 2022)
The main duties of the New Prospective Technical Committee are noted below. The top seven items are expected to be fulfilled by the PTC and the remaining items are highly desirable.
5.1.3. Change of Technical Committee Name/Scope.
In response to changes within the technical community, it may be advisable to change the name of a technical committee. Name changes may be recommended in order to keep current with the changing vocabulary of technology or to reflect a change in scope of an existing TC.
As technology advances, activities surrounding certain disciplines may evolve, making both a change of name and of scope of a Technical Committee appropriate. In the event that such change is believed by a particular TC to be warranted, the Chair of that TC shall bring the suggested name change and change of scope to the Technical Directions Board for deliberation, discussion, and recommendation to the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors will take final action on the recommendation of the TDB.
5.1.4. Merge or Dissolve a Technical Committee. (approved 28 May 2011) The TC Review Committee will use the TC Review process to identify Technical Committees that are inactive or only minimally active. The TC Review Committee will suggest to the Technical Committee appropriate and attainable goals. If the efforts of the TC Review Committee to revitalize an inactive Technical Committee are not successful after a defined period of time, the TC Review Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Governors to merge the Technical Committee with an existing Technical Committee, dissolve or change the Technical Committee.
At the recommendation of the Vice President-Technical Directions or the TC Review Committee, the Board of Governors can approve, with a two thirds vote present at the meeting, to dissolve, merge or change a Technical Committee if it deems it is no longer serving the needs of the Society.
5.2. Technical Committee Reviews. (amended 20 October 2022)
No later than 31 January of each year, the TC Review Committee shall provide to each Technical Committee Chair being reviewed the TC Review template. The template provides a snapshot of the TC’s membership and activities, including, but not limited to, sponsored/co-sponsored workshops; paper review for sponsored/co-sponsored major conferences; session organization for major sponsored/co-sponsored conferences; awards nominations; associate editor nominations by EDICS and journal; distinguished lecturer nominations; TC elections; TC bylaws; number of TC meetings, attendance and quorum; diversity of membership; web page address and date of last update. The TC Review Committee will individually meet with each TC Chair at ICASSP to discuss the review report. The TC Review Committee will study the reports and make formal remarks and recommendations via the review report. The TC Review Committee will submit the final report, which includes its recommendations, for every Technical Committee reviewed to the Board of Governors for formal acceptance.
5.3. Technical Committee Membership.
5.3.1. Members. (amended 8 June 2020)
5.3.2. Advisory Members. (amended 20 October 2022)
5.3.3. Affiliates. (amended 28 July 2020)
5.3.4. Associate Members. (amended 20 October 2022)
5.4. Technical Committee Management. (amended 15 September 2011)
5.4.1. Vice Chair.
5.4.2. Chair.
5.4.3. Past Chair.
5.5. Technical Committee Organization.
5.5.1. Subcommittees.
The subcommittees may address the following activities:
5.5.2. Conduct of Business.
5.6. Technical Committee Election Procedures.
5.6.1. Vice Chair.
5.6.2. Members.
5.6.3. Elections Process. (amended 20 October 2022)
Please refer to Policy 5.6.1. for Vice Chair and Policy 5.6.2. for Member election procedure details.
Votes for “Vice Chair” and “Member” Technical Committee elections shall be tallied using a two-tier process. First, nominees are voted as "approved" (Yes) or "not approved" (No). Next, preference is given to "approved" votes using a ranking process. The implementation of the voting procedure is left to the discretion of the individual Technical Committees. An implementation sample is: N is equal to the number of open slots and each voting TC member casts up to N votes for his or her preferred candidates (preference votes). Each voting TC member should vote on approval for each candidate (approval votes) to indicate if the voting TC member approves of that candidate for the TC, assuming that candidate is one of the top N vote receivers. Successful candidates (max of N) are those with both (a) the most number of preference votes, which is not necessarily greater than half TC members, and (b) approval votes from at least half of the members with voting rights. The number of approval votes will be considered in breaking ties. Any remaining ties will be broken by the Technical Committee Chair.
Technical Committee elections shall be finalized by 15 November, so election results will be known before the end of the year and the results can be reported to the Society’s Executive Office. All terms are on a calendar year basis (1 January-31 December).
5.7. Technical Committee and Prospective Technical Committee Award Nomination Procedures. (amended 20 October 2022)
Suggested Technical Committee and Special Interest Group Award Nomination Procedure. The following section lists a suggested step-by-step procedure for paper awards nomination that can be used by TC/PTCs.
Step 1. TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee formation: see Item c above.
Step 2. List of preliminary nominations: Between 1 May and 15 July, the TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee compiles a set of preliminary nominations for awards. Each TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee is responsible for proactively soliciting preliminary nominations from within or outside the TC. Any individual member of the society or broader technical community is eligible to make one or more preliminary award nominations including members of the TC/PTC and the TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee. Sources for nominations may include engineers/scientists who have made significant advances or major new directions in the field, authors of highly cited journal papers in the technical area of the TC/PTC, top downloaded papers from IEEE Xplore, journal versions of conference papers that obtained best paper awards, and preliminary nominations from the previous year that were not selected and are still eligible.
Step 3. Final list of preliminary nominations: see item d. The TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee may pare down the number of preliminary nominations based on a careful review. For example, the Awards Subcommittee may choose to select the 3 most worthy preliminary nominations in each category based on careful review. In addition, if a preliminary nomination is viewed as being without technical merit, it may be removed from consideration by a majority vote of the TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee. Moreover, all invalid preliminary nominations should be removed in this step.
Step 4. Anonymous review of paper award nominations: Each paper award nomination in the final list of preliminary nominations is anonymously reviewed by at least two experts. The Awards Subcommittee Chair makes the award review assignments and the Awards Subcommittee members act as auditors for the review and voting process. These reviews should comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the paper, its potential impact, and conclude with the reviewers’ opinion of whether or not the paper should be considered as the TC's nominee.
Step 5. Review by TC/PTC Members: (amended 20 October 2022) By approximately July 30, all nominations along with associated reviews for paper nominations should be circulated to all TC/PTC members for consideration. During this period, TC/PTC members can make comments to the TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee. At its discretion, the TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee then has the option of circulating to the TC/PTC membership a balanced selection and/or summary of comments along with possibly expert rebuttal if this is deemed to be of value.
Step 6. TC/PTC Vote. See item e. Below is a suggested procedure for use in voting.
The suggested voting procedure occurs in two rounds. In the first round of voting, each voting TC/PTC member may vote for up to 3n preliminary nominations in each award category, where n is the number of awards that can be given in that category. The TC/PTC Awards Subcommittee then selects the 3n preliminary nominations with the largest number of votes. In the case of a tie, more than 3n nominations may be included.
In the second round of voting, each voting TC/PTC member votes for up to n nominations for each award category, where n is the number of awards that can be given in that category. A preliminary nomination wins the vote if it receives a majority of the responding Technical Committee members votes provided that a quorum of the Technical Committee members respond to the ballot. In the event of a tie, the committee has the two options of a) voting additional times among the tying nominations until a majority vote is achieved; or b) selecting the full set of multiple tying nominations as winners.
Step 7. Submission to Awards Board. Final nominations selected by the TC/PTC along with up to 300 word summaries of supplementary material are forwarded to the SPS Awards Board by 1 September.
6.1. Authorship Responsibility and Misconduct. (approved 2 June 2013)
6.1.1. Author Rights and Responsibilities.(amended 20 October 2022)
Authorship and co-authorship of any publication submitted to the IEEE Signal Processing Society in any form should be based on substantial contributions as defined in the IEEE Publications Operations manual, section 8.2.1.A, which include a significant intellectual input, contributions to drafting the article, and approval of the final version accepted for publications. All co-authors have responsibility for work submitted under their names. Co-authors have the right to withdraw their names before acceptance of the article, but no co-author shall be removed without their permission.
Submission of a paper to an IEEE Signal Processing Society journal is taken to mean that all listed authors have agreed to the authorship list and all the contents and confirm that the work is original and that figures, tables and other reported results accurately reflect the experimental work. The use of a co-author’s name in a submission without their consent is unacceptable and will result in corrective actions. Fabrication, falsification or intentional misrepresentation of any aspect is considered misconduct and subject to IEEE sanctions for all authors.
Authors may only submit original work that has not appeared elsewhere in a journal publication, nor is under review for another journal publication. Limited overlap with prior journal publications with a common author is allowed only if it is necessary for the readability of the paper and the paper is cited. It is acceptable for conference papers to be used as the basis for a more fully developed journal submission. Still, authors are required to cite related prior work; the papers cannot be identical; and the journal publication must include novel aspects. The question of whether there is sufficient novelty should be determined by the review process and not by a simple measurement of overlap determined by word count. Overlap with an unreviewed technical report or student thesis with the same authors is allowed if the original work is cited.
All manuscripts submitted for publication will be treated as confidential by Editors, Associate Editors and Reviewers.
6.1.2. Author Misconduct. (amended 20 October 2022)
The IEEE Signal Processing Society recognizes that there are different forms of author misconduct including:
Uncredited verbatim copying of large amounts of material from another journal paper, whether by other authors or by the same authors, is classified as level 1 or level 2 plagiarism and is reviewed at both the society and the IEEE level.
Plagiarism and self-plagiarism applies to all previously published work, irrespective of whether the other publication is inside or outside of IEEE. All forms of author misconduct are unacceptable and may be subject to corrective actions by the IEEE.
Authors who have questions about whether their paper would violate any of the plagiarism principles should contact the Editor-in-Chief of the journal to which they plan to submit the paper.
6.1.3. Procedures for Investigation of Author Misconduct. (amended 20 October 2022)
The IEEE process for handling allegations of author misconduct involve an investigation by the organizational unit (Signal Processing Society) and subsequent PSPB review for any cases that are not dismissed at the organization level, as documented in the PSPB Operations Manual, section 8.2.4. The process may be initiated by a formal complaint from a reader, reviewer, author, or editorial staff, referenced here as the complainant. Alternatively, it may be initiated by the automatic plagiarism detection software used by IEEE, in which case there is no formal complainant. The investigation process within the Signal Processing Society is described below. All inquiries shall be handled promptly and fairly. All parties relevant to the allegation shall be given the opportunity to respond.
In either case, the investigating officer shall notify the authors of the decision no sooner than 30 days and no later than 90 days after they were first notified of the review.
6.1.4. Corrective Actions for Author Misconduct.
The IEEE Signal Processing Society will consider the following sanctions for manuscripts identified before publication.
Papers that have a substantial overlap with another paper by the same authors, where the overlapping paper is appropriately cited, may be rejected without review by the Editor-in-Chief for lack of novelty, but they are not considered self-plagiarism and not subject to sanctions.
For manuscripts identified after publication, the IEEE Signal Processing Society will consider publication of a notice of violation of Publication Principles in the article’s bibliographic record, as specified in the PSPB Operations Manual section 8.2.4.E.
6.2. Protection of Intellectual Property. (amended 2 June 2013)
6.2.1. Copyright.
As provided by IEEE Policy, all technical, educational and professional publications, including Society newsletters, are required to be copyrighted by the IEEE. Copyright is held by the Institute itself and not by the Society.
In further keeping with IEEE policy, the Society shall ensure that, prior to publication, all authors or their employers shall transfer to the IEEE in writing any copyright they hold for their individual papers. Such transfer shall be necessary for publication, except for material in the public domain or reprinted from a copyrighted publication. In return, the IEEE shall grant authors and their employers permission in writing to make copies and otherwise reuse the material under terms approved by the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board, which shall be specified in the PSPB Operations Manual. This includes electronic posting of accepted article preprints, as described in Section 8.1.9.
For jointly sponsored conferences, which might require special copyright arrangements, those arrangements shall be made in accordance with the procedures which shall be specified in the PSPB Operations Manual.
Inquiries regarding IEEE copyright shall be referred to the IEEE Intellectual Property Rights Office.
6.2.2. Property Rights.
No member or other individual may assign to any other organization or individual, ownership, whether in whole or in part, of any Society products, services, or other property, without the express, written consent of the Executive Committee.
6.2.3. Plagiarized Work Published by the Society. (approved 18 October 2008).
When authors plagiarize work published by the Society, whether in its periodicals or conference publications, the Society volunteer leader who is the nominal “publisher” of the periodical or conference publication will contact the publisher of the offending paper to request an investigation of the offense in a specified period. If the publisher of the offending paper does not undertake an investigation, or does not respond timely to the request, then the relevant society leader will undertake an investigation on behalf of the Society and will recommend a sanction to the Society’s Publications Board, if appropriate. In any event, the Society may take action, and also report the outcome of the Society’s decision to IEEE for the sanctioned author list.
6.3. Editor-in-Chief Nomination Procedures.
Nominations for the Editor-in-Chief shall be restricted to individuals who have previously served as associate editor on an IEEE publication, and who are members in good standing of the IEEE and of the Society. It is strongly recommended that a slate of at least two names be brought forward for each position coming vacant.
Individuals who agree to be nominated shall be required to provide a brief biography and a statement of candidacy. These shall be circulated to the Executive Committee by the Vice President-Publications, via e-mail, at least two weeks before the meeting at which the slate of names will be discussed.
The Executive Committee will review the candidates’ biographies and statements of candidacy and shall provide to the Vice President-Publications, at the meeting, its endorsement of the preferred candidate, along with any additional comments. Should the Executive Committee not endorse any of the nominees, the Vice President-Publications shall provide at least two new nominations within one month of the meeting. An e-mail ballot of the Executive Committee shall than be conducted by the Executive Director and the results reported within 15 days.
Upon endorsement of a nominee by the Executive Committee, the Editor-in-Chief will then be appointed by the Vice President-Publications. The Vice President-Publications will notify all candidates of the final decision. Once the candidates have been notified, the Vice President-Publications will notify the Publications Board and the SPS Publications Office on the outcome of the appointment process.
6.4. Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, Deputy Editors-in-Chief. (amended 20 October 2022).
Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, and Deputy Editors-in-Chief for a publication shall be nominated by the Editors-in-Chief and must be a current member of the IEEE and the Signal Processing Society in good standing. To nominate an Associate Editor, Senior Area Editor, or Deputy Editor-in-Chief, the Editor-in-Chief must submit a nomination form and the nominee’s short bio to the Publications Board. Any member of the Publications Board may raise an objection to or a concern about a nomination, in which case the nomination is held pending further discussion within the Publications Board. If there are no objections within seven days, the nominee is confirmed. However, in special situations where there is an exceptional Associate Editor candidate that is not an IEEE and/or Society member, but whose expertise would be a benefit to the journal that cannot be obtained from other sources, the Society's Vice President-Publications has the authority to grant exceptions for the membership requirement. The Editor-in-Chief would provide their rationale for the candidate to the Society's Vice President-Publications. The membership exception is expected to be rare and would be granted only once per candidate for up to a three year term with no option for the one year term extension described below. A list of exceptions will be maintained by the SPS Executive Office.
The role of the Associate Editor is to manage manuscripts through the peer review process, as specifically stated in the Society’s Guide for Associate Editors, and to contribute, as a member of the Editorial Board, to maintaining the health and quality of the publication. Associate Editors shall have an initial term of no more than three years. After their initial term, Associate Editors may be extended up to two additional years. Associate Editor candidates should have obtained their Ph.D. degree at least five years before the date of nomination, or have a record of equivalent experience in the peer review process.
The role of the Senior Area Editor is to manage manuscripts through the immediate reject process, advise the Editor-in-Chief in selecting Associate Editors, assist with managing the peer review process for difficult cases, as specifically stated in the Society’s Guide for Senior Area Editors, and to contribute, as a member of the Editorial Board, to maintaining the health and quality of the publication. Senior Area Editors shall have an initial term of no more than three years. After their initial term, Senior Area Editors may be extended up to two additional years. Senior Area Editor candidates should have completed a term as Associate Editor, possibly in a different journal, or have a record of equivalent experience.
The role of the Deputy Editor-in-Chief is to assist the Editor-in-Chief with the day-to-day operations as well as strategic planning for the publication. The delegation of tasks from the Editor-in-Chief to the Deputy Editors-in-Chief is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief carries the ultimate responsibility for all the tasks delegated to the Deputy Editors-in-Chief.
Deputy Editor-in-Chief positions may be established at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The number of Deputy Editor-in-Chief positions for a publication should be appropriate for the volume of manuscripts submitted to the publication, and is subject to approval by the Society’s Vice President-Publications.
Deputy Editors-in-Chief shall have an initial term of no more than three years. After their initial term, Deputy Editors-in-Chief may be extended up to two additional years. Deputy Editor-in-Chief candidates should have completed a term as Senior Area Editor, possibly in a different journal, or have a record of equivalent experience.
During their formal terms, Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, and Deputy Editors-in-Chief shall be voting members of the Editorial Board for the publication to which they were appointed. It shall be understood that, regardless of the formal term of service, Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, and Deputy Editors-in-Chief shall serve until their workload has been completed; however, voting membership on the Editorial Board shall be for the formal term only. Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, and Deputy Editors-in-Chief may serve more than one term for the same journal; however, such terms shall not be consecutive and shall have a minimum break of two years between service. No time break is required if an Associate Editor is moving to a position of Senior Area Editor, or if a Senior Area Editor is moving to a position of Deputy Editor-in-Chief, or if an Associate Editor, Senior Area Editor, or Deputy Editor-in-Chief is moving to an Editor position for a different journal.
The Editor-in-Chief shall have the right to terminate the terms of Associate Editors, Senior Area Editors, and Deputy Editors-in-Chief. Appeals of such action by the Editor-in-Chief shall be to the Society's Vice President-Publications, who shall have final authority in the matter.
The Society encourages outgoing and incoming Editors-in-Chief to work in coordination to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities for their journals. The selection of editorial board members, whose terms start on or after the term of the incoming Editor-in-Chief, is the responsibility of the incoming Editor-in-Chief. Prior to the start of their term, new Editors-in-Chief may submit their recommendations for new members to the Society's Vice President-Publications, who would then seek the consent of the Publications Board on their behalf.
6.5. Overview Papers. (approved 31 March 2012)
Overview articles may be published in the regular SPS Transactions are intended to be of solid technical depth and lasting value and should provide advanced readers with a thorough overview of various fields of interest.
6.6. Special Issues. (amended 23 May 2004)
The Signal Processing Society encourages the development and publication of special issues of periodicals when: (a) a broad cross-section of the technical community can be served; (b) to call attention to cutting-edge technology; (c) to establish a publication with the community it was designed to serve. The Guidelines for Special Issues are posted on the Society's website.
6.6.1. Approval of Special Issues. (amended 23 May 2004)
Approval of proposals for publication of special issues shall be the responsibility of the Society's Publications Board provided that: (a) the proposal is endorsed by one or more of the Society's Technical Committees; (b) the proposal indicates the name(s) and contact information of the special issue editor(s); (c) page budgets will not be exceeded; (d) expense budgets will not be exceeded; and, (e) publication of the normal queue of submitted papers will not be significantly delayed. The proposal shall follow the Guidelines for Special Issues.
6.6.2. Cooperative Special Issues. (amended 25 July 2012)
When the opportunity for publication of a special issue cooperatively with one or more IEEE Society or other organizations shall arise, and such publication shall provide a significant service to the Society's membership, the following procedures shall obtain:
6.6.2.1.
The steps in the process of creating cooperative special issues are: Step 0) The Editor-in-Chief of the SPS publication involved should alert the Vice President-Publications that the joint proposal is under development and identify the collaborative organization. 1) A proposal and Call for Papers be created by the potential cooperative special issue editors; 2) The proposal and the Call for Papers be approved by the Society's Publications Board; 3) Approval shall be sought by the Publications Board from the Society's Executive Committee to assure that a budget for the activity is established and also reflected in the Society's budget; 4) Call for Papers be issued and publicized by the IEEE Signal Processing Society and other cooperative organization(s); and 5) Usual editorial processes follow as the responsibilities of the cooperative special issue editors and as specified in the Call for Papers.
6.6.2.2.
The Call for Papers shall be disseminated to all Society members whose technical interests would permit their participation in the cooperative special issue. Additionally, appropriate participation by the Society's community of editors and reviewers shall be encouraged.
6.6.2.3.
At the time of dissemination of the Call for Papers, the IEEE Transactions/Journals Department will be notified, so that appropriate planning with that department and vendors can be planned.
6.6.2.4.
For three issues prior to publication, the Society's transactions and magazine shall publicize the special issue and the date of its availability, to call it to the attention of the regular subscribers and others who may choose to purchase the single issue.
6.7. Requirements Imposed by IEEE and/or TAB. (approved 10 June 2000)
6.7.1. Time from Submission to Publication. (amended 15 September 2011)
Manuscripts published in all IEEE transactions/journals shall provide, on the first page, the date that the manuscript was initially received and the date on which the manuscript was received in finalized form from the author for publication. These two dates will serve to define the start and end of the review process.
6.8. Publication Activities, Appeal of Editorial Decision. (approved 10 June 2000)
The editorial policy of the journals sponsored by the IEEE Signal Processing Society are determined by the Society, within the framework and policies established by the IEEE Publication Activities Board and the IEEE Board of Directors. Implementation of these policies shall be the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief of the publication.
The major criteria for publication of manuscripts in the publications sponsored by the IEEE Signal Processing Society shall be novelty and quality, based on the recommendation of the independent reviewers, and determined by the Associate Editor assigned to the manuscript. Authors wishing to appeal the decision of an Associate Editor shall make a request, in writing, to the Editor-in-Chief. If the Editor-in-Chief believes that additional, independent review is warranted, they may select independent reviewers, in consultation with the Editorial Board. The results shall be communicated to the author by the Editor-in-Chief. Thus, the Editor-in-Chief shall be, in general, the final authority on matters of content and appropriateness of material in the publication.
In the event the author(s) wishes to pursue the matter further, a decision would be made by the Vice President-Publications, with the advice and consent of the Signal Processing Society Publications Board. This decision shall be communicated to the author by the SPS Vice President-Publications.
In the event of a challenge to review or publishing actions which cannot be resolved at the Society level, the IEEE Vice President of Publication Activities shall be the IEEE officer with cognizance of the appeals process. An appeal of an editorial decision must be submitted within 60 days of final notification of the decision to the IEEE Staff Executive, Publications, who will acknowledge receipt of appeal and inform the IEEE Vice President of Publication Activities within 30 days. The IEEE Vice President of Publication Activities shall, within 30 days of receipt of a written appeal, determine whether the dispute merits a formal arbitration process. For arbitration, the Vice President of Publication Activities shall appoint an individual who shall, in consultation with all the parties to the dispute and with the assistance of knowledgeable members of the professional community, assess the merits of the dispute and recommend a resolution. The recommendation shall be presented to the IEEE Vice President of Publication Activities for review within 120 days of the receipt of the complaint. The decision, which shall be binding on the IEEE entity which is party to the dispute, shall be made within 15 days of the receipt of the recommendation by the IEEE Vice President of Publication Activities, and shall be reported to the IEEE Publication Activities Board.
6.9. Overlength Page Charges. (amended 20 October 2022)
The IEEE Signal Processing Society encourages authors to publish papers within the approved page limit. Papers of excessive length take space that could be used to publish a greater number of manuscripts. Publication values for the Society’s periodicals are high and the expense is significant, so extra pages add extra cost of publication and mailing. To encourage authors to remain, as much as possible, within the approved manuscript length limit, the Society has instituted Overlength Page Charges. Such charges encourage tightly written exposition of ideas and help to defray publication expenses when the manuscript length limit must be exceeded.
As published in the Information for Authors, payment of overlength page charges is the responsibility of the author(s) although, in some cases, the author(s) employer may defray this charge. The overlength page charge fee is set by the Society and approved by IEEE, and may not be suspended.
The author(s), upon submission of a manuscript, affirms by signature on one copy of the manuscript, and by mere submission of the manuscript to the Signal Processing Society, that the author(s) does/do agree to pay any overlength page charges accruing to that manuscript. Any and all authors who refuse, for whatever reason, to meet the obligation of payment of overlength page charges for any paper will be constrained from future publication of any and all manuscripts that are in excess of the approved page limit.
6.10. Advertising in Signal Processing Society Publications. (amended 10 May 2014)
IEEE Signal Processing Magazine shall be the primary venue for advertising Society events, products, and services. Ads shall be arranged, through the IEEE Magazine Advertising Department, at an advantageous Society-only rate.
The Society’s conferences and technical meetings shall be required to run an ad of at least ½ page in size, in an issue of IEEE Signal Processing Magazine to advertise the event. Further, such an ad shall be a prerequisite for free advertising, on a space available basis, in the most appropriate Society transactions or letters.
The Society’s major conferences shall be required to run their Call for Papers in the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine. One Call for Papers advertisement shall be allotted to the major conferences (ICASSP and ICIP) at no charge.
6.11. Scopes of Society Sponsored Journals. (approved 11 September 2003)
6.11.1. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine.
IEEE Signal Processing Magazine publishes tutorial-style articles on signal processing research and applications, as well as columns and forums of interest. Its coverage ranges from fundamental principles to practical implementation, reflecting the multidimensional facets of interests and concerns of the community. Its mission is to bring up-to-date, emerging and active technical developments, issues, and events to the research, educational, and professional communities. It is also the main Society communication platform addressing important issues concerning all members.
6.11.2. IEEE Signal Processing Transactions and Letters.
The scopes of the IEEE Signal Processing Society’s transactions and letters shall be as described in the EDICS for each of those publications.
6.11.3. Amendments to Scope.
6.11.3.1. IEEE Signal Processing Society Magazine.
Any recommendation for change to the scope of the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine shall be forwarded to the Society’s Publications Board for review, deliberation, approval, and recommendation to the Society’s Board of Governors for adoption.
6.11.3.2. IEEE Signal Processing Society Transactions and Letters.
Any recommendation for change to the scope of any of the transactions or the letters published by the IEEE Signal Processing Society shall be made via a recommendation for change of EDICS. Such recommendation(s) may arise from one or more of the Society’s committees or boards, or may be recommended by the Editor-in-Chief of the cognizant transactions or letters. Changes to EDICS shall be reviewed, deliberated, and adopted by the Society’s Publications Board.
6.11.4. Publication of Periodical Scopes.
The scope of the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine shall be published in a prominent location in each issue of the Magazine.
The scope of any transactions or letters, as contained in the EDICS, shall be published in each issue of that publication.
The scopes of all IEEE Signal Processing Society-sponsored periodicals shall be published on the Society’s web site and may also be published on the IEEE web site.
6.12. Publication of Obituaries in IEEE Signal Processing Society Transactions and Journals. (amended 8 June 2020)
An obituary, with photo included, of no more than one page, will be published in IEEE Signal Processing Magazine only for individuals who are a member of IEEE and of the IEEE Signal Processing Society who are recognizable in the signal processing technical community for the discovery or development of a seminal engineering principle. Decisions regarding obituaries and individual’s credentials will be approved by the Executive Committee.
The IEEE Signal Processing Magazine may also publish a Special Remembrance section for Signal Processing Society members who did not meet the above noted criteria for an obituary.
No other Society periodical publication or technical meeting publication (proceedings or program) will publish any obituaries or memorial material.
6.13. Complimentary Membership for Special Guest Editors. (amended 20 October 2022)
In accordance with Society policy, individuals having fiduciary responsibility for Society activities are required to be Members of the Society they serve. This means that all Guest Editors of Special Issues must be a Signal Processing Society Member.
The Signal Processing Society will provide the Guest Editor(s) of a Special Issue of one of the Society’s solely owned journals, a complimentary Affiliate Society membership for the term as Guest Editor. This offer is only available to Guest Editors who are not current Members of the Society.
6.14. Handling of Manuscripts Authored by Publication Volunteers. (amended 20 October 2022)
All IEEE Signal Processing Society volunteers that are involved in the publications process should avoid every perception of conflict of interest. IEEE Signal Processing Society publications have established procedures to ensure that no one can acquire unauthorized access to privileged information. The procedures ensure that the identities of reviewers for papers authored by editors or other publication volunteers are not divulged to the authors and cannot be accessed by them. In particular, manuscripts submitted by publication volunteers are handled by another member of the editorial board; reports and recommendations for volunteer-authored papers, when submitted to the author, omit the names and other identifying information for reviewers; and access restrictions to ensure reviewer privacy from authors are also enforced in the electronic publication management systems used for IEEE Signal Processing Society publications.
When an Editor-in-Chief submits a paper to their journal, the Vice President-Publications of the Society should be notified promptly by the journal staff and by the Editor-in-Chief. The Vice President-Publications or another Editor-in-Chief (if the Vice President-Publications has a conflict) will then oversee the review process of the paper. The person overseeing the paper can delegate the handling of the review process to an associate editor, and the Editor-in-Chief is removed completely from the editorial handling of the manuscript.
Editors-in-Chief and the Vice President-Publications should not put forward special issue proposals during their terms. If an Editor-in-Chief has a conflict with a Guest Editor of a special issue, they should recuse themselves from the discussion and decision of the special issue approval during the Publications Board deliberations.
6.15. Publication Queues. (approved 11 November 2009)
The Society shall have a publication zero queue policy for all solely owned Society journals. The Editors-in-Chief are responsible for managing the page budget for their journal so no queues build-up during any calendar year. If a publication queue forms, the Editor-in-Chief should request a queue release from the Vice President-Publications with rationale. Upon approval by the Vice President-Publications, the Vice President-Publications requests the queue release from the Executive Committee. In the event, a queue release is approved by the Executive Committee, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for managing the queue release for the approved pages, as well as bringing the publication page budget under control for the calendar year for which the queue release has been approved.
6.16. Handling of Rejected Papers. (amended 20 October 2022)
Authors of a manuscript that has been rejected, from any journal, except for reasons of scope, are allowed to resubmit their manuscript only once. At the time of submission, authors will be asked whether they consider their manuscript to be a new submission or a resubmission of an earlier rejected manuscript. If the authors indicate that their manuscript is a new submission, then the review process will follow the regular procedure.
If authors indicate instead that their manuscript is a resubmission of a manuscript, previously rejected, from any journal, except for reasons of scope, then they are required to upload a supporting document detailing how the new resubmission has addressed the concerns raised during the previous review. If the manuscript is resubmitted to the same journal, authors may also request that the resubmission be handled by the same Associate Editor, if the Associate Editor has not retired from the board. The Editor-in-Chief will do their best effort to accommodate the author’s request while taking into consideration the balancing of the workload among the Associate Editors of the editorial board of the journal. A new Associate Editor may also be assigned to the manuscript by the Editor-in-Chief.
Even when the manuscript is flagged by the authors to be a resubmission of an earlier rejected paper, the manuscript will be treated as a new submission with a new submission date; it is not treated as an RQ version.
The assigned Associate Editor can use the previous reviewers or a new set of reviewers, or a mix of old and new reviewers. It is preferable that the Associate Editors use some of the previous reviewers to help ascertain that the revision has addressed the concerns of the earlier review cycle. The selection of the reviewers is left to the discretion of the Associate Editor.
If the authors indicated during the submission process that their manuscript is a new submission and it is found during the review process that the manuscript is very similar to an earlier rejected paper, then the manuscript may be immediately rejected.
6.17. Sanction of Publications. (approved 11 October 2018)
Publications (transactions, journals, magazines, letters, etc.) shall require the following approvals in order to be published under the auspices of and/or with the support of the Society:
6.17.1. (a) New Publications
1. Financial:
New Publications in which the Society is a financial sponsor shall require the following clearances:
2. Technical Co-Sponsor:
New Publications in which the Society is a technical co-sponsor shall require the following clearances:
6.17.2 (b) Change in Financial Sponsorship Status
Publications in which the Society is changing the financial sponsorship status, such as a merger with additional sponsors, separation of sponsor(s), etc. shall require the following clearances:
6.17.3 (c) Change in Publications Method
Publications in which the Society is changing its mode of publication style, such as a hybrid model to open access model shall require the following clearances:
6.18. Termination of Publications. (approved 11 October 2018)
Publications (transactions, journals, magazines, letters, etc.) shall require the following approvals in order to be considered for termination by the Society.
Publications in which the Society is a financial sponsor shall require the approval of the Board of Governors. For final termination procedures of a Publication within IEEE, refer to PSPB Operations Manual 8.4.2.
7.1. About the Starting and Terminating of Conferences
7.1.1. Criteria for Technical Co-Sponsorship by the Signal Processing Society. (amended 13 November 2020)
The criteria for technical co-sponsorship falls into six broad categories: 1) personnel, 2) publicity and history, 3) topical, 4) logistics, 5) outreach, and 6) proceedings.
7.1.1.1. Personnel.
7.1.1.2. Publicity and History.
7.1.1.3. Topical.
7.1.1.4. Logistics.
7.1.1.5. Outreach.
7.1.1.6. Proceedings.
IEEE will not include proceedings of a conference in the IEEE Xplore digital library until after it has been sponsored three times by IEEE. After the conference has been sponsored by IEEE for the third time, the proceedings can included in IEEE Xplore for the fourth conference as well as all previous years that were sponsored by IEEE.
7.1.2. Sanction of Conferences. (amended 13 November 2020)
Conferences shall require the following approvals in order to be held under the auspices of and/or with the support of the SPS:
7.1.2.1. New Society Level Conferences (Conferences, Symposia, etc.) (amended 17 November 2022)
Subsequent notification shall be made to the cognizant Society Chapter Chair and IEEE Regional Section Chair.
Subsequent notification shall be made to the cognizant Society Chapter Chair and IEEE Regional Section Chair.
7.1.2.2. Ongoing or Repeating Technical Meetings. (ameneded 1 June 2022)
a. SPS Flagship Conferences (ICASSP and ICIP)
SPS Flagship Conferences shall follow the below process, and obtain approvals outline below:
A Call for Proposals shall be issued and promoted to all active SPS Members and posted on the SPS website.
b.Technical Committee Conferences (Workshops, etc.)
Ongoing or repeating conferences of any description in which SPS has previously participated require approval by the Conferences Board Executive Subcommittee, as well as approval of the proposed budget by the President-Elect. For ongoing or repeating conferences having “technical cooperation” or “in cooperation” status, approval of the Conferences Board Executive Subcommittee shall be required for each instance of SPS participation.
Upon rejection of a conference by the Conferences Board Executive Subcommittee, the rules noted in Policy 7.8.3. shall apply.
Upon approval of a conference, the Vice President-Conferences shall notify the Executive Director.
7.1.3. Termination of Conferences. (amended 13 November 2020)
Conferences shall require the following approvals in order to be considered for termination by SPS.
7.1.3.1. (a) Society Level Conferences.
Society Level Conferences in which SPS is the sponsor or co-sponsor shall require the approval of the Board of Governors.
(b.) Technical Committee Level Conferences.
Formal termination of a Technical Committee Conferences is not required, since these type of Conferences do not exist on a continual basis. The Conferences Board Executive Subcommittee will review and approve each instance of a Technical Committee Level Conference, usually on a yearly basis.
Technical Committee Level Conference can be terminated by the Board of Governors.
7.2. About Meeting Organization
7.2.1. Flagship Conference Date Range. (approved 18 May 2019)
ICASSP should be held between 1 March and 31 May, annually.
ICIP should be held between 1 September and 31 October, annually.
Exceptions can be approved by the Conferences Board.
7.2.2. Dates to Avoid for ICASSP and ICIP. (amended 13 November 2020)
This section defines the dates to avoid for ICASSP and ICIP to ensure that the conferences are accommodating people globally and making it as easy as possible to attend.
7.2.2.1. Major World Holidays and Observances to Avoid.
ICASSP or ICIP shall not occur during the below holidays. This list does not intend to include all holidays in all religions, but rather major religious events which overlapping with a major SPS conference may create significant personal or familiar discomfort.
7.2.2.2. Conferences to Avoid Overlap. (amended 1 June 2022)
ICASSP and ICIP shall not overlap with the below list of conferences, if the dates for any of these conferences have already been decided prior to ICASSP or ICIP proposal approval by SPS. This list contains conferences with similar audiences in which dates may be decided prior to ICASSP or ICIP:
7.2.3. Meetings and Workshops of Sister Organizations at Conferences. (amended 13 November 2020)
Sister Societies/Organizations may host technical or other meetings at SPS conferences provided that (1) the meeting does not overlap the technical activities of the conference; (2) no cost associated with the meeting is incurred by the conference or SPS; (3) SPS takes no liability or risk associated with such meetings; and (4) the publicity of such events must be clearly separated from the SPS Conference schedule.
7.2.4. Organizing Committees. (amended 13 November 2020)
A conference Organizing Committee (OC) shall be appointed to manage any and all aspects of a conference sponsored by SPS. Such Organizing Committee shall be chaired by the conference General Chair(s) and shall typically comprise individuals to serve as chairs of the following:
The members of the Organizing Committee shall be appointed by the conference General Chair(s) with the advice and consent of the SPS Conferences Board. Members shall serve a term of office coincident with the planning, execution, and closeout activities for that conference.
Organizing Committee members may make administrative decisions on behalf of the conference, pursuant to the rules and practices of this Society and of the IEEE.
7.3. About Communication and Marketing
7.3.1. E-mail and Other Mailing Lists. (amended 13 November 2020)
All e-mail and postal mailing lists generated by conferences sponsored solely by IEEE Signal Processing Society are solely owned by SPS and may be used only in conjunction with normal IEEE Signal Processing Society sponsored activities, and sent by the SPS Executive Office email tool to ensure compliance with IEEE and Privacy Laws. When a contractor is used for ICASSP, or ICIP it is mandatory that the contractor provide the conference e-mail and postal mailing lists back to SPS, in the proper electronic format, for updating SPS’s master e-mail and postal mailing lists. The contract will specify the information required for Society business. For example, such information should include:
Furthermore, the list must contain the following information in the proper electronic format:
This must be part of the contract signed with the conference management company. If a conference management company is not hired, the chair of the SPS conference is responsible for providing this information.
7.3.2. Logo Usage. (approved 1 May 2012)
Using the IEEE and Signal Processing Society logos achieves "brand recognition" and represents quality. Because the Signal Processing Society support and its logo are marks of quality, the Conferences Board must review and approve conference proposals to retain the value and meaning of the brand.
Guidelines for the use of the IEEE logo and accompanying logos can be found in IEEE Policy 6.3.2 at IEEE.org.
7.3.2.1. Solely Sponsored and Financially Co-Sponsored Conferences and Workshops. (amended 13 November 2020)
The Signal Processing Society logo is reserved only for conferences and workshops solely sponsored or financially co-sponsored by the Signal Processing Society per Policy 7.1.2. The Signal Processing Society logo must not be used until the Signal Processing Society has formally approved the conference. In addition (even though permission is anticipated), words or expressions such as "IEEE Signal Processing Society sponsorship requested" may not be used.
The sponsored and co-sponsored conference may only use the below Society’s logo in the format provided on the Society's website:
7.3.2.2. Chapter or Section Sponsored Conference or Workshops. (amended 13 November 2020)
When a Signal Processing Society chapter organizes/supports a conference, it is the IEEE logo that must be used (not the Signal Processing Society logo), since the event normally belongs to an IEEE Section.
The chapter shall follow IEEE Policy 6.3.2 Guidelines on the Use of the IEEE Logo and "IEEE".
7.3.2.3. Technical Co-Sponsored Conferences. (amended 13 November 2020)
When Signal Processing Society is a technical co-sponsor of a conference for a particular year, the support cannot be assumed for future years. Approval must be obtained from Conferences Board for every event, unless multiples years have been approved.
Technical Co-Sponsored conferences may use the IEEE logo as prescribed in IEEE Policy 10.1.17.
Technical Co-Sponsored conferences may use the Signal Processing Society logo for Technical Co-Sponsorship as shown below, and only after the MOU has been signed by an authorized Society representative.
In addition (even though permission is anticipated), words or expressions such as "IEEE Signal Processing Society technical co-sponsorship requested" may not be used. Misuse of the SPS logo may be grounds for revoking a technical co-sponsorship and future applications for technical co-sponsorship may be refused.
7.3.3. Logos on Conference Websites. (amended 13 November 2020)
No logos of institutions of conference volunteers may appear on any Society solely-owned conference material, including websites. The main web page for conference s may not have any logos other than that of the approved sponsoring entities for the conference. This would mean IEEE and IEEE Signal Processing Society logos only would appear for conferences solely owned by SPS.
7.4. About Finances and Budgets
7.4.1. Conference Banking. (amended 20 October 2022)
All SPS financially sponsored conferences and workshops shall open an IEEE Concentration Bank account as the primary conference bank account for deposit and disbursement of all funds related to the conference. Signatories on these accounts shall include, at a minimum:
A contractor or supplier cannot be a signatory on Society conference accounts.
Upon request and approval by the SPS Vice President-Conferences and SPS President-Elect, a second supplemental bank account may be utilized for local in-country expenses. Conference registration income shall not be deposited directly into this account and must be opened with an IEEE Section/Chapter or a local University in which a key member of the Organizing Committee is affiliated. This bank account would require the below signatories, at a minimum:
Conferences sponsored by other technical societies may be excluded from the above provisions provided a charter of operations for those organizations is approved by the SPS Board of Governors and the IEEE, and an exclusion is granted by the SPS Vice President-Conferences and SPS President-Elect.
7.4.2. Registration Credit Card Charges - Merchant Services/Payment Gateway. (amended 20 October 2022)
All conferences and workshops must utilize an IEEE Payment Gateway/Merchant Services through IEEE to process any credit card transactions for the conference and workshop. These services are available for all IEEE financially sponsored conferences and can be used by Professional Conference Organizers and Registration providers. Utilizing IEEE services assures PCI (Payment card industry) compliance of the conference.
Exceptions to this process to utilize other Merchant Services/Payment Gateways may be submitted with justification for review by the SPS President-Elect and Vice President-Conferences on a case-by-case basis.
7.4.3. Budgets. (amended 20 October 2022)
All conferences and workshops shall submit a budget for Society review and approval by the SPS President-Elect, prior to final submission with IEEE, at least 1 year prior to the conference for ICASSP and ICIP and at least 6 months before the conference for any other conferences and workshops.
Conference budgets should be prepared using the SPS Budget template, and in accordance with the SPS Conference Organizer Guidelines.
In the preparation of budgets for Society conferences and other activities, it is important to acknowledge the role of the conference budget as a component of SPS's operating budget, and the surplus as a contribution to the new and ongoing member services.
If the Board of Governors or any other Society Board and Committee Meetings will be held in conjunction with a Society sponsored conference at the conference venue at the request of the Board of Governors or Executive Committee, the conference organizers are responsible for allocating the meeting space, catering and equipment, including providing wireless internet access. It is the responsibility of the conference organizers to assure this service is included within the conference budget and provided as requested.
7.4.3.1. Administration Services Fee. (amended 13 November 2020)
All conference and workshop budgets shall include as an expense item, an administration fee equal to 2% of the total (pre-loan) expense budget. Administrative Fee percentage can be adjusted exceptionally, with a proposal by the Vice President-Conferences and approval from both the Conferences Board and the Board of Governors.
7.4.3.2. Monetary Gifts to Local Signal Processing Society Chapters. (amended 20 October 2022)
Each SPS-sponsored conference has the opportunity to provide a donation to the local SPS Chapter where the event is taking place. However, in order for the donation to be executed, the following criteria must first be met:
Society-sponsored conferences may budget up to $5,000 per event. Society flagship conferences may budget up to $10,000 per event. The donation must be included as an expense item in the approved budget and the workshop must meet IEEE required 20% surplus. If the 20% surplus has not been met, the donation amount may be reduced, so SPS meets its projected surplus. If the 20% surplus cannot be met, the SPS Chapter donation will not be issued. Donations will not be allowed to be increased beyond this threshold due to a workshop acquiring a larger than budgeted surplus. Donations are made with the provision that the local SPS Chapter actively participated in the organization of the meeting.
7.4.3.3. Requirement to Balance Budgets. (amended 20 October 2022)
Every conference or workshop with financial sponsorship by SPS will be expected to achieve its approved budgeted surplus, and is expected to maintain a current status of the financial forecast throughout the planning of the event. If the financial forecast projects that the conference may fall below the surplus in the approved budget, the Conference Organizers must report this to SPS for review. Unless an exception is granted by SPS President-Elect and Vice President-Conferences, the conference or workshop will discharge all of its debts and meet the surplus as committed in the original budget.
Each ICASSP and ICIP Organizing Committee shall submit, prior to each Conferences Board meeting, a conference status report utilizing the SPS Semi-Annual Conference Update Template, which shall contain a financial update.
7.4.3.4. Conference Loans/Seed Funding. (approved 20 October 2022)
Conferences financially sponsored by SPS are eligible for a loan or seed funding, if needed, to pay any conference-related expenses prior to receiving income from conference registration or sponsorship. To request a loan, a detailed list of expenses should be provided to SPS Staff for review, and upon approval, the loan shall be issued to the conference’s IEEE Concentration Bank account. All loans are to be repaid to SPS in full at the conclusion of the conference during the conference closing process.
7.4.3.5. Closing of Conference Financials. (amended 20 October 2022)
Conferences financially sponsored by SPS shall meet the IEEE Policy requirements for closing, except with the permission of the Vice President-Conferences and the President-Elect.
7.4.3.6. IEEE Conference Publications Program Revenues - Society Sponsored Conferences. (amended 20 October 2022
Electronic proceedings will be produced by the conference, to be provided to attendees in the format required by IEEE. A copy of that electronic proceedings shall be delivered to SPS staff office immediately upon preparation. If the conference proceedings are also approved for inclusion in IEEE Xplore, a second version of the proceedings in the correct format for IEEE Xplore should be prepared and submitted to IEEE at least 30 days before the conference ends, or in accordance with the Open Preview timeline received by IEEE. No other copies will be produced and no monies will be charged against or credited to the workshop for the conference proceedings.
7.5. About Contracts and Service Providers
7.5.1. Hotel Booking Agents. (amended 13 November 2020)
It shall be the policy of SPS not to use booking agents whose specific purpose is to engage hotel sleeping rooms on behalf of conferences, workshops, or other conferences, and who derive their income from direct payment or commission. When the meeting organizing committee believes an exception to this policy is warranted, a recommendation from the Conferences Board followed by the express, written approval of SPS’s Executive Committee shall be required.
7.5.2. Conference Contractors. (amended 13 November 2020)
Approved Society conferences may, upon approval of their budgets, contract professional management for the conference. Such contractor shall be identified via a detailed Request For Proposal (RFP). Proposals shall be reviewed by the conference team and SPS’s Executive Office prior to selecting a contractor, and before signature of any contract, which shall be reviewed and signed by the IEEE on behalf of SPS.
7.5.3. Payments to Professional Conference Organizers. (amended 13 November 2020)
Professional conference organizers shall submit a detailed, enumerated invoice to SPS Conference staff and the Organizing Committee. The payments will be made from IEEE Concentration Bank account, if funds are available. If funds are not available, SPS shall advance or loan the invoice amount to the conference and process the payment. For financial obligations that are not known until after the surplus has been transferred to SPS, SPS shall be responsible for the payment of the expense charged against the surplus via journal entry.
7.5.4. Hardware/Software Purchases. (amended 13 November 2020)
The Society will not approve, nor will it pay for, the purchase of hardware or the development of software by an approved conference to manage registration, manuscript submission and review, or any other conference-related task, without express action by the Board of Governors. Nor may such expenses be levied against the budgets or any of the Society’s conferences.
7.6. About Papers and Authors
7.6.1. Conference/Workshop Publications.
7.6.1.1. Papers submitted to conferences of the IEEE Signal Processing Society shall be submitted electronically, in a format approved by IEEE to enable inclusion in the online Xplore database. Papers submitted to conferences will be reviewed electronically and the author(s) will be notified of the outcome by electronic means. Finalized manuscripts shall be transmitted electronically to the contracted printer for publication.
7.6.1.2. Requirement of Original Material. (amended 13 November 2020)
Authors of conference papers have the same rights and responsibilities as authors of journal papers (see Section 6.1.1). Authors are required to submit material that is original and that has not been published, or submitted for consideration, elsewhere. Authors misconduct, including fabrication of results and plagiarism of the work of others (see Section 6.1.2), shall be subject to sanctions by IEEE under the rules of Member Conduct. Instances of suspected or documented plagiarism shall immediately be brought to the attention of the conference/workshop General Chair.
Allegations of misconduct by authors of articles in IEEE Signal Processing Society conference or workshop proceedings shall be investigated by the conference/workshop General Chair(s) or (one of) the Technical Program Chairs. The same process for investigation of misconduct will be used as for journal publications (see Section 6.1.3) with the exception that the appeal of a decision will be to the Vice President-Conferences.
7.6.1.3. Conference Publications, Publication of Obituaries. (amended 13 November 2020)
No obituaries will be published in any IEEE Signal Processing Society conference proceedings or programs.
7.6.2. Author Registration. (amended 13 November 2020)
Every regular paper accepted by a conference sponsored by the IEEE Signal Processing Society must have attached to it at least one registration at the full member/non-member rate.
Thus, for a manuscript for which all authors are students, one student author will be required to register at the full registration rate.
For manuscripts where at least one author is already registered at the full rate, this fulfills the obligation for up to four papers.
This policy must be clearly stated on the paper submission and call for papers sections of the conference web site so that authors are informed of it before they are notified of the acceptance of their paper. It should also be stated in the correspondence sent to the author advising the acceptance of their paper.
7.6.3. Conference No Shows. (amended 13 November 2020)
The IEEE Signal Processing Society enforces a "no show" policy. Any accepted paper included in the final program is expected to have at least one author or qualified proxy attend and present the paper at the conference. Authors of the accepted papers included in the final program who do not attend and present at the conference will be added to a "No Show List", compiled by the Society. The "no show" papers will not be published by IEEE on IEEE Xplore® or other public access forums, but these papers will be distributed as part of the on-site electronic proceedings and the copyright of these papers will belong to the IEEE.
Note: For poster sessions, if the speaker is not present in front of the poster for most of the time during the poster session, this implies "no show".
Exceptions to this policy will be made by the Technical Program Chair(s) of the conference only if there is evidence that the "no show" occurred because of unanticipated events beyond the control of the authors, and every option available to the authors to present the paper was exhausted. The “no show” authors may appeal the decision of the Technical Program Chair(s) to the Vice President Conferences.
The Signal Processing Society values diversity. Authors who anticipate inability to travel to a conference because of a government-imposed travel restriction are still encouraged to submit papers. Such papers will be reviewed and accepted on their own merit for publication in conference proceedings, without any knowledge of the author’s travel restriction. Within one week of paper acceptance notification, travel-restricted authors must notify the Technical Program Chair(s) of the conference with proof of their restriction. Substitute presenters may be possible or, depending on conference resources, other accommodations may be available, such as a remote presentation or pre-recorded video.
7.6.4. Handling of Manuscripts Authored by Conference Volunteers. (amended 13 November 2020)
All IEEE Signal Processing Society conferences have established procedures to ensure that no one can acquire unauthorized access to privileged information. The procedures ensure that the identities of reviewers for papers authored by editors or other conference volunteers are not divulged to the authors and cannot be accessed by them. In particular, manuscripts submitted by editors and other conference volunteers are handled by another member of the conference; reports and recommendations for volunteer-authored papers, when submitted to the author, omit the names and other identifying information for reviewers; and access restrictions to ensure reviewer privacy from authors are also enforced in the electronic publication management systems used for IEEE Signal Processing Society conferences.
7.6.5. Conference Paper Plagiarism. (amended 13 November 2020)
[This policy only applies to conference papers. SPS Policy 6.1.3. applies to journal papers.]
7.6.5.1. Requirement for Original Material and Sanctions for Plagiarism and for Duplicate Submission of Conference Manuscripts. (amended 20 October 2022)
Authors are required to submit material that is original and that has not been published, or submitted for consideration, elsewhere. Authors who plagiarize the work of others--who copy the work of another without attribution or appropriate documented permission--shall be subject to sanctions by IEEE. Such behavior not only constitutes a misdeed, but may be actionable by IEEE under the rules of Member Conduct. Instances of suspected or documented plagiarism shall immediately be brought to the attention of the Technical Program Chair(s) of the meeting for notification to IEEE.
In addition, authors who make duplicate submissions of a technical meeting manuscript shall be subject to the sanctions of the IEEE Signal Processing Society. Duplicate submission shall be defined as:
Authors may expand and develop conference papers into journal submissions. However, the authors must cite the conference submission(s) and describe the enhancements made in the journal submission from the conference paper.
The sanctions of the IEEE Signal Processing Society for duplicate submissions are:
Notification of sanction for duplicate submission shall be to the author(s) from the Technical Program Chair(s) with copies to the SPS Vice President-Conferences.
7.6.5.2. Procedures for Investigation of Author Misconduct. (amended 20 October 2022)
7.6.5.3. Plagiarized Work Published by SPS. (amended 13 November 2020)
When authors plagiarize work published by SPS, whether in its periodicals or conference publications, SPS volunteer leader who is the nominal "publisher" of the periodical or conference publication will contact the publisher of the offending paper to request an investigation of the offense in a specified period. If the publisher of the offending paper does not undertake an investigation, or does not respond timely to the request, then the relevant society leader will undertake an investigation on behalf of SPS and will recommend a sanction to the SPS’s Conferences Board, if appropriate. In any event, SPS may take action, and also report the outcome of SPS’s decision to IEEE for the sanctioned author list.
7.7. About Awards and Recognition
7.7.1. Recognition at Technical Meetings of SPS Members Who Have Died. (amended 13 November 2020)
Obituaries, as defined in Policy 6.12., may be recognized in one of the IEEE Signal Processing Society flagship conferences. This includes special sessions with no archived papers in IEEE Xplore. Special sessions with archived papers or special issues would have to go through the regular process. Any questions regarding an individual’s credential will be resolved by the Executive Committee.
7.7.2. Presentation of Society Awards and Recognition of SPS Fellows at ICASSP. (amended 13 November 2020)
As per Society bylaw, annual recognition of SPS’s awards is to take place at SPS’s Awards Ceremony, which is held during ICASSP. At the ceremony, SPS will also recognize its members who were recently elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow.
The Awards Board Chair will work directly with the conference organizers to arrange the date, time, location and duration of the Awards Ceremony. The Awards Board Chair will ensure that the Awards Ceremony be held in a location and at a time that is convenient for most attendees of the conference. The Awards Ceremony will be approximately one hour in length and should be scripted in advance by the Awards Board Chair.
8.1. Contracts. (amended 15 September 2011)
All contracts for goods and services on behalf of the Society, whether in the name of the Society or one or more of its boards, committees, conferences, etc., shall be reviewed by IEEE prior to execution.
Whenever possible, contracts for review should be submitted by fax or mail to IEEE at least four weeks prior to the signature deadline date, to allow the appropriate IEEE office time for thorough review and, if necessary, the further engagement of legal or other appropriate advice.
Following completion of the review as detailed above, and upon IEEE approval, contracts may be executed by an appropriate IEEE signatory.
8.2. Budgeting for Society Activities. (amended 30 March 1999)
The Signal Processing Society shall not, as a rule, adopt budgets for Society activities that provide for a deficit. The Society's policy shall be for break-even or better budgets. In the event that deficit budgeting may be necessary to initiate a new activity or preserve ongoing activities, the express permission of the Board of Governors is required.
8.3. Travel Support for Volunteer Leaders. (amended 30 September 2010)
The Society may provide volunteer travel support to specific Boards and representatives as mentioned in these policies. Additional travel support may be provided to other Boards and Committees, as detailed below. The additional support will be reviewed annually by the Executive Committee on behalf of the Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors gives the Executive Committee the authority to modify volunteer travel support levels as necessary due to the Society’s financial situation.
8.3.1. Upon request and submission of appropriate documentation, the Society will reimburse the full expense, within IEEE guidelines, of member travel in the following categories:
8.3.1.1. Travel of the President and President-Elect to meetings of IEEE Technical Activities Board and its associated councils and committees.
8.3.1.2. Travel of members in connection with their services as Society representatives to IEEE-level committees and activities, when such representation has been requested by the Board of Governors or the Executive Committee.
8.3.1.3. Travel of members of the Executive Committee to meetings of that group that are not held in conjunction with a Society conference, workshop, or Board of Governors meeting.
8.3.1.4. (amended 4 October 2012) Travel of the Vice President-Technical Directions to meetings of the Society’s Technical Committees not held in conjunction with ICASSP. Travel and budget approval is needed in advance of the trip by the Society President with a copy to the President-Elect and Executive Office.
8.3.2. (amended 11 April 2023) Voting and non-voting members of the Board of Governors shall qualify to have their hotel room, at the “host” conference hotel, direct billed to the Society for the ICASSP meeting in the Spring and ICIP meeting series in the Fall. The Society will cover the hotel charge from the night before the Board Member-at-Large’s, Regional Director-at-Large’s, and other member’s first Board or Standing Committee meeting through the night of the Board of Governors meeting; all other nights must be paid by the Board Member. For the Awards Board Chair, the Society will cover the hotel charge from the night before the Awards Ceremony through the night of the Board of Governors meeting. The Officers of the Society are expected to attend the ICASSP and ICIP meeting series in their official capacity and will have their hotel room nights at the “host” hotel covered for the duration of the meeting series.
Voting and non-voting board Members will also be reimbursed for travel expenses associated with the ICASSP and ICIP meeting series, which are: non-refundable, economy class, coach airfare, transfers to/from airport, visa fees, and food for covered days, provided they adhere to IEEE travel policy. With pre-approval by the Society President, Premium Economy airfare and extra legroom (e.g., Economy Plus) seats are permissible for flights with elapsed flight time over 8 consecutive hours for a single segment or over 8 hours flying time when a layover is required. Travel funds may not be used for conference registration. All reimbursement requests must be made through the IEEE reimbursement platform along with the associated receipts.
8.3.3. (amended 26 September 2019) Members of the Publications Board, upon completion and submission of an IEEE reimbursement form and appropriate documentation, shall qualify for reimbursement of travel expense to attend IEEE Panel of Editors meeting. Should the Publications Board meet in conjunction with the Panel of Editors, Publications Board members shall qualify for one day additional reimbursement. Publications Board members are required to adhere to IEEE travel Policy.
Members of the Publications Board shall also qualify for up to $1200 continental or $2100 intercontinental travel per year in travel assistance to only one Publications Board meeting, either at ICASSP or ICIP. Members of the Publications Board may choose which Publications Board meeting they would like to seek travel reimbursement for. Additional travel support up to the same level may be provided to the members of the Publications Board to support a second Board meeting. This support will be determined the preceding year by the Executive Committee after review of the Society’s financial situation. Publications Board members must adhere to IEEE travel policy. Such funds may not be used for conference registration. Such travel funds shall be reimbursed upon submission of appropriate documentation and a completed and signed IEEE reimbursement form.
8.3.4. (amended 26 September 2019) Members of the Conferences Board shall qualify for up to $1200 continental or $2100 intercontinental travel per year in travel assistance to only one Conferences Board meeting, either at ICASSP or ICIP. Members of the Conferences Board may choose which Conferences Board meeting they would like to seek travel reimbursement for. Additional travel support up to the same level may be provided to the members of the Conferences Board to support a second Board meeting. This support will be determined the preceding year by the Executive Committee after review of the Society’s financial situation. Conferences Board members must adhere to IEEE travel policy. Such funds may not be used for conference registration. Such travel funds shall be reimbursed upon submission of appropriate documentation and a completed and signed IEEE reimbursement form.
8.3.5. (approved 6 December 2014) Members of the Membership Board shall qualify for up to $1200 continental or $2100 intercontinental travel per year in travel assistance to the Membership Board meeting at ICASSP. Membership Board members must adhere to IEEE travel policy. Such funds may not be used for conference registration. Such travel funds shall be reimbursed upon submission of appropriate documentation and a completed and signed IEEE reimbursement form.
8.3.6. (approved 6 December 2014) Travel support up to $1200 continental or $2100 intercontinental per person may be provided to voting members of the Technical Directions Board to attend the Board meeting at ICASSP. Travel support will be determined annually by the Executive Committee after review of the Society’s financial situation. Such funds may not be used for conference registration. Such travel funds shall be reimbursed upon submission of appropriate documentation and a completed and signed IEEE reimbursement form.
8.3.7. (approved 6 December 2014) Travel support up to $1200 continental or $2100 intercontinental per person may be provided to voting members of the Awards Board to attend the Board meeting at ICASSP. Travel support will be determined annually by the Executive Committee after review of the Society’s financial situation. Such funds may not be used for conference registration. Such travel funds shall be reimbursed upon submission of appropriate documentation and a completed and signed IEEE reimbursement form.
8.3.8. (approved 18 May 2019) Members of the Education Board shall qualify for up to $1200 continental or $2100 intercontinental travel per year in travel assistance to only one Education Board meeting, either at ICASSP or ICIP. Members of the Education Board may choose which Education Board meeting they would like to seek travel reimbursement for. Additional travel support up to the same level may be provided to the members of the Education Board to support the second Board meeting. This support will be determined annually by the Executive Committee after review of the Society’s financial situation. Education Board members must adhere to IEEE travel policy. Such funds may not be used for conference registration. Such travel funds shall be reimbursed upon submission of appropriate documentation and a completed and signed IEEE reimbursement form.
8.3.9. (amended 4 October 2012) Other Volunteers Leaders seeking travel assistance to attend a Society meeting series should submit their requests to the Society President with a copy to the President-Elect and to the Executive Office.
8.3.10. Volunteer Information Captured on Society Website. (approved 18 May 2019) The Society may display the following details on its website for each active volunteer holding a position on a respective Signal Processing Society Board, Committee, conference, publication, technical committee or appointed position. The information includes: first name, last name, email, photo, title of position within Society and work affiliation.
9.1. Amendments to a section of the Society’s Policy & Procedures Manual is the prerogative of the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors may delegate approval to the Executive Committee between meetings. Notice of the proposed policy or amendment must be transmitted to each Board member at least one week prior to the Board meeting.
9.2.These amendments may be initiated by a particular board by a two-thirds vote of the members of that Board, followed by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. Both the corresponding board and the Executive Committee may conduct the voting either at a face-to-face meeting or by email, provided a seven-day period is allowed for such responses.
9.3. Amendments to a section of the Society’s Policy & Procedures Manual that does not pertain to a particular Board of the Society may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may conduct the voting either at a face-to-face meeting or by email, provided a seven-day period is allowed for such responses.
9.4. Board of Governors Approval of Amendment.
Amendment to this Policy and Procedures Manual shall be by majority affirmative vote of the members of the Board of Governors present at the meeting for which the amendment appears on the agenda and has properly been circulated in advance of the meeting as part of the agenda book or by email, provided a seven day period is allowed for such responses.
9.5. Effective Date.
Unless specified in the action of the Board of Governors, amendments to this manual shall become effective immediately upon approval by the Board of Governors.