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3. Publication News

Do you know?  The IEEE SPS Best Paper Awards honor the author(s) of a paper of exceptional merit dealing with a subject related to the Society's technical scope, and appearing in one of the Society's transactions. Eligibility is based on a five-year window preceding the year of election, and judging is based on general quality, originality, subject matter, and timeliness. Up to six awards may be presented each year.  Click here to learn more about the publications that are honored by the 2008 SPS Best Paper Awards.

Signal Processing Magazine Deadlines:  http://www.ieee-spm.org/?i=cfp 

Special Issue Deadlines

Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing (website)

• Model Order Selection in Signal Processing Systems – Deadline: 20 April 2009
• Speech Processing for Natural Interaction with Intelligent Environments - Deadline: 3 July 2009
• Statistical Learning Methods for Speech and Language Processing - Deadline: 7 August 2009

IEEE Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing (website)

• Virtual Analog Audio Effects and Musical Instruments – Deadline: 15 March 2009
• Voice Transformation - Deadline: 1 April 2009

IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security (website)

• Electronic Voting - Deadline: 22 February 2009 (extended)

IEEE MultiMedia Magazine (website)

• Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia – Deadline: 15 May 2009

Recent Issues of SPS Sponsored and Co-sponsored Publications

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4. TC News

This month we are pleased to feature updates from the IEEE Signal Processing Society's newest TC and from one of its well established TCs.

Information Forensics and Security (IFS) Technical Committee

Information security is probably one of the last barriers to our "connected, anytime, anywhere with any device world." The IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) is very much interested in addressing the problems associated with protecting content in this environment. The Information Forensics and Security Technical Committee (IFS TC) is one of the newest TCs in SPS. The IFS TC addresses broad technical areas of information forensics and security and promote the advancement of science and technology in information security and forensics. The TC cooperates closely with the IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security.

The TC is pleased to announce that the First IEEE International Workshop on Information Forensics and Security (WIFS) will be held in London, UK, on December 6-9, 2009. Learn more about the Workshop from the Conference News section of this issue of the E-Newsletter.

A roster of the current IFS TC members can be found at the IFS TC website.  Contact Edward Delp (TC Chair, <ace AT ecn.purdue.edu>) and Mauro Barni (Vice Chair, <barni AT dii.unisi.it>) for more information about the TC activities and opportunities to be involved in.

Signal Processing for Communications and Networking (SPCOM) Technical Committee

The Signal Processing for Communications and Networking (SPCOM) Technical Committee is dedicated to exploring and illuminating the connections between SPS and the rapidly growing fields of communication networks. The technical interests of the SPCOM TC include coding, data compression, and information theory; network-distributed signal processing; channel modeling, estimation, and equalization; multiuser, multicarrier, and multiple-access communications; antenna arrays for wireless communications; and cross-layer aspects.

Through the member election for term 2009-2011, the SPCOM TC welcomed three new members: Shuguang Cui, Dirk Slock, and Luc Vandendorpe; and approved the renewal for three members: Athanasios Liavas, Zhi-Quan (Tom) Luo, and Qing Zhao. Beginning from January 2009, the new TC Chair is Geert Leus from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, and the new Vice Chair is Zhi-Quan (Tom) Luo from University of Minnesota, USA.

The IEEE International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances for Wireless Communications (SPAWC), the flagship conference of the SPCOM-TC, will this year be held on 21-24 June 2009 in Perugia, Italy. Located within the central region known to be the "green heart of Italy," Perugia is a charming walled medieval hilly town and provides an excellent setting for a closely interactive workshop like SPAWC 2009. More information can be found on the SPAWC 2009 website.

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Do you know?  IEEE SPS provides travel support for local chapters to invite SPS Distinguished Lecturers.  See a list of SPS 2008 and 2009 Distinguished Lecturers, and check each issue of the E-News for upcoming SPS Distinguished Lectures near you.  
 

If you are interested in organizing a new SPS chapter, or participating in activities in a SPS local chapter near you, please check out Local Chapter Resources. Additional questions and comments can be addressed to the SPS Chapters Committee.
 

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6. Technical Initiatives, Trends, and Standards

The MPEG Surround Audio Coding Standard

A data-rate efficient coding scheme for high-quality multichannel sound using novel parametric coding techniques has been standardized by the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG). This new "MPEG Surround" standard is backward compatible to existing mono- or stereophonic audio equipment. The technology of MPEG Surround is based on the spatial audio coding (SAC) principle: in the encoder, a mono- or stereophonic downmix is generated from the multichannel input signal, and additional parametric side information is extracted to guide the subsequent up-mix procedure in the decoder.

An overview of the history, technology, and performance of the MPEG Surround Audio Coding Standard by J. Hilpert and S. Disch is featured in the Standards in a Nutshell column of the January 2009 issue of the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine.

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Microscope Image Processing,
by Qiang Wu, Fatima Merchant and Kenneth Castleman, Elsevier, 2008.

Description from the publisher: Digital image processing, an integral part of microscopy, is increasingly important to the fields of medicine and scientific research. This book provides a unique one-stop reference on the theory, technique, and applications of this technology. The book presents a unique practical perspective of state-of-the-art microscope image processing and the development of specialized algorithms. It contains in-depth analysis of methods coupled with the results of specific real-world experiments. The book covers image digitization and display, object measurement and classification, autofocusing, and structured illumination.

Visit the book's website for more information.

Partial-Update Adaptive Signal Processing,
by Kutluyil Dogancay, Elsevier, 2009.

Description from the publisher:  Partial-update adaptive signal processing algorithms not only permit significant complexity reduction in adaptive filter implementations, but can also improve adaptive filter performance in telecommunications applications. This book gives state-of-the-art methods for the design and development of partial-update adaptive signal processing algorithms for use in systems development.  The book provides a comprehensive coverage of key partial updating schemes, giving detailed information on the theory and applications of acoustic and network echo cancellation, channel equalization and multiuser detection. It also examines convergence and stability issues for partial update algorithms, providing detailed complexity analysis and a unifying treatment of partial-update techniques.

Visit the book's website for more information.

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Two Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Signal Processing/Communications
at The University of Newcastle, Australia

The School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Newcastle, Australia, is seeking two Postdoctoral Research Fellows to support research projects in signal processing and communications funded by the Australian Research Council. A brief summary of these projects is available online.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. (or be close to completion) in electrical engineering or a related field (such as mathematics or statistics), with a proven capacity for high-quality research and an international publication record. Previous research experience in digital communications or statistical signal processing is desirable. Remuneration will be competitive, and commensurate with the applicant's qualifications and experience. The positions are available immediately for a term of up to three years. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until suitable candidates are found. To apply, please email a CV, including list of publications, and the names and contact details for two referees, to [Peter.Schreier AT newcastle.edu.au].

• Post-doctoral / Research Associate position in inverse imaging for semiconductor manufacturing at University of Hong Kong

• Ph.D. position in mathematical statistics - reliable detection of explosives and narcotics at Lund University, Sweden

• Post-doctoral research fellow on image quality assessment at University of Nantes, France

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow for Statistical Signal Processing - Synthetic Aperture Sonar at TU Darmstadt, Germany

• Postdoctoral Positions on MIMO Radar and Sensor Networks for Detection/Estimation at Lehigh University, USA

• EPSRC Industrial CASE PhD Studentship in Statistical Signal Processing at Heriot-Watt University, UK

Interested in advertising graduate scholarship, post-doc positions, or funding opportunities?
Please prepare a short text of the announcement (150-200 words) and visit the web submission site to enter your input. It is recommended to include the deadline or valid period of the announcement, and an URL for more information such as group/research description and detailed qualification expectation in English. Contact Associate Editor Prof. Alessandro Piva at <alessandro.piva AT unifi.it> if you have any questions. Note that advertisements on faculty and other full-time position are in the domain of IEEE job advertisement (http://careers.ieee.org/g/); the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine also provides opportunities for paid advertisement.

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