With some spectacular exceptions the result of all of that has been an ordinary response of perhaps 20% of the respondents.
I am aware that similar problems exist in only some of the other Commissions but I would like to highlight this area of National Contributions and real involvement in the URSI process as one of URSI’s real challenges for its survival and positive development into the future.
Certainly in Commission "C" we are acutely aware that the lack of real quality contributions to Commission activities together with real commitment to its future is causing stress and raising real questions about our ability to survive. Commission "C" covers a vast area of expertise, but, despite all of that advantage , there is little doubt that we find ourselves struggling to attract outstanding talent and superb up to the minute research content to the General Assembly.
There is no doubt that we find ourselves in very changing times which really question the whole idea of what "quality" and even what "excellence" is all about. That is the environment in which URSI must find methods to attract and then choose only the very best presentation material at the General Assembly. There is no room to compromise on the whole area of research excellence and academic provision – at all levels!
During the triennium Commission "C" has contributed hugely to the survival and development of the between GA meetings of both "Commsphere "and "ISSSE". Particularly with Commsphere there is a real possibility of redeveloping and rebuilding real and useful links with the ITU. It is a link which is considered vital for the future of URSI (and realistically it is probably considered to be irrelevant by the ITU) but we need to really work to find ways to overcome the chasm between a "penniless" Scientific Body and a "Multimillion Dollar" Industry. In our discussions we are aware that those interactions are not wholly "Scientific" or even "Engineering" but also encompass huge political considerations. We really need to explore whether URSI can cope with such a complex future.
This all exemplifies the challenge for the future of URSI.
In Commission "C" I believe that we can look forward to a period of strong leadership which will really lead and shape the future of the Commission.
In particular if we can establish those essential partnerships with the prime Telecommunications Industries the support for a strong and vibrant URSI – particularly in the key areas of Commission "C" will be ensured.
Ursi Electronic DIScussion IDEAS (UELDISS)
The following points are about things which need to be robustly discussed and lots of ideas shared and debated to arrive at the best basis for the years ahead.
1. Terms of Reference for Commission "C" - SIGNALS and SYSTEMS.
The Commission promotes research and development in:
The design of effective communications systems requires the balance of Scientific, Engineering and Economic factors. The Commission emphasises research into the Scientific factors, and provides expertise in other areas of Radio Science required for System Design.
These were very thoroughly haggled at Osaka but we decided to make no changes at all at Lille.
These terms of reference are extraordinarily broad. Some topics have not been addressed AT ALL at the last two general Assemblies. For example
-Information Theoretic topics
-Format of the "C" part of the General Assembly at Toronto.
The General Assembly in Toronto will commence its scientific sessions on a Monday and carry through until the following Tuesday. This will allow us to plan for 5 intensive days during the first full week and include tutorial and "workshop" material during the two days of the second week. This is intended to encourage attendees to stay a bit longer at a GA than they presently seem to.
3. Draft topics of interest for Toronto GA:
# General Lecture - ideas and speakers
# Tutorial Lecture - ideas and speakers
# Workshops (for the two days of the second week)???
We had some sessions at Lille which had less than 10 attendees! That is either due to the topic area OR the quality of the presenters!! In either event I would plan to steer clear of these areas in their present form for the next time! These include:
^Some of the presentations in these sessions were quite superb so perhaps it is a matter of repackaging so that the real message about the content gets through!!
4. Telecommunications and Wireless Communications
During the Assembly at Lille Council decided to disband its "Scientific Committee on Telecommunications" and in its place has established a "Working Group on Wireless Communication".
There are no terms of reference available at this time.
URSI Vice President Jo Shapira has been charged by the Board with the responsibility of developing all aspects of the Working Group. The prime intention of this new initiative is to ensure that URSI interacts in a much broader and more effective way with the ITU. There has been talk of URSI having lost its ‘status’ and ‘standing’ with ITU. It is also a fact that the ITU has changed quite remarkably during the last few short years - it is changing in order to cope with having become a megabillion dollar ‘industry’ and there are literally thousands of people involved in both technical and regulatory support areas. It is not at all clear how URSI will interact (easily) with such an unusual structure.
Shapira will first focus his efforts on the definition process of the new working group through the "Commsphere" meeting which will be held in Lausanne in February 1997.
Lucas will therefore endeavour to attend that meeting.
The Working Group as it is loosely proposed includes some of Commission C’s major terms of reference and is undoubtedly a hugely important area of interest for the future.
More details will be provided as they eventuate.
5. Major Meetings involving "C" between now and the Toronto GA:
6. The Future
We need to consider making ALL sessions of the General Assembly INVITED papers with contributions becoming poster sessions - would this markedly improve the quality of what we do?
Timing of individual presentations at the GA is a real issue! Many attendees want to be able to "pick the eyes" out of what is there by moving between parallel sessions. Some Commissions actually REFUSE to timetable their content - "C" will be strictly timetabled next time around and strictly adhered to irrespective of "no shows"!!
There was some talk of starting up a "NEW" Commission on Telecommunications - being a trend which URSI should not resist. That is a real issue for "C".
Future leadership. We need to ensure the strongest possible succession for the future. We need a strong and enthusiastic set of candidates for the next election (of Vice Chairman) at Toronto.
7. Contact Coordinates:
Ernst Bonek Austria ebonek@email.tuwien.ac.at Chris Drane Australia Paul Wittke Canada wittke@qucdnee.ee.queensu.ca Guido Tartara Italy tartara@elet.polimi.it Masami Akaike Japan akaike@ee.kagu.sut.ac.jp Marian Piekarski Poland FAX: (48) 71-20-35-29 Alexander Shmelev Russia vladi@rian.msk.su Carl-Henrik Walde Sweden FAX: (46) 86-62-39-41 David Thomson USA djt@research.bell-labs.com Ilja Zolotarev Russia zolotarev@omgtu.omsk.su Raymond Pickholtz USA pickholt@seas.gwu.edu Ilja Zolotarev Russia zolotarev@omgtu.omsk.su Godfrey Lucas Australia g.lucas@uws.edu.au
ATTACHMENT 1.
Call for Proposals to run ISSSE ‘98
Due: by 15 December 1996
To: Prof Tatsuo Itoh itoh@ee.ucla.edu
URSI Commissions C and D have formed a joint group to act as a Steering
Committee for the (ongoing) ISSSE series of meetings. The Steering Committee is now soliciting proposals for ISSSE ‘98 consistent with the following guidelines.
1. ISSSE ‘98 should be held in the period September to December 1998.
2. The duration should be 2 - 3 days.
3. ISSSE ‘98 should include a significant stream of sessions on a focussed theme, while also remaining open to papers in other areas of interest to Commissions C and D. Note that this is a departure from previous ISSSE meetings. The focussed theme should feature prominently in the call for papers
4. Association of ISSSE ‘98 with another meeting of interest to Commission C and/or D is encouraged.
5. A suggested format is a combination of invited plenary talks, say one each morning and afternoon, plus two parrallel sessions at other times.
6. A Young Scientist program should be included.
Proposals should address each of these guidelines and include the following information:
7. Names of the Chairperson and members of the local Organising Committee ( the Commission Chairpersons are joint conference Vice- Chairpersons).
8. Names of the Technical Program Chairpersons ( One each for Commissions C and D).
9. Venue.
10. Dates.
11. Budget based on conservative break-even number of attendees.