What's New @ IEEE in Computing

VOLUME 6 NUMBER 7 JULY 2005

CONTENTS:

1. IEEE Publications Dominate Citations in Computing Fields
2. Five New IEEE Journals Coming in 2006
3. New Software Creates Artificial Intelligence for Computers
4. Eternal Bits: IEEE Spectrum Reports
5. Universal Access Symposium Attracts Well-Known Keynote Speakers
6. USC Team Creates Rudimentary Voice-to-Voice Translator for Medicine
7. IEEE Standards Association Launches Monthly Email Newsletter
8. Loopholes in Corporate Software May Attract Hackers
9. Researchers Beginning to Focus on True Cost of Cybercrime
10. North CarolinaState Wins Computer Society Design Competition
11. 25 Early Years of Flagship Journal Added to IEEE Online Collection
12. Calculator that Mimics Pen and Paper Makes Complicated Sums Easier
13. Nominate An IEEE Senior Member

WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK IN IEEE XPLORE?
Find the latest technical papers online:
ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/newinfo.jsp

1. IEEE PUBLICATIONS DOMINATE CITATIONS IN COMPUTING FIELDS
IEEE publishes 11 of the top 20 journals in the field of Computer Science Hardware & Architecture, and top journals in other areas of computing, according to the 2004 Journal Citation Report (JCR) recently published by Thomson ISI. Top journals in this field included IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, IEEE Network, and IEEE Transactions on Computing. IEEE also publishes 9 of the top 20 journals in the field of Computer Science Software Engineering, including IEEE Internet Computing which was ranked the number-two journal. The JCR ranks journals by their impact factor, defined as the average number of times articles published in a specific journal in the previous two years were cited in a particular year. For more information, visit: www.ieee.org/citations

2. FIVE NEW IEEE JOURNALS COMING IN 2006
The IEEE has approved five new technical journals for publication in 2006, covering topics such as computational intelligence, vehicular technology, product safety engineering and information forensics. These journals will focus on emerging "breakthrough" technologies that can have a tremendous impact on industry as well as everyday lives. Titles will be available through IEEE Xplore and various IEEE online collections, as well as by individual subscription. For more about these new journals, please visit www.ieee.org/products/onlinepubs/news/0705_02.html

3. NEW SOFTWARE CREATES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR COMPUTERS
Computers that "think" may become the newest geniuses in the computing industry with the advent ISO 18629, a new software program developed by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology that utilizes artificial intelligence with language analysis. Although primitive, the new software would enable computers to interpret speech patterns and phrases like a person, rather than react to specific commands. Read more: www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/8215

4. ETERNAL BITS: IEEE SPECTRUM REPORTS
The era of digital documentation poses a serious threat to future generations, particularly due to frequent evolutions in computer programs that can occur within only a few years, reports IEEE Spectrum. In this month's issue, Mackenzie Smith, leader of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries team, talks about the long-term benefits of DSpace, a new software tool that stores and preserves the digital materials of out-of-date computer programs. According to the article, DSpace is currently being put to the test by a handful of institutions world-wide, among them Cambridge, Cornell, and Hong KongUniversity. IEEE Spectrum has more: www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/jul05/0705bit.html

5. UNIVERSAL ACCESS SYMPOSIUM ATTRACTS WELL-KNOWN KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The 2005 IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC) will take place in Dallas, Texas, USA, from 20 to 24 September. The conference, sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society, will host an array of universal access issues and concerns surrounding technologically disadvantaged populations. Keynote speakers will include such well-known researchers as Henry Fuchs, Allen Cypher, and Manohar Rao. Tutorials and workshops will be held for personal, hands-on understanding of the latest in universal access computer programs, such as visual modeling for software intensive systems and unified modeling languages. For more information, or to register to attend, visit: viscomp.utdallas.edu/vlhcc05/

Don't miss the next conference you need for your career. IEEE sponsors more than 300 technical conferences and workshops each year, highlighting the latest technological advances. Find events through the IEEE ConferenceSearch Web site at: www.ieee.org/conferencesearch/

6. USC TEAM CREATES RUDIMENTARY VOICE-TO-VOICE TRANSLATOR FOR MEDICINE
Researchers at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering have created a way to translate a physician's spoken English into spoken Persian, and patients' spoken Persian into spoken English. The preliminary system, created using actual English-Persian dialogue between doctors and patients, uses a laptop computer and requires users to recognize its limits and weaknesses, and work within them. Researchers hope a version of their Transonics Spoken Dialog Translator system will be ready for use in emergency rooms and ambulances within in two years. Read more: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/uosc-vtm062805.php

7. IEEE STANDARDS ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES MONTHLY EMAIL NEWSLETTER
The IEEE Standards Association now offers a free, monthly e-newsletter, IEEE StandardsWire, providing the most current information about new and revised standards and the initiation of new standards work. The newsletter includes detailed information about newly available standards categorized by technical interest, and highlights best-selling standards and related products. To subscribe, visit: standards.ieee.org/standardswire/subscribe.html

8. LOOPHOLES IN CORPORATE SOFTWARE MAY ATTRACT HACKERS
Recent investigations have revealed the negative financial impact caused by minute glitches in corporate software programs that give hackers the perfect opportunity to ambush whole, or even multiple, systems, leaving their victims to pay the price, according to an article from New Scientist. Investigators argue, however, whether it is best for these glitches to be exposed in order to prevent attacks, or if revealing them will actually lure attackers. To read more, visit: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/ns-ttc062205.php

9. RESEARCHERS BEGINNING TO FOCUS ON TRUE COST OF CYBERCRIME
With Internet-related crime becoming more common, researchers at CarnegieMellonUniversity, the University of Cambridge and the University of Toronto are trying to uncover its true cost to business and the public. Among other things, researchers have discovered that even a disclosure of vulnerability costs software firms money in reduced stock prices, even though the disclosures and attendant patches increase customer security in the long run. Researchers also found that the price tag of denial of service (DoS) attacks can extend beyond the immediate service outage through long-term reductions in site traffic, but that businesses sometimes greatly overestimate the costs of such attacks. Read more: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/ns-ttc062205.php

10. NORTH CAROLINA STATE WINS COMPUTER SOCIETY DESIGN COMPETITION
The student team from North CarolinaStateUniversity took home the US$20,000 first prize last month as the winners of the sixth annual IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition -- thereby becoming the first team from the United States to accomplish this feat. Poznan University of Technology won the second place prize worth $15,000 and the PolitehnicaUniversity in Bucharest took home the $10,000 third place prize. For more on these and other winners, visit: www.yellospark.com/blog/MT/archives/2005/06/winners_announc.html

11. 25 EARLY YEARS OF FLAGSHIP JOURNAL ADDED TO IEEE ONLINE COLLECTION
More than 12,000 papers and articles published in the Proceedings of the IEEE, the flagship IEEE journal, from 1963 to 1987 have been added to the IEEE online collection. Papers dating back to the first issue of the journal will be online early next year. The added content from the Proceedings of the IEEE is available to subscribers of the IEEE/IEE Electronic Library, which provides access to all IEEE online content. IEEE members with online subscriptions to the journal or the IEEE Member Digital Library may access these papers, as well. They are also available individually for online purchase. Tables of contents and abstracts for all issues can be found at: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=5

12. CALCULATOR THAT MIMICS PEN AND PAPER MAKES COMPLICATED SUMS EASIER
A novel calculator interface created by a researcher at the University of Swansea allows users to enter data by writing on a screen, rather than using button-based input, a method the inventor says eliminates the awkward and unnatural syntax of conventional machines, which often require data to be entered in a non-intuitive order. Calculations on the new interface are written exactly as they would be on paper using a custom-built character recognition software that works out the relationships between characters and symbols by looking at their relative positions. Read more: www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7583

13. NOMINATE AN IEEE SENIOR MEMBER
Every year, IEEE elevates many of its members to the level of IEEE Senior Member, the highest grade of membership for which an individual may apply. Potential senior members must have ten years of experience in an IEEE field, five years of "significant performance," and written references from three IEEE Senior Members or Fellows. IEEE Society members can earn rewards for their societies when they nominate IEEE members for elevation. Completed Senior Member applications and reference forms must be submitted by 5 November. For more information, visit: www.ieee.org/nsmi

WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE IN COMPUTING is a monthly, opt-in email update designed to provide you with the latest news regarding IEEE activities, industry trends, career development tips, and new IEEE product releases. We welcome your feedback on this service.

Managing Editor: John Platt j.platt@ieee.org
Contributing Editors: Julie Compton, Robert J. Howe, Cari Wolfert

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