What's New @ IEEE in Signal Processing

June 2006 Volume 7, Number 6

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. "Proceedings of the IEEE" Examines Next-Generation Optical Networks
2. Ultrasound "Laser" A Research Tool for Conventional Lasers
3. 30 June Submission Deadline for Signal Processing Symposium
4. Algorithm Replaces Embedded Images As Optical Security Technique
5. New Issue of "IEEE Potentials" Online for IEEE Members
6. Wizard of Watts: James D. Meindl Receives 2006 IEEE Medal of Honor
7. Canada Home of 6th IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing
8. IEEE Teams with IBM to Launch TryEngineering.org
9. MAGIC Telescope Discovers Microquasar Within Earth's Galaxy
10. New Camera May Provide Enhanced Imaging Technology for Patients
11. Redesigning the Liquid Crystal Lens
12. Share Your Photos of IEEE Events

FIND THE LATEST ONLINE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH
This week's new IEEE journals, proceedings and standards:
ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/newinfo.jsp

1. "PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE" EXAMINES NEXT-GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS
This month's issue of "Proceedings of the IEEE" (v. 94, no. 5) takes an in-depth look at the subject of next-generation optical networks. Eight invited papers cover topics such as transmission costs, packet-switching networks, underwater fiber transmission and photonic crystals. In addition, this is the first issue of the newly redesigned "Proceedings of the IEEE," with several new features and an increase in the use of full-color graphics. The table of contents and abstracts for all papers can be found in the IEEE Xplore digital library, where subscribers may also read the full text of all articles. Visit: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=34274

2. ULTRASOUND "LASER" A RESEARCH TOOL FOR CONVENTIONAL LASERS
The essential qualities of a laser can be mimicked by classical mechanics -- as opposed to quantum mechanics -- using sound instead of light, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Missouri at Rolla, who have built an ultrasound analogue of the laser. The device, called a uaser (pronounced WAY-zer), for "ultrasound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," produces ultrasonic waves that are coherent and of one frequency, and could be used to study laser dynamics and detect subtle changes, such as phase changes, in modern materials, researchers say. Read more: www.scienceblog.com/cms/researchers-build-an-ultrasound-version-of-the-laser-10793.html

3. 30 JUNE SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR SIGNAL PROCESSING SYMPOSIUM
The paper submission deadline for the 2007 IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and its Applications conference is 30 June. Authors are encouraged to submit papers on a variety of topics including radar & sonar processing, data mining, multimedia signal processing and others. The conference will take place from 12 to 15 February 2007 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. For more: www.isspa.info/ISSPA07/index.htm

4. ALGORITHM REPLACES EMBEDDED IMAGES AS OPTICAL SECURITY TECHNIQUE
A new, high-capacity optical security system using phase retrieval algorithms makes data more secure than embedded images, according to its developer, Yishi Shi, in the Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 8 (2006). Until now, optical techniques have required embedding a secret image in a host image, according to Yishi, which jeopardizes the security of the system. The new technique, "optical Fresnel image hiding (OFIH)," satisfies the three most important requirements in image hiding, according to Yishi: imperceptibility, because the secret image cannot be found in the watermarked image; robustness, since the watermarked image contains no secret information, and the phase keys are the main method for extraction; and high capacity, because the secret image is the same size as the host image. Read more: www.physorg.com/news69434205.html

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"Optimism is essential to achievement,
And it is also the foundation of courage and true progress." ~ Nicholas Murray Butler

5. NEW ISSUE OF "IEEE POTENTIALS" ONLINE FOR IEEE MEMBERS
"IEEE Potentials," the magazine for high-tech innovators, has released its latest issue (v. 25, no. 1); all IEEE members may read the full text of the magazine online as a benefit of their membership. This issue features a cover story entitled "Paradigm shift – an introduction to fuzzy logic" that readily explains the timeline and importance of fuzzy logic for future innovators. "IEEE Potentials" provides theories to practical applications and highlighting technology's global impact. Visit: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=34290

6. WIZARD OF WATTS: JAMES D. MEINDL RECEIVES 2006 IEEE MEDAL OF HONOR
James D. Meindl may have won the 2006 IEEE Medal of Honor, but that is not the only reason why he is a happy man today. Meindl, who is now a professor of microelectronics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, reflects on a life that has been full of excitement and joy in this month's issue of "IEEE Spectrum" (v. 43, no. 6). This excitement is something that he hopes to pass on to the students in his classrooms, his colleagues in research labs, and even the bellhops at hotels. Meindl's "most thrilling moment in engineering work" was at the 1969 ISSCC when his colleague's blind daughter demonstrated a device they had invented that took a picture of letters on a page and then translated it to a tiny pad of vibrating pins allowing her to read. Read about Meindl's journey to becoming the "Wizard of Watts" in the June issue of "IEEE Spectrum" at: www.spectrum.ieee.org/jun06/3646

IEEE members and online subscribers can find IEEE papers by James D. Meindl using this search string: ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/authors.jsp?key=meindl

7. CANADA HOME OF 6th IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SIGNAL PROCESSING
The IEEE International Symposium on Signal Processing and Information Technology (ISSPIT) comes to Vancouver, Canada, in August. The conference will be the sixth in a series of international symposia aiming at the coverage of key aspects in the fields of signal processing and information technology. Tutorials as well as presentations on new research results will be included. The conference takes place from 27 to 30 August. For more information or to register to attend, visit: web.unbc.ca/~zhoul/isspit/

8. IEEE TEAMS WITH IBM TO LAUNCH TRYENGINEERING.ORG
IEEE and IBM have collaborated to launch a new website that combines interactive activities with information on careers in engineering. Tryengineering.org is designed to educate a variety of audiences about the different engineering disciplines and the impact engineers have on society. Targeted toward teachers, school counselors, parents and students, site visitors can explore how to prepare for an engineering career, ask experts engineer-related questions and play interactive games. Tools for teachers include lesson plans and engineering projects as well as a list of student competitions and science and engineering-oriented summer camps. The site launched on 5 June with a searchable list of accredited engineering programs in the U.S. and Canada, and will be expanded to include programs in other English-speaking countries as well as Germany and France. Visit: www.tryengineering.org

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9. MAGIC TELESCOPE DISCOVERS MICROQUASAR WITHIN EARTH'S GALAXY
A microquasar sending out high-energy gamma rays within the Earth's galaxy has been discovered by the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope situated in the Canary Islands. The telescope is used to search for objects that send out high-energy gamma rays from deep in the universe and finds gamma rays by locating the flashes of light that occur as the rays strike the atmosphere. According to Daniel Ferenc, a professor of physics and a MAGIC scientific team member, the results of the gamma ray measurements taken by the telescope will aid physicists in understanding how microquasars and quasars transmit gamma rays. Read more: www.physorg.com/news68824943.html

10. NEW CAMERA MAY PROVIDE ENHANCED IMAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR PATIENTS
New camera technology has been introduced into the scientific community that creates shorter molecular image acquisition times, more precise image quality, and the possibility for new diagnostic procedures to search for more than one medical condition at a time. The data is based on results of the D-SPECT camera which were released at SNM's 53rd annual meeting this month in San Diego. According to experts in the field, the possibility of using more than one tracer and more than one isotope at once allows for a more efficient diagnosis of cancer, heart, and brain diseases, and a possible breakthrough in organ-specific single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) images. By gathering photons with a much greater order of magnitude through the use of a split-scanning detector design and incorporating lower radiation doses and personalized scanning for patients, the new technology is expected to be implemented in several medical centers in the near future. Read more: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/sonm-ptb053006.php

11. REDESIGNING THE LIQUID CRYSTAL LENS
Physicist Shin-Tson Wu and colleagues at the University of Central Florida have created a new type of tuneable liquid-crystal lens; they say it's focus can be modified depending on the amount of voltage applied to it. In a typical liquid crystal lens, the liquid-crystal molecules, which are shaped like tiny rods, line up in the direction of an applied magnetic field. This new lens includes the addition of smaller N-vinylpyrrollidone monomers placed between glass substrates, each coated with a thin transparent layer of conducting indium tin oxide. When voltage is applied to the lens the liquid crystal molecules pull together at either end of the gap, where the electric field is highest, while the monomers move toward the middle of the gap, where the field is lowest. Thus the refractive index varied across the device, being highest at the ends and lowest in the middle, creating a tuneable lens. The researchers were able to increase the lens's focal length simply by turning up the voltage. The downside to the new lens, however, is a disconcerting three-minute refocusing time. Read more: physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/5/12/1

12. SHARE YOUR PHOTOS OF IEEE EVENTS
Got IEEE photos? Share them with the world at the new IEEE photo group on Flickr.com. Check out the pictures posted so far at: www.flickr.com/groups/ieee/

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WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE IN SIGNAL PROCESSING
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Managing Editor: John Platt j.platt@ieee.org

Contributing Editors: Diana Fuksin, Robert J. Howe, Brian Pedersen, Ryan Thomas, Cari Wolfert

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