The purpose of a council is to provide “a continuing mechanism for two (2) or more IEEE Societies, called Member Societies, to work together in a multi-disciplinary technical area of mutual interest, primarily through conferences and publications.” (References: IEEE Bylaws I-401.6, and the TAB Operations Manual, para. 4.8.)
The IEEE Sensors Council was formally constituted in June 1998 with presidents of 14 IEEE Societies signing the petition for its formation. The fields of interest of the Council and its activities shall be the theory, design, fabrication, manufacturing and application of devices for sensing and transducing physical, chemical, and biological phenomena, with emphasis on the electronics, physics and reliability aspects of sensors and integrated sensor-actuators.
Following are the 14 founding societies:
Currently there are 26 member societies of this council. Each society is represented in the Administrative Committee (AdCom) of the council through its appointed representative.
The IEEE Sensors Council was first included into Division I of IEEE in June 1999. Its formal term began from 1 Jan 2000 with John R Vig as its first President. The first President-elect was Franco Maloberti.
Most electronic devices interface somehow to the “real world”; and the interface essentially is a sensor or actuator, although it may not be called that. Despite the prevalence of sensors today, the IEEE currently has no society that is dedicated to the topic. Many IEEE publications and conferences publish selected papers on sensors and their applications that are relevant to their technical area, but they are usually organized around a particular technology (e.g., semiconductors) and not the problems faced with sensors in general.
The newly formed IEEE Sensors Council hopes to serve the sensor community with new publications, conferences, and technical committees. Its fields of interest and activities are the theory, design, fabrication, manufacturing, and application of devices for sensing and transducing physical, chemical, and biological phenomena, with emphasis on the electronics and physics aspects of sensors and integrated sensor-actuators. A majority of IEEE societies including the SSCS, have joined the new Council and sent representatives to the first meeting in November 1999. Dr. John Vig, who originally proposed the formation of the Council, was elected president.
The first objective for the new Council is to launch an IEEE publication devoted to sensors. Unlike integrated circuits, where we are observing a concentration on only a few key processes, sensors deal with an ever-increasing variety of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena. The field of interest statement of the proposed journal reflects this variety and includes mechanical, thermal, optical, magnetic, radiation, microwave, chemical, and biological sensors. Also of interest are packaging, interconnects, telemetry, characterization, noise, CAD, and, of course, applications. The proposed journal is quite a bit broader than many other IEEE publications. This gives it an opportunity to bring together a wide range of expertise; however, a special effort may be required to form a loyal author- and readership.
A new IEEE publication must complete several steps before the first issue is in the hands of the readers*. The first step is approval by the IEEE Technical Advisory Board (TAB). The necessary documents are now being prepared and include detailed objectives and a financial plan, which includes a request for a $100,000 loan from TAB to cover startup expenses during the first three years. After that the publication is expected to be self-supporting. Publication is expected to start in the first half of 2001.
Bernard Boser
Representative to Sensors Council
IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society
*The IEEE Sensors Council received all the necessary approvals, and the loan, in early 2000.
Formation of the IEEE Sensors Council
Administrative Committee Officers
IEEE Sensors Council Conferences
Call for Nominations of Sensors Council Officers
Term 2024-2025
The Sensors Council Nominations Committee requests nominations for qualified individuals to fill the following Council Officer and Member-at-Large positions for the 2024-2025 term:
To view the current officer listing, please click here.
The deadline for nominations is 1 March 2023. Additional details can be found on the Call for Nominations.
Please direct any questions to Andrei Shkel, IEEE Sensors Council Nominations and Appointments Committee Chair.
The combined membership of the 26 member societies is >260,000.
According to ARTICLE II, Section 1 of the Constitution, “the fields of interest of the Council and its activities shall be the theory, design, fabrication, manufacturing and application of devices for sensing and transducing physical, chemical, and biological phenomena, with emphasis on the electronics, physics and reliability aspects of sensors and integrated sensor-actuators. Changes to the field of interest may be made with the approval of the IEEE Technical Activities Board.”
The specifics of the field of interest statement shall be as follows.
The fields of interest of the Council and its activities shall be the theory, design, fabrication, manufacturing, reliability and applications of devices for sensing and transducing physical, chemical, and biological phenomena. Included shall be the following:
– Sensor phenomena & characterization (sensitivity, selectivity, noise, aging, hysteresis, dynamic range, interfering effects, etc.),
– Mechanical sensors such as: metallic, thin-film, thick film and bulk strain gauges, pressure sensors, accelerometers, angular rate sensors, displacement transducers, force sensors, bulk and surface acoustic wave sensors, ultrasonic sensors, flow meters and flow controllers,
-Electromechanical sensors of all ranges from macro to micro, on any substrates, such as metal, plastic, or silicon
– Thermal sensors such as: platinum resistors, thermistors, diode and transistor temperature sensors, thermocouples, thermopiles, pyroelectric and piezoelectric thermometers, calorimeters, bolometers,
– Optoelectronic/photonic sensors such as: photovoltaic diodes, photoconductors, photodiodes, phototransistors, position-sensitive photodetectors, photodiode arrays, charge-coupled devices, light-emitting diodes, diode lasers, other quantum devices, liquid-crystal displays,
– Ionizing radiation sensors such as gamma ray, charged particle and neutron detectors
– Integrated optics/fiber optical devices such as those based on photometry, fluorimetry, surface plasmon resonance, interferometry, ellipsometry,
– Microwave/millimeter wave sensors
– Magnetic sensors such as: magnetoresistors, Hall-effect devices, magnetometers, magnetic-field sensors, solid-state read and write heads,
– Chemical and biological sensors, with emphasis on the electronics and physics aspects of transducing chemical and biological signals into information about chemical and biological agents,
– Mass-sensitive devices such as quartz crystal microbalances and surface acoustic wave devices.
– Sensor arrays: large and high density sensor arrays, distributed sensor networks, sensitive skin systems, intelligent sensor arrays.
– Sensor-Actuators, including integrated sensor-actuators, smart sensor-actuators and networkable sensors-actuators,
– Sensor systems and applications such as: multiple-sensor systems, sensor arrays and “electronic nose” technology, sensor buses, sensor networks, voting systems, telemetering; combined sensors (e.g., electrical & mechanical); automotive, medical, environmental monitoring and control, consumer, alarm and security, military, nautical, aeronautical and space sensor systems, and robotics and automation applications.
– Other topics such as: sensor packaging and interconnections; sensor materials; intelligent sensors for applications such as on-line monitoring, process control, and test kits; sensor signal processing and fusion; thin-film and thick-film gas sensors, humidity sensors, specific ion sensors (such as pH sensors), radon sensors, carbon monoxide sensors, viscosity sensors, density sensors, acoustic velocity sensors, proximity sensors, altimeters, and barometers; CAD, modeling and testing of sensors; Internet based and other remote data acquisition and control of sensors.
This Detailed Field Of Interest Statement adopted January 8, 2000.
