Welcome Message

 

Welcome to the 2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics!

We are pleased to report that there were nearly 1300 submissions to the conference from 65 countries. From these, 874 papers have been registered for presentation, including over 344 special session papers obtained by invitation and 71 poster session papers. The regular and poster papers are spread over the areas of Systems (32%), Man (23%), and Cybernetics (45%). There are a total of 164 oral sessions and 3 poster sessions spread over the 3 days. All the papers (including special session papers) have been reviewed using the same criteria of at least 2 reviewers and an Area Chair in the Technical Program Committee.

At this year’s conference, Professor Lofti Zadeh will give a Distinguished Lecture on Computing with Words – A Paradigm Shift. We will also have an impressive series of keynote addresses. Monday’s keynote address will be on Man-Machine Systems and will be given by Professor Robert Knight. Tuesday’s keynote address, which will be given by Professor George Bekey, will focus on Systems. The final keynote address will focus on Cybernetics and will be given on Wednesday by Professor Emil M. Petriu. In addition to the Distinguished Lecture and the three Keynote Addresses, there will be an exciting workshop on the emerging field of Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMI). Furthermore, the program schedule will include a total of five panel discussions on various subjects over the three-day conference. You will not want to miss any of these important events, which are open to all registered participants of the conference. Additionally, a total of 13 tutorials will be given on Sunday. These tutorials materials are available for a minimum processing fee for regular registration and are free with an IEEE student registration.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Technical Program Committee comprising of 123 Area Chairs and 1126 Reviewers from all over the world, who have worked diligently to ensure that high quality papers will be presented and published in the proceedings. We also acknowledge the support of and express our sincere appreciation to the members of the local organizing committee, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), and to our local supporting organizations, namely The University of the Incarnate Word, Trinity University, St. Mary’s University, and Southwest Research Institute. The support, in part, for the conference reception from UTSA and the BMI reception from Tucker-Davis Technologies (TDT, Inc.) is appreciated. We are also grateful to the advice and guidance of the Executive Committee of the IEEE SMC Society (SMCS). Special thanks go to the SMCS Technical Committees for their active role in obtaining the many special session papers, which accounted for more than a third of the total papers to be presented. Lastly and most importantly, we thank all of you, the authors and delegates, for participating in SMC 2009, sharing your knowledge and experience and contributing to the advancement of science and technology for the improvement of the quality of our lives.

Social programs have also been made available for you to take a break from the excited technical program, and a technical tour will be available on Wednesday afternoon for both Southwest Research Institute and The University of Texas at San Antonio. With San Antonio’s many famous historic sites and attractions including the Alamo and the Riverwalk, which are both within easy walking distance from the Conference Hotel, we hope that you take the opportunity to experience this truly unique American city.

We wish each and everyone a most pleasant experience at SMC 2009.
 

Daniel Yeung President, IEEE SMC Society	C. L. Philip Chen General Chair, IEEE SMC 2009	Rodney Roberts Program Chair, IEEE SMC 2009