Article III

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

Section 1: Each of the Vice Presidents shall serve as Chair of a standing committee. The standing committees may form subcommittees at the discretion of and appointment by the concomitant Vice President or President. All such appointments shall terminate no later than the end of the term of the appointing Vice President or President. Such appointments are renewable.

Section 2: The Vice President for Organization and Planning shall serve as Chair of the Organization and Planning Committee (OPC). The membership of the OPC shall include, but not be limited to, the Chair of the Publications Committee, the Chair of the Conferences and Meetings Committee, and the Chair of the Finance Committee. The OPC shall be responsible for:

  • Annual updating of the Five-Year Plan of the Society
  • Developing a Strategic and Tactical Plan for the Society
  • Interpreting the Constitution and Bylaws, should questions arise
  • Preparing modifications to the Constitution and Bylaws for BoG consideration.

The Vice President for Organization and Planning shall also serve as an ex-officio member with vote of all SMCS committees, standing or otherwise.

Section 3a: The Vice President for Systems Science and Engineering shall serve as chair of the Systems Science and Engineering Committee (SSEC). The SSEC shall provide leadership in organizing or encouraging such technical activities including:

  • Special sessions at conferences
  • Special issues of the IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems in cooperation with the Transactions editors
  • Publication of bibliographies, standards, and definitions on topics of importance to the SMCS
  • Preparation of competent papers for presentation and publication
  • Technical meetings and workshops in collaboration with the Vice President of Conferences and Meetings
  • Formation of specialty committees, including the appointment of chairs of such committees, subject to the provisions of Article III of the

Additionally, the SSEC shall be responsible for the systems technical content of the IEEE Transactions on System, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems. The membership of the SSEC shall include the Editors of the IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, and the Vice President of Publications. The Editor shall be the Chief Technical Officer of the Transactions, and Chair of its Editorial Staff. He/she shall select the members of his/her Editorial Staff to assist him/her in editing the Transactions. The Editorial Staff shall have full responsibility for review of papers for the Transactions including the selection of qualified referees from the membership of SMCS as well as non-members. The review of papers shall include conference papers recommended for publication in the Transactions.

Section 3b: The Vice President for Human Machine Systems shall serve as chair of the Human Machine Systems Committee (HMSC). The HMSC shall provide leadership in organizing or encouraging such technical activities including:

  • Special sessions at conferences
  • Special issues  of  the  IEEE  Transactions  on  Human-Machine  Systems,  in cooperation with the Transactions editors
  • Publication of bibliographies, standards, and definitions on topics of importance to the SMCS
  • Preparation of competent papers for presentation and publication
  • Technical meetings and workshops in collaboration with the Vice President of Conferences and Meetings
  • Formation of specialty committees, including the appointment of chairs of such committees, subject to the provisions of Article III of the Bylaw

Additionally, the HMSC shall be responsible for the human-machine systems technical content of the IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems. The membership of the HMSC shall include the Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems, and the Vice President of Publications. The Editor shall be the Chief Technical Officer of the Transactions, and Chair of its Editorial Staff. He/she shall select the members of his/her Editorial Staff to assist him/her in editing the Transactions. The Editorial Staff shall have full responsibility for review of papers for the Transactions including the selection of qualified referees from the membership of SMCS as well as non-members. The review of papers shall include conference papers recommended for publication in the Transactions.

Section 3c: The Vice President for Cybernetics shall serve as chair of the Cybernetics Committee (CC). The CC shall provide leadership in organizing or encouraging such technical activities including:

  • Special sessions at conferences
  • Special issues of the IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, in cooperation with the Transactions editors
  • Publication of bibliographies, standards, and definitions on topics of importance to the SMCS
  • Preparation of competent papers for presentation and publication
  • Technical meetings and workshops in collaboration with the Vice President of Conferences and Meetings
  • Formation of specialty committees, including the appointment of chairs of such committees, subject to the provisions of Article III of the B

Additionally, the CC shall be responsible for the cybernetics technical content of the IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics. The membership of the CC shall include the Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, and the Vice President of Publications. The Editor shall be the Chief Technical Officer of the Transactions, and Chair of its Editorial Staff. He/she shall select the members of his/her Editorial Staff to assist him/her in editing the Transactions. The Editorial Staff shall have full responsibility for review of papers for the Transactions including the selection of qualified referees from the membership of SMCS as well as non-members. The review of papers shall include conference papers recommended for publication in the Transaction.

Section 4: The Vice President for Publications shall serve as chair of the Publications Committee (PC). The PC shall formulate, guide, and evaluate the policy and program of the SMCS with respect to publications, subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 3. Membership in the PC shall include the Vice President for Systems Science and Engineering, Vice President for Human Machine Systems, Vice President for Cybernetics, and the Editors of the Transactions, Magazine, and eNewsletter. It shall have responsibility for recommending a page budget for the Transactions and a budget for the Newsletter Magazine. It is responsible for assessing possible technical contributions to the IEEE Press. It is responsible for assuring that maximum promotion is given to the various regular and special publications of the SMCS, and for effective use of back copies of publications. The PC shall be responsible for regular publication of eNewsletter of the SMCS. The PC shall have responsibility to recommend a plan for timely updating and maintenance of the SMCS web site and effective use of the Internet. The terms of the Editors of the Transactions, the Magazine and the eNewsletter shall be three years, renewal for a maximum of two terms. When the term of an Editor of the Transactions, the Editor of the Magazine, or the Editor of the eNewsletter expires, the Vice President for Publications shall recommend nominees for the editorship to the President. The President shall appoint the new editor, based on the advice of the PC and more generally the BoG.

Section 5: The Vice President for Conferences and Meetings shall serve as the chair of the Conferences and Meetings Committee (CMC). The membership of the CMC shall include a two-year member appointed by the VP of Conferences and Meetings, a four- year member appointed by the VP of Conferences and Meetings, one technical activity committee member to be appointed by the VP for Systems Science and Engineering, one technical activity committee member to be appointed by the VP for Human-Machine Systems, one technical activity committee member to be appointed by the VP for Cybernetics, the General Chair of the SMC annual meeting two years prior to the current year, a General Chair of a 100% financially sponsored SMC meeting other than the annual meeting as appointed by the VP of Conferences and Meetings, and the SMCS Treasurer. The policies and programs of the SMCS with respect to conferences and meetings shall be formulated, guided and evaluated by the CMC. The CMC shall encourage the authorship and presentation of papers in the fields of interest of the SMCS. The CMC shall, as needed, prepare recommendations for new conferences and for people to manage them, and shall be responsible for coordinating all SMCS technical meeting activities. The CMC shall cooperate with the SSEC, the HMSC, and the CC, in the planning and execution of special interest meetings and workshops. The CMC shall have no authority to make financial commitment without approval of the BoG. The review, selection, and publication of papers presented at a meeting shall be the responsibility of the people selected to manage the meeting, except that the provisions of Article III, Section 3, shall apply to publications in the SMCS Transactions. Whenever publications or preprints are prepared, IEEE facilities should be used whenever appropriate.

Section 6: The Vice President for Membership and Student Activities shall serve as the Chair of the Membership and Student Activities Committee (MSAC). The MSAC shall be responsible for coordinating SMCS membership and student activities. The MSAC shall consist of the Chair and the Chairs of Standing Committees related to member activities, the chair of the Student Activities Committee, plus up to three additional members appointed by the Vice President for Membership and Student Activities. The MSAC shall promote the organization of Chapters of SMCS members in such sections as having a sufficient number of SMCS members. Annually, the MSAC shall update the directory of Chapter officers and arrange for it to be posted on the SMCS web site. The MSAC shall provide a communications link between the Chapters and the BoG, serving to bring Chapter activities and problems to the attention of the BoG and BoG actions to the attention of the Chapters. The MSAC shall also prepare and maintain a Speakers Roster to be used for identifying potential speakers for Chapter and Section meetings. The MSAC shall serve as a focal point whereby all persons who have an interest in SMCS activities can communicate with the Society and participate in its conferences and meetings. The MSAC is charged with the responsibility of surveying university programs in the disciplines represented by the SMCS and to obtain representation on the appropriate curriculum accreditation boards. The MSAC shall also formulate and carry out an effective program for bringing the SMCS to the attention of student members of the IEEE, and encourage those students who are interested in the SMCS to participate in the annual conference and become members. The MSAC may engage in other activities related to education and student relations with approval of the BoG. 

Section 7: The Vice President for Finance shall have overall responsibility for the financial health of the Society. The Vice President shall chair the Finance Committee (FC). The Vice President shall provide leadership for financial matters, including: 

  • Represent the Society on financial matters with IEEE Headquarters
  • Monitor the financial operations of the Society subject to the provisions of Article IV of the Constitution
  • Take appropriate actions to ensure that funds are invested wisely to serve the best interests of the Society
  • Oversee the duties of the Treasurer
  • Prepare Society budgets together with the Treasurer and the FC, and submit the budgets to the BoG for
  • Provide monthly reports to the President and quarterly reports to the BoG on the financial status of the

The membership of the FC shall consist of the Chair, and eight members as follows: the Vice President for Conferences and Meetings, the Vice President for Publications, a member appointed by the Vice President for Organization and Planning, a member appointed by the Vice President for Membership and Student Activities, a member appointed by each of the three Technical Area Vice Presidents, and the Treasurer. 

Section 8: Awards Committee. The Senior Past President shall chair the Awards Committee (AC) that shall consist of 3-5 members and be appointed by the Senior Past President, with the concurrence of the President, and shall be comprised of only BoG members and/or Past Presidents. All appointments to the AC shall terminate no later than the end of the appointing Senior Past President’s term. Such appointments can be renewed annually. The AC shall have responsibility for:

  • Nominating candidates  for  IEEE  Awards,  as  and  when  requested  by  IEEE Headquarters
  • Nominating recipients for any awards being administered by the Approval of such nominations is required by the BoG
  • Maintaining SMCS awards activities and policies of the The AC decisions are final in all cases involving awards nominations.

Section 9: Fellow Evaluation Committee. The Senior Past President shall chair the Fellows Evaluation Committee (FEC). In case the Senior Past President is not an IEEE Fellow or is unable to serve, the President shall appoint the Chair among the Past Chairs of the Fellow Evaluation Committees. The Chair shall appoint a minimum of five IEEE Fellows as FEC members, with the concurrence of the President. The Committee members as a group should have expertise in the SMCS FoI. All appointments to the FEC shall terminate no later than the end of the term the appointing Committee’s Chair. The FEC shall have responsibility for evaluating candidates for IEEE Fellows as assigned by the IEEE Fellow committee in accordance with the IEEE evaluation procedures.