CHARTER

The Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc, and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC) aims to develop methods, techniques and protocols devoted to enhancing current systems and designing new ones. The issues addressed by the IoT-AHSN TC include PHY, MAC, network, and application layers.

SCOPE

The IoT-AHSN TC will serve as ComSoc’s focal point in the areas of the Internet of Things (IoT), ad hoc and sensor networks, and wireless networking technologies, stimulating and
organizing leading-edge IoT, ad hoc and sensor networks, and wireless networking symposia,
workshops, sessions and tutorials at ComSoc conferences. It will also serve as a proactive
facilitator in the dissemination of evolving IoT, ad hoc and sensor networking, and wireless
networking standards.

OBJECTIVES

  • Promote knowledge and dissemination of knowledge related to the scope of the IoT-AHSN technical committee
  • Foster the development of new emerging topical areas related to the scope of the IoT-AHSN technical committee
  • Provide technical support to the development of ComSoc conferences, publications, standards, and educational activities

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The IoT-AHSN Technical Committee reports to the Technical Committees Board. Operation of the IoT-AHSN Technical Committee will be managed by the elected TC officers, i.e. Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. Each term of elected TC officers is two years.

 

  • TC Members shall:
    • be ComSoc members in good standing
    • be those members who have been active in the TC activities for the past three years.
    • participate in TC meetings
    • cast informed votes on TC business
    • be encouraged to assist in the conduct of TC business
  • Collaborators – individuals who are not ComSoc members may participate in TC activities as collaborators.
  • Subcommittees and Special Interest Groups may be formed by the TC.
    • Subcommittees deal with specific tasks related to the TC operations, e.g., nomination and selection of awards, TC officer elections, etc.
    • Special Interest Groups (SIGs) help the TC foster the scientific and technological development in topical emerging technologies within the scope of the TC. SIGs may be created to promote activities in well-established technologies.

ACTIVITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • TC Chair

Duties of the Chair include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Represents the Technical Committee on the Technical Committees Board
  • Provides guidance and direction to Technical Committee members in the conduct of their responsibilities
  • Appoints Chairs of Subcommittees and Special Interest Groups as necessary
  • Coordinates with ComSoc Staff in the conduct of his/her responsibilities
  • May assume leadership for specific projects, as delegated by the Technical Committee
  • TC Vice Chair
    • Replaces the TC Chair in case of his/her absence
    • Assists the TC Chair and Secretary in his/her activities
  • TC Secretary
    • Coordinates the TC meetings, arranging the meeting time schedule, reserving the meeting room and food, and informing the members via the e-mail list.
    • Prepares reports for the TC and Technical Committees Board meetings
    • Provides an annual written report, which shall be distributed to the VP-TEA-C, the Director-Technical Committees, and TC members prior to each meeting held at ICC.
    • Records the minutes of the TC meetings
    • Maintains contact with the TC members and Chair
    • Sends announcements to the TC e-mail list
    • Maintains and updates the TC website
  • Technical Committee

Responsibilities of the Technical Committee shall be as specified in the Bylaws and the Technical Committee Board P&Ps.

TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS

  • All TC meetings shall be conducted in compliance with Clause 2.0 of ComSoc’s P&Ps.
  • The TC shall hold at least two in-person meetings per year, one at ICC or GLOBECOM (with the possibility of remote participation by dial-in).
  • The TC may conduct additional meetings concurrent with flagship conferences for the TC.
  • Conference calls, discussions via email, and voting via email shall be conducted on an as needed basis.

MEMBERSHIP

Any IEEE Communication Society (ComSoc) member can be a Member Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc, and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC). The IoT-AHSN TC has two levels of memberships:

  • Active Member
    According to the TAC rules P&Ps (Section 7.01), to become an Active Member it is necessary to be an Ordinary Member and also satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

    • to have attended (be physically present, or be present by teleconference or via electronic means for virtual TC meetings) at least two of the last five scheduled Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC) meetings;
    • to have contributed substantially to the TC activities. For instance, to have served in last two years as a TPC Chair or Co-Chair, Advisory Board (or equivalent) for conferences sponsored by Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC), namely, IEEE Globecom Symposia, IEEE ICC Symposia, SECON, and  have attended at least one of the last five scheduled Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC) meetings.
  • Ordinary Member
    • To become Ordinary Member it is necessary to subscribe to the Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC) mailing list as it is specified on the IoT-AHSN TC webpage.
    • The Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC) Secretary is responsible for maintaining an attendance list for each meeting and defining  Active and Ordinary Members. The list of Active Members is maintained based on meetings attendance lists and information about activities provided by Members.
    • All meetings of the Technical Committee on IoT, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (IoT-AHSN TC) are open.

 

NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION POLICIES

The term for each committee officer is two (2) years.

To maintain continuity in committee activities, as the term of the committee officers expires, the procedure is that the current Vice Chair of the committee assumes the Chair’s position and the current Secretary of the committee assumes the Vice Chair’s position. Nominations and election will be held for the position of Secretary of the committee. The election will be held during a scheduled TC meeting, upon the expiry of the term of current officers. A nomination committee, appointed by the current committee officers, will manage the nomination and election by sending on the TC mailing list an advertisement of the available position, and conducting the election during the scheduled TC meeting.  In case of non-show of the external committee during the scheduled TC meeting, the Chair with the assistance of Vice Chair, will conduct the election of the secretary.

Nomination Process

An ad hoc nomination committee will be appointed by the current committee officers to seek nominations for the vacant committee position. The nomination committee will be established at the committee meeting prior to the one at which elections are to be conducted. The committee will consist of at least 3 and no more than 5 members. The nomination committee must include as many past committee chairs as available to serve. Additional nomination members may be added to the nomination committee from the committee membership. The nomination committee will be given the task of identifying candidates for the vacant officer position. The names of potential candidates must be circulated among the committee membership and officers at least 10 days prior to the committee meeting at which elections are to be conducted. All candidates must consent to their nominations and must show willingness to serve the committee, if elected. Eligible candidates for nominations for the vacant committee officer position are Active Members. Members of the nomination committee are not eligible to become a candidate for the current election and next election. The nomination committee will be automatically dissolved after the election and appointment of new committee officers.

Election Process

Elections for the committee officer positions will be administered by the committee’s Chair. In the case of Chair’s absence, Chair’s designee will conduct the elections. In the case of two candidates for the same position, election will be by a simple majority. In case there are more than two candidates, election will consist of a series of elections. At each stage of voting, the candidate gathering the fewest votes will be eliminated. This process will continue until only two candidates remain.

The voting process will normally be open. However, upon the request of any member, the election can be conducted by a secret ballot. Votes will be counted by at least two members of the nomination committee. The committee’s secretary will maintain a record of the election results.

Voting
TC voting members must be IEEE ComSoc or Affiliate member or student member or a sister society member. Any active member (defined in Membership section) of the technical committee has the right of voting for officers. Normally, voting members in attendance at a meeting will be allowed to vote in elections as well as on other issues that need to be decided by a voting process.

After the election: After each election of officers, the TC Chair shall provide an Election Report to the Director-Technical Committees and the VP-TEA within two weeks. The Election Report shall contain:

  • An outline of the election process
  • Name of the person preparing the ballot
  • The candidates for each office and how the candidates were selected for the ballot
  • The IEEE member number for each candidate
  • The method of voting (in person, electronically, by teleconference, etc.)
  • The method used to determine which members are entitled to vote.
  • A list of those members who voted in the election
  • The actual vote tally by candidate.
  • Election results shall be authorized by the Director – Technical Committees upon consultation with the VP-TEA.
  • Election results become valid when approved by the Director – Technical Committees and the VP-TEA. The Director of Technical Committees or the VPTEA shall accordingly notify the serving TC chair within two weeks after receipt of the Election Report.
  • If the Director – Technical Committees does not authorize the election results, the Director shall organize a new election on behalf of the TC.

 

Website and Email

  • IoT-AHSN TC shall maintain an official web page and a mailing list hosted by the ComSoc IT Department. It is necessary to attend an IoT-AHSN TC meeting or to subscribe to the IoT-AHSN TC mailing list as specified on the IoT-AHSN TC Web page
  • The web page shall contain information about officers and their contact information, the scope of the TC, TC P&Ps, subscription to membership, and minutes of meetings held.

AHSN TC MEETINGS

Committee meetings will be scheduled twice a year at ICC and GLOBECOM conferences. Meeting announcements and agenda for the meeting will be distributed to the committee membership via the mailing list prior to the meeting. The meeting times will also be posted on the committee website. Minutes of the meetings will be posted on the committee website. The committee always encourages conference participants to attend the committee meetings and join the committee membership.

FINANCES

The Chair is responsible for elaborating the budget and soliciting financial support for the committee activities. If approved, the funds will be used in accordance with  COMSOC procedures and the Chair shall provide to members a report of the committee finances at a scheduled committee meeting. The Secretary of the committee will maintain a record for the expenses.

SPONSORSHIP AND ENDORSEMENT

The committee will provide technical sponsorship or endorsement to scientific initiatives in the specific areas of the committee charter. Initiatives considered for sponsorship or endorsement includes: symposia, workshops, conferences, proceedings, special issues, books and book chapters, etc. in the specific areas reported in the committee charter. Approval of sponsorship or endorsement of initiatives is performed during a scheduled committee meeting. The list of sponsored and endorsed initiatives shall be published on the committee website.

ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

The committee shall have an electronic newsletter aimed at disseminating information of interest to committee the members. The newsletter shall be posted on the committee webpage. Electronic Newsletter Editions are announced through the committee mailing list and published on the committee website.

AWARDS

There are two categories of awards:

  • IoT-AHSN Technical Achievement and Recognition Award
  • IoT-AHSN TC Exceptional Service and Contribution Award

The award includes a plaque and shall be given at a committee meeting. The periodicity of the issuing of an award as well the committee meeting at which the award will be given, shall be determined by the committee Chair in consultation the IoT-AHSN TC Award subcommittee. The award winners shall be listed in the committee webpage.

IoT-AHSN TC Award subcommittee

The award subcommittees is the body responsible for indicating to the committee Chair the individuals to receive awards. The award subcommittee shall be composed by at least 3 and at most 6 committee members. The award subcommittees shall have a chair responsible for conducting the selection process. The award subcommittee chair and members shall be indicated by the IoT-AHSN TC chair at the meeting immediately following the meeting at which the current Chair was elected.

Any member of the IoT-AHSN TC award subcommittee can be replaced by the IoT-AHSN TC chair if he/she is not carrying out the subcommittee responsibilities appropriately.

Eligibility

The IoT-AHSN TC Chair is not eligible for any award. Any member of the award subcommittee nominated for an award shall not participate in the selection process.
The IoT-AHSN TC Chair shall replace any member of the IoT-AHSN award subcommittee if the number of Active Members in this committee is less than 3.

Nominations

Nominations shall be solicited by the chair of the IoT-AHSN TC Award subcommittee at IoT-AHSN meetings or via the committee mailing list. The solicitation of nominations for the awards via the IoT-AHSN mailing list of via the IoT-AHSN TC webpage is mandatory and should detail the nomination process.

Selection Process

The IoT-AHSN Award subcommittee is responsible for indicating the individuals selected to receive the awards to the IoT-AHSN TC chair. Final decisions shall be made by the IoT-AHSN Award subcommittee  and approved by the IoT-AHSN TC chair. Decisions shall be made in a period which will make feasible the handing of the award at the designated IoT-AHSN TC meeting. Selection criteria shall be established by the IoT-AHSN Award subcommittee chair. The IoT-AHSN Award subcommittee chair shall discuss with the subcommittee members the criteria to be employed.

The reviews, voting and any deliberations of the award subcommittee shall stay strictly confidential. No correspondence will be sent to nominated persons, and no complaint will be considered during the election process. Each award has its own selection process.

Reporting of Awards:

The Chair of the IoT-AHSN TC Awards Subcommittee shall prepare an Awards Selection Report containing the following information for each award:

  • the process conducted to select the award recipient,
  • the names of all candidates for the award,
  • the name of the recipient of the award and associated justification

 

The TC Chair shall send the Awards Selection Report to the Technical Committees Director for approval. The Technical Committees Director shall approve the Awards Selection Report within two weeks of receipt. If the Director does not approve the report, the TC Chair shall be contacted to discuss the issues raised. A revised report may be submitted to the Director for approval. If the outstanding issues are not resolved between the Director and the TC Chair, the VP-TEA shall bring the matter to the TEA-C for a final decision.

 

Once the Awards Selection Report has been approved, and only then, the final award recipients may be announced.

 

CERTIFICATES

The Chair of the IoT-AHSN TC can issue certificates of appreciation to members who have contributed to committee activities.