Computational Intelligence - February 2017 - 5

conferences, along with membership,
and education activities.
Given that lengthy and rambling preamble with my generic vision-be the
best-, let's get down to some details.
First, CIS publications are in very good
shape, thanks to the hard work of many
people and the interest of our authors
and readers. Our periodicals mirror our
diversity. We have the primary responsibility to publish
❏ IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks
and Learning Systems,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary
Computation,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and
Developmental Systems,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Computational
Intelligence and AI in Games,
❏ IEEE Computational Intelligence
Magazine.
In addition, we cosponsor
❏ IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Information
Forensics and Security,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Affective
Computing,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid,
❏ IEEE Transactions on Big Data,
❏ Biometrics Compendium.
Whew! And wait, that's not all. CIS
sponsors an IEEE Press/Wiley book
series on computational intelligence
(something I'm very familiar with right
now-vague but shameless commercial
plug). You might think that's the end,
but guess again. The current big news in
publications is that we now have a channel for our ever evolving field of study.
A new Transactions, the IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computational
Intelligence, is joining the CIS family in
2017. The first issue of this Transactions
is expected to be published in February
2017. This online only transactions is
our vehicle to ensure continued technical growth and serve as a testbed to nurture embryonic directions until they
mature enough to stand on their own.
Given this large, varied, and impressive set of periodicals, my ideas for this
term as VP Pubs include:
1) Perform general portfolio management. A careful inventory of scope

It hit me that I now have a collection of unusual
experiences, and so, I ran for the job to see if I can
help out with this new tool set. And here I am. I guess
I just like everything that has the word "Pubs" in it!
and actual practice of these publications should highlight any possible
conflict and/or opportunities for
synergy. Realizing that we have
diversity in the cultures of the various CIS communities, I believe that
establishing consistency across our
publications for authors, editorial
practices, and readers will create a
positive impression for CIS. CIS
publications are clustered for PRAC
review. As a long term PRAC member, I know that PRAC looks at this
aspect of the portfolio of a given
society: "Why do you do this when
Trans xxx does something else?" The
most impressive reviews are for Societies where the Society Summary
and the various publications tell the
same story. The reports for the 3 CIS
Transactions that were reviewed in
June were well received, but there is
always room for improvement. My
plan would be to engage all of our
editors, interested members of the
ExCom/AdCom, and CIS members
to examine policies and practices to
evaluate performance. I will encourage an editor blog to exchange best
practices and to allow our more
experienced editors to lend a hand
in the training of the new editors.
2) Encourage cross fertilization among
our topical journals and the CIM,
and establish best practices for their
relationship to the Transactions on
Emerging Topics in Computational
Intelligence (TETCI).
3) Carefully monitor bibliometr ic
indices of the CIS publications to
make sure CIS publications are
rated highly, with editorial practices
that are consistent with IEEE policy.
4) Monitor the technical and financial
health of all of the CIS publications
and develop recommendations to
Adcom for any corrective action

needed. For example, a successful case
for a name change of the IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development to IEEE Transactions on Cognitive
and Developmental Systems was made
to the Periodicals Committee last
year. It's important to continue monitoring and assisting this Transactions,
as well as the full portfolio, to ensure
viability and growth.
5) Promote outreach. I will encourage
our editors and Adcom members to
engage in outreach in the sense that
we need to be vigilant about how
to appeal to other communities, and
to move our publications into new
directions. This is facilitated by the
TETCI, but for our topical journals,
we should always ask the question
"what is the next wave for ...?"
6) Examine the CIS involvement in our
co-sponsored publications to determine opportunities to increase our
involvement in new communities or
if appropriate, to reduce our commitment if conditions that generated
our original alignment change.
7) As a corollary to point #6, be vigilant for new opportunities to collaborate with other Societies on
possible new publications that
enhance our position within IEEE
and our technical communities. This
has to be a balance between expansion for the sake of expansion and
possible isolationism.
Wow, that's a pretty large pile of things
to deal with. However, I'm going to give
them a shot because I guess I just like
everything that has the word "Pubs" in it!
If you think I've missed anything,
actually got it wrong, just want to chat,
or best yet, think you can help out,
please contact me (kellerj@missouri
.edu). I'd love to hear from you.
See you in print.
Jim

FEbruary 2017 | IEEE ComputatIonal IntEllIgEnCE magazInE

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