Welcome to 2022 and a new issue of the IEEE Sensors Council (simply called "the Council" or "SC" in the following) quarterly newsletter. Warm welcome to all SC’s volunteers, activists, both young and seasoned!

SC changes its leadership in even years. After two years as President-Elect, I will continue as President and do my best to help SC grow, while working with the Past Presidents (Andrei Shkel, Fabrice Labeau), the President-Elect (Deepak Uttamchandani), the Vice Presidents (Zeynep Celik, Krikor B. Ozanyan, John Vig, and Anil K. Roy), Secretary-Treasurer (Chonggang Wang), Editor-in-Chiefs of 100% SC journals (Sandro Carrara, Srinivas Tadigadapa), senior members at large, members at large, representatives of member societies, the chairs of various committees (Publicity, Industry Liaison, Young Professional, WiSe and more), SC administrative coordinator (Brooke Johnson), as well as the leadership of IEEE.

I would like to thank the outgoing President, Andrei Shkel, for his tireless efforts to make SC a better organization during the previous two years. His time and dedication during the pandemic will have a lasting value. During his term as President, the Council added a new journal (IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics) jointly with two other member societies (Electron Device Society and Circuits and Systems Society), and initiated many initiatives to serve the sensors community. Thank you, Andrei. I also wish to recognize the innumerable contributions of Mike McShane, who completed his term as Past President. Mike has been with SC for more than a decade. I have learnt a lot from working with him and will continue to engage with him as he has taken over as the Publicity Chair.

Next year, SC will enter into its 25th year and it is exciting to see SC’s accomplishments through its range of activities promoting the development and use of sensors. SC has made excellent progress in many areas, including publications, conferences, educational products, awards, and standards. Most recently, IEEE Sensors Journal became the topmost topical journal of IEEE and we also have considerable stake in another journal, IEEE Transactions on AgriFood Electronics (TAFE) led by our member society (Circuits and Systems Society). We have also announced the launching of a new conference which will focus on Applied Sensing. Thus, our journal and conference portfolios are growing fast and we are also doing well financially - thanks to the great efforts by volunteers. We aim to build on these successes and further strengthen some of the areas discussed during the last AdCom meeting. These include: (a) greater synergy between our Journal publications and conferences; (b) strengthening our educational and outreach activities; (c) updating governing documents and awards; (d) new conferences and journals; (e) strengthening our engagement with member societies; (e) engaging Young Professionals, Women in Sensors and Diversity and Inclusion teams at several levels; (f) connecting with industry in meaningful manner; (g) addressing post-pandemic challenges, and many more. We also plan to organize several activities in preparation for our 25th anniversary. We will discuss these during our Spring AdCom meeting “Sensors Council 101”. During this meeting we will also allocate a few hours to take a deep dive in What? How? Why? of the Sensors Council. For our newest representatives, this will be an opportunity to learn about the Council and find out how to get engaged. From this year, we also plan to organize an ExCom retreat which will be an opportunity to brainstorm the future directions for SC.

I also take this opportunity to congratulate our dear colleagues, Stephen Beeby, David Horsley, Sudip Misra and Euisik Yoon, on elevation to IEEE Fellow grade. This is a great professional achievement, as IEEE Fellows are only one-tenth of one percent of the IEEE voting membership. Congratulations!

Please join me in welcoming our newest (and continuing) Societies’ representatives and AdCom Members. All of us at the Sensors Council are looking forward to meeting you in person at our next Spring 2022 AdCom meeting. Welcome aboard!

That’s all for now. My future messages will focus on updates related to various initiatives mentioned above to further strengthen SC’s position. I send my best wishes to you for making a positive impact on the world with sensors!

Respectfully

Ravinder Dahiya, Fellow IEEE,

2022-2023 IEEE Sensors Council President

The IEEE Delhi Section Sensors Council Chapter – Rajasthan hosted the hybrid event Sensors-Based Innovations and Start-Ups – Opportunities and Challenges on 3–4 December 2021 at IIT Jodhpur, India and virtually via WebEx and Google Meet. Approximately 200 students, academics, and industry professionals were in attendance.

The primary objective of the workshop was to make students, PhD and professionals learn and know about the current technological advancements and current industry standards in sensors and building an entrepreneurial environment in sensor applications. Almost 25% of the 200 attendees were IEEE members.

IEEE Sensors Council, Hyderabad Chapter organized a two-day program, Winter School 2021: Sensors for Medical Applications and Healthcare, on 20 - 21 December 2021. It was a two-day hybrid event, hosted both in-person and virtually.

This winter school focuses on presenting the recent advancements in both wearable and implantable technologies, challenges and future research areas concerning the utilization of wireless sensors in healthcare applications under the guidance of academic and industrial experts.

Panel Discussion: Challenges, Solutions, and Tips in Starting a Start-Up.

The Professional Development Program was focused on the topic of Innovations, Patents, Start-Ups, and Entrepreneurship. Pooja Bhatia presented on Patent Landscaping and Start-Ups. A panel discussion entitled Challenges, Solutions, and Tips in Starting a Start-Up was moderated by Kam Wern and included panelists Dana Pordel, Rajul Patkar, Ravikrishnan Elangovan, and Bruce Hecht.

IEEE Sensors Council Young Professional Hackathon 2021

IEEE Young Professionals Sensors Council hosted a 5-week Global Hackathon online called ‘Blue Sky Challenge’. The challenge included two sub themes: Blue Sky Above and Blue Sky Below. The winning and runner up teams will receive prizes worth US$1000 and US$500 respectively.

Submissions were accepted from 24 December 2021 – 1 February 2022.