NUCLEAR & PLASMA SCIENCES SOCIETY NEWS A Publication of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Number 1, March 2013 CONFERENCES The 19th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (PPC) and the 40th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS) will be combining for a third time in 2013 as the IEEE Pulsed Power and Plasma Science (PPPS) conference to be held June 16th –21st, 2013, in San Francisco California at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Hotel. This conference follows the format of the two previous PPPS meetings, with topics from ICOPS in traditional plasma physics and engineering and pulsed power science and technology from the PPC. The conference also features exhibits and a 2-day minicourse. Select papers will be published in a Special Issue of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. For the first time, the PPPS conference is available via social networking. The social networking via Facebook and Twitter will be used for individual interactions and announcements. We are exploring the possibility of beta testing the IEEE app for the conference program through MCM. Check the web for availability. Participation is free but you might have to register first if you are new to a site. Conference registration for PPPS 2013 is currently available; attendees can register through the conference website at: http://www.ece.unm.edu/ppps2013/Registration.html. The General Conference Chair is Dr. Bryan Oliver of Sandia National Laboratories. Dr. Oliver is a nationally (continued on page 3) NUCLEAR & PLASMA SCIENCES SOCIETY NEWS (USPS 000-560) is published quarterly by the Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Corporate Office: 3 Park Avenue, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10017-2394. Printed in the USA. One dollar per member per year is included in the Society fee for each member of the Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Nuclear & Plasma Sciences News, IEEE, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854. NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Albe Dawson Larsen SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, MS-64, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Tel: +1 650 926 2748, Fax: +1 650 926-3570, E-mail: [email protected] EDITOR EMERITUS: W. Kenneth Dawson TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T-2A3 Tel: +1 604 222 7455, Fax: +1 604 222 7307, E-mail: [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS: Jean Paul Allain, Janet L. Barth, Armstrong Carter, Paolo Craievich, Albe Dawson-Larsen, W. Kenneth Dawson, Rickey Faehl, Teresa Farris, John Foster, Steven Gitomer, Steven Gold, Joel Karp, Jerry Kiutti, Juergen Kolb, Mounir Laroussi, Tony Lavietes, Wayne Maier, Paul Marshall, Abbas Nikroo, Bryan Oliver, Stefan Ritt, Lucio Rossi, Marty Shaneyfelt, Stan Schriber, John Verboncoeur. TABLE OF CONTENTS: CONFERENCES: - Pulsed Power Science and Technology (1) - Fusion Technology (5) - NSREC 2013 (6) CONFERENCE REPORTS: - ICOPS 2012 (8) - Megagauss 2012 (11) SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS: - President's Report (13) - Secretary's Report (15) - New AdCom Officers and Members (20) TECHNICAL COMMITTEES: - Computer Applications in Nuclear and Plasma Sciences (24) - Nuclear Medical and Imaging Science and Technology (24) - Constitution and Bylaws (26) - Particle Accelerator Science and Technology (29) - Plasma Science and Applications (32) - Radiation Instrumentation (33) FUNCTIONAL COMMITTEES / AWARDS: - NPSS Fellows (35) - Fusion Technology Award (38) - NSREC Outstanding Papers (39) ARTICLES: - SwissFEL—The Next Large-research Facility at PSI (40) - Career Focus: Semiconductors (42) - Seeking Nominations: Editor-in-Chief for IEEE-TMI (45) OBITUARY: - Professor Igor Alexeff (46) AdCom Officers & Chairs list recorded. CONFERENCES (continued from page 1) ...and internationally recognized member of the Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics community. As a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Dr. Oliver is proud to welcome you to the region... TECHNICAL PROGRAM There are two Technical Program Chairs for the 2013 PPPS. Mark Crawford (Los Alamos National Lab) will handle the traditional PPS topics, while John Verboncoeur (Michigan State University) will handle the traditional ICOPS topics. Topics for this year include: - Fundamental Research and Basic Processes - Microwave Generation and Plasma Interactions - Charged Particle Beams and Sources - High Energy Density Plasmas and Applications - Pulsed Power Switches and Components - Industrial, Commercial, and Medical Applications - Pulsed Power Sources - Pulsed Power Systems - Diagnostics Abstract submission closed on February 8th, 2013. Manuscripts can be submitted after abstract acceptance. MINICOURSE The Minicourse for PPPS 2013 is entitled "Aspects of High Energy Density (HED) Physics" and will be held on June 15th–16th, 2013 in the Marina Room of the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Hotel. Designed for graduate students and active scientists. CONFERENCES (continued from page 3) Details on the HED Physics minicourse: Day 1 covers HED Physics of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), X-ray spectroscopy, laser generation of HED plasmas, and Warm Dense Matter (WDM). Day 2 covers pulsed-power generators, Z machine, Cornell systems, spectroscopic diagnostics, and ambient magnetic field compression. SOCIAL EVENTS The PPPS Banquet is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, June 20th. Companion tours under consideration: Alcatraz Island Tour, Bus tour to Muir Woods and Sonoma wine country, Food tours, and Japanese Tea Garden/Golden Gate Park. CONFERENCE HOTEL AND SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Hyatt Regency San Francisco features the Guinness Book of World Records' largest atrium lobby (over 42,000 sq ft), AAA Four Diamond rated, located on the Embarcadero waterfront. CONFERENCES (continued from page 4) Hotel rate: US$239/night prior to May 24, 2013. Additional info: http://www.ece.unm.edu/ppps2013, email [email protected]. 2013 SYMPOSIUM ON FUSION ENGINEERING (SOFE) The 25th SOFE will be held June 10th–14th, 2013 in San Francisco, CA at the Stanford Court Renaissance San Francisco Hotel on Nob Hill. Sponsored by the Fusion Technology Committee of IEEE NPSS. Tour of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL on Wednesday, June 12th. General Chair: Dr. Wayne Meier (LLNL); Technical Program Chair: Dr. Hutch Neilson (PPPL). SOFE 2013 MINICOURSE: Plasma-Material Interactions in Fusion and Industrial Plasmas. CONFERENCES (continued from page 5) SOFE Minicourse details: Morning session on Experimental PMI; Afternoon session on Computational PMI. Concludes with Progress in PMI Nanotechnology. Wayne Meier: [email protected]. 2013 IEEE NSREC IS FINALIZING NINE TECHNICAL SESSIONS FOR SAN FRANCISCO To be held July 8th–12th, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA. Technical Program chaired by Cheryl Marshall (NASA/GSFC), describing effects of space, terrestrial, or nuclear radiation on electronic and photonic devices, circuits, sensors, materials, and systems. Includes Short Course on July 8th, Radiation Effects Data Workshop, and Industrial Exhibit. CONFERENCES (continued from page 6) NSREC Poster Chair: Pascale Gouker (MIT Lincoln Lab); Data Workshop Chair: Philippe Paillet (CEA). Session Chairs: Basic Mechanisms (Enxia Zhang), Dosimetry (Ethan Cascio), Hardness Assurance (Jean-Marie Lauenstein), Hardening by Design (Manuel Cabanas-Holmen), Photonics Devices & ICs (Vincent Goiffon), Radiation Effects in Devices & ICs (Gary Lum), SEE Mechanisms & Modeling (Mark Law), SEE Transient Characterization (Veronique Ferlet-Cavrois), SEE Devices & ICs (Steve Guertin), Space & Terrestrial Environments (Joe Mazur). 2013 SHORT COURSE "Evolution of Radiation Studies on the Path of Moore's Law: Past, Present and (Foreseeable) Future" chaired by Alessandro Paccagnella (Univ. of Padova). Presenters: Kenneth F. Galloway, Joe Srour, Robert Baumann, Heather Quinn, Kenneth Rodbell, Steven Koester. CONFERENCE REPORTS 2012 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PLASMA SCIENCE (ICOPS) Held July 8th–12th, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). Conference Chair: Prof. Michael Kong (Loughborough Univ.); Technical Program Chair: Dr. Christine Coverdale (Sandia). Minicourse: "Plasma Medicine and Plasma Healthcare," organized by Prof. Mounir Laroussi and Dr. Georg Isbary. 821 accepted abstracts from 43 countries (27% USA, 39% Europe, 31% Asia, 1% Africa). Dr. Andrew Ng received the 2012 PSAC Award. Academician Gennady Mesyats received the IEEE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award. CONFERENCE REPORTS (continued from page 8) There were 299 oral talks and 515 posters, and 16 travel grants (£175 each) for students. Breakdown of session topics. Plenary presentations: - Prof. Andrew Ng: "Warm Dense Matter: The Missing Link Between Condensed Matter and Plasma" - Academician Gennady Andreevich Mesyats: "Ecton Processes in a Vacuum Arc" - Prof. Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov: "Plasma Nanoscience in a Sustainability Age" - Prof. J. Gary Eden: "Plasma Science in the Limit of the Small: Recent Advances in Microcavity Plasmas and their Applications" - Prof. Alan Phelps: "Advances in Gyro-Amplifier Research" - Prof. P. Thomas Vernier: "Transient Plasma: Energy, Engines and Aerospace Applications" CONFERENCE REPORTS (continued from page 9) Plenary by Dr. Andrew Randewich on "High Density Waves at AWE". Student Awards: - PSAC Outstanding Student in Plasma Science Award: Boaz Rubinstein - Student Outstanding Paper Award ($500): Dror Alumot (Weizmann Inst.) and Tiny Verreycke (Eindhoven Univ. of Tech.) - Honorable Mention Certificates: Marc Ramsey and Andreas Schlaich - Paul Phelps Continuing Education Grants awarded to two students. Transactions on Plasma Science Special Issue announced. Social events included reception at Strathblane Hall, visit to Royal Yacht Britannia, and Conference Banquet in Cromdale Hall. CONFERENCE REPORTS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEGAGAUSS MAGNETIC FIELDS AND RELATED TOPICS (MEGAGAUSS XIV) Held October 14th–19th, 2012 at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, Maui, Hawaii, USA. General Chair: Jim Degnan (AFRL); Technical Program Chair: Ken Struve (Sandia); Conference Secretary: Chuck Mielke (LANL); Treasurer: Jim Goforth (LANL). Sponsored by the Megagauss Institute, Inc. and IEEE NPSS PPST Committee. CONFERENCE REPORTS (continued from page 11) 63 participants from 8 countries, 65 papers (43 oral, 17 invited). Awards: - Pavlovskii Prize: Vasily Demidov (Russia) and Jim Goforth (USA) - Megagauss Award: Peter Turchi (LANL, retired) Next Megagauss Conference to be held in Russia in 2016, hosted by VNIIEF. Submitted by Jerry Kiutti. SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS PRESIDENT'S REPORT by Janet L. Barth Janet Barth reflects on beginning her two-year term as NPSS President, her history with NSREC since 1982, the value of IEEE collaborations, continuing education resources, and humanitarian initiatives such as the IEEE Humanitarian Technology Challenge (HTC) and Community Solutions Initiative (CSI). SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS (continued from page 13) Update on the Community Solutions Initiative (CSI) mobile solar generators in Haiti led by Ray Larsen. Acknowledgments to outgoing President Bob Reinovsky, past presidents Craig Woody and Jane Lehr, Secretary Albe Larsen, Finance Chair Hal Flescher, and new Vice-President/President-Elect John Verboncoeur. Discussion of the upcoming March AdCom retreat addressing U.S. federal travel restrictions, membership growth, and 2013 goals. SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS SECRETARY'S REPORT by Albe Larsen AdCom met in Anaheim, CA at the Disneyland Convention Center on November 3rd, 2012. Outgoing members: Steve Gold, Jean-Luc Leray, Tom Lewellen, Dennis Youchison, Brendan Godfrey, Jane Lehr, Dan Fleetwood. Welcome to President Janet Barth and VP John Verboncoeur. Treasurer Ron Keyser reported sound finances. Impact of Hurricane Sandy on IEEE HQ in Piscataway discussed, along with tightening U.S. government conference travel restrictions. SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS (continued from page 15) - CANPS: RT 2014 in Nara, Japan; RT 2016 in Italy; Chris Parkman received 2012 Real Time award. - Fusion: SOFE 2014 in San Francisco; Abbas Nikroo received 2012 Fusion Award; JP Allain succeeds Dennis Youchison as TC chair. - Radiation Instrumentation: NSS/MIC 2012 had 2,177 attendees; Richard Wigman and Feng Zhang received RISC awards; Next NSS/MIC in Seoul, Korea. - PAST: IPAC'12 in New Orleans had 1,886 abstracts; PAC 2013 in Pasadena facing travel restrictions. - PSAC: John Luginsland elected to AdCom; ICOPS 2014 with BEAMS; ICOPS 2015 in Antalya, Turkey. - PPST: PPPS website launched; budget contingency planning. SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS (continued from page 16) - Radiation Effects: NSREC 2013 is the 50th; NSREC 2014 in Paris; NSREC 2015 in Boston. - Conferences Committee (Bill Moses): New conference initiation software; anti-plagiarism checks for IEEE Xplore. - Awards Committee (Jane Lehr / Craig Woody): Fellow nominations due March 31st. - Membership (Sal Portillo): NPSS membership at ~3,000; need to recruit undergraduate and graduate students. - Chapters (Steve Gold): 17 of 20 active. - Distinguished Lecturers: 20 lectures given in 2012. SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS (continued from page 17) - Nominations: New AdCom members John Luginsland, Patrick Le Dû, Ron Jaszczak. - Publications (Paul Dressendorfer): TNS and TPS status; issues with plagiarism addressed. - Communications (Peter Clout): Revised brochure and promotional material planned. - Transnational Activities (Jean-Luc Leray, Patrick Le Dû): Storage/shipping hub outside Paris, expanding Asian/European summer schools. - Liaison Reports (Ray Larsen): CSI SunBlazer solar trailer deployed in Haiti, expansion to South Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria; SIGHT committee. SOCIETY GENERAL BUSINESS (continued from page 18) Liaison updates from Sandra Biedron (R&D Policy), Peter Clout (ICALEPCS), Lee Berry (Coalition for Plasma Science), Jim Schwank (RADECS), Randy Brill / Ron Jaszczak (TMI). Motions Passed by AdCom: - DVD pressing of BEAMS conference back issues for BEAMS 2012 attendees. - Administration guidelines for Phelps Awards ($750 cap per recipient, max 3 per conference, support short course fees/travel). - Request open access fees for TNS/TPS to match IEEE Access. - Formation of subcommittee on CSI funding for Africa initiatives. - ExCom voting exception for PSAC due to Hurricane Sandy. - Approved $37k for Haiti CSI project. NEW ADCOM OFFICERS JANET L. BARTH, President Janet L. Barth is Chief of the Electrical Engineering Division (EED) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), responsible for avionics on missions including James Webb Space Telescope, MMS, GPM, Hubble servicing, SDO, ICESat, and LRO. Career summary, radiation hardness engineering, LWS program, IEEE NPSS AdCom service, and RADECS/NSREC leadership roles. NEW ADCOM OFFICERS (continued) JOHN P. VERBONCOEUR, Vice President / President-Elect Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University. B.S. Univ. of Florida, M.S./Ph.D. UC Berkeley. Research in theoretical/computational plasma physics, author/co-author of XPDP1 and XOOPIC PIC-MC simulation codes, over 300 publications, IEEE Fellow (2013), and Associate Editor of Physics of Plasmas. NEW ADCOM MEMBERS: Ron Jaszczak (NMISC), John Luginsland (PSAC), Patrick Le Dû (Transnational). NEW TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRS: - John Paul Allain (Fusion Technology): Associate Professor at Purdue University. - Rickey Faehl (Plasma Science and Applications): 40+ years in plasma physics, pulsed power, and intense charged-particle beams (Los Alamos). NEW TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRS (continued) - Marty R. Shaneyfelt (Radiation Effects): Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, expert in radiation-hardened bulk/SOI CMOS, 175+ publications, IEEE Fellow. - Juergen F. Kolb (Pulsed Power Science and Technology): Professor at University of Rostock and Leibniz-Institute for Plasma Science and Technology (INP Greifswald), specialist in bioelectrics and pulsed power technologies. TECHNICAL COMMITTEES COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN NUCLEAR AND PLASMA SCIENCES (CANPS) Preparations for Real Time 2014 in Nara, Japan (Spring 2014), organized by Osaka Univ., RIKEN, KEK. Summer school for real-time applications to precede conference. Stefan Ritt: [email protected]. NUCLEAR MEDICAL AND IMAGING SCIENCES (NMISC) Review of NSS/MIC 2012 in Anaheim. Awards: Dr. Simon Cherry (Edward J. Hoffman Medical Imaging Scientist Award) and Dr. Chi Liu (Bruce Hasegawa MIC Young Investigator Award). Preparations for NSS/MIC 2013 in Seoul, South Korea. TECHNICAL COMMITTEES (continued) NSS/MIC 2013 theme: "Beyond Imagination of Future Science" in Seoul (General Chair: Hee-Joung Kim). Future sites: 2014 Seattle (Tony Lavietes), 2015 San Diego (Vesna Sossi), 2016 Strasbourg (Maxim Titov). Five new Council members elected: Abhijit J. Chaudhari, Georges El Fakhri, Andrew L. Goertzen, George Loudos, Taiga Yamaya. Ronald J. Jaszczak elected AdCom rep. Constitution & By-Laws revisions: 5-year review led to updates in field of interest (Article II), 2-year term limits on subcommittee chairs (Bylaw 3.1), and candidate slate requirements (Bylaw 6). Suleman Surti: [email protected]. CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE NUCLEAR MEDICAL AND IMAGING SCIENCES TECHNICAL COMMITTEE (NMISTC) OF THE IEEE NPSS - Article I: Name and Object - Article II: Field of Interest (Radiation sources, detectors, standards, planar NM, SPECT, PET, CT, MRI, MRS, fMRI, DR, radiotherapy imaging, hybrid imaging, simulation, reconstruction algorithms, quantitative imaging) - Article III: Membership - Article IV: Administration (15 members-at-large, 3-year terms, Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary) - Article V: Nominations and Election of Members-at-Large - Article VI: Meetings & Quorum (8 voting members) - Article VII: Amendments - Article VIII: Revision - Bylaws: Section 1-8 covering NMISC composition, election rules, functional subcommittees, NSS/MIC Oversight Subcommittee, secret ballots, record maintenance, and alternate representation. PARTICLE ACCELERATOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (PAST) Chaired by Stan Schriber through Dec 2013. Subcommittee organization: Fellows & Awards (Ilan Ben-Zvi), Web & Communications (Bruce Brown), Nominating/Education/Outreach (Bob Zwaska, Sandra Biedron), Conferences (Paul Schmor). Review of 18-month cycle for North American accelerator conferences alternating with IPACs. Reports: - IPAC'12 (New Orleans): 1,100 attendees, 1,250 posters, 53 e-posters. Past Awards: Hasan Padamsee (RF superconductivity), Vitaly Yakimenko (high brightness electron beams), Erdong Wang (Doctoral Student Award, photocathodes). - NA-PAC'13 (Pasadena, Sept 29–Oct 4, 2013; Chair Steve Gourlay). - IPAC'15 (Richmond, VA, May 3–8, 2015; Chair Andrew Hutton). - NA-PAC'16 (Chicago, Oct 9–14, 2016; Chair Marion White). - IPAC'18 (Vancouver, BC; Chair Lia Merminga). PLASMA SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS (PSAC) PSAC ExCom election results: New members John Giuliani, Michael Kong, Mark Kushner, Mounir Laroussi, Tom Mehlhorn, Peter Stolz (replacing Monica Blank, Jeremy Chittenden, John Foster, Joseph Kindel, Scott Kovaleski, Manfred Thumm). Nominations open until May 31, 2013. Rickey Faehl: [email protected]. RADIATION INSTRUMENTATION (RITC) New RISC members (2013–2015): Lorenzo Fabris, Michael Fiederle, Michael Hynes, Paul Lecoq, Craig Woody. Tony Lavietes became RISC Chair; Patrick Le Dû elected Vice Chair; Brad Roscoe Secretary; Sara Pozzi Awards Chair. Awards presented: Patrick Le Dû (Richard F. Shea Award), 1st Lt. James Bevins (Graduate Scholarship), Valentin Jordanov (IEEE Foundation Award), Richard Wigman (RISC Outstanding Achievement), Feng Zhang (RISC Early Career Award). Historical NSS/MIC attendance data (2000–2011) and upcoming NSS/MIC conference schedule (2013 Seoul, 2014 Seattle, 2015 San Diego, 2016 Strasbourg). CLASS OF 2013 IEEE NPSS FELLOWS: - Carter M. Armstrong (L-3 Communications): "For technical leadership in the development of high power microwave and millimeter-wave radiation sources, especially their power modules." - Joel Karp (Univ. of Pennsylvania): "For contributions to quantitative imaging of positron emission tomography." - Paul Marshall (Consultant to NRL & NASA GSFC): "For contributions to understanding the impact of particle radiation on satellite reliability and survivability." - Lucio Rossi (CERN): "For leadership in developing magnetic systems for the Large Hadron Collider." - John P. Verboncoeur (Michigan State Univ.): "For contributions to computational plasma physics and plasma device applications." 2012 FUSION TECHNOLOGY AWARD: - Dr. Abbas Nikroo (General Atomics): "For his many exemplary technical contributions and leadership initiatives in the field of IFE target fabrication techniques in support of the National Ignition Campaign." NSREC 2012 OUTSTANDING PAPER AWARDS: - Outstanding Conference Paper: V. Goiffon et al., "Radiation Effects in Pinned Photodiode CMOS Image Sensors: Pixel Performance Degradation Due to Total Ionizing Dose." - Outstanding Student Paper: N. N. Mahatme et al., "Impact of Back-Gate Bias and Device Geometry on the Total Ionizing Dose Response of 1-Transistor Floating Body RAMs." - Outstanding Data Workshop: H. Quinn et al., "On-Orbit Results for the Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA." POEM: "The Quantum's Plight" by E.H. Johnson. SWISSFEL: THE NEXT LARGE-RESEARCH FACILITY AT PSI By P. Craievich for the SwissFEL team. Overview of the new X-ray free-electron laser project at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland). SwissFEL consists of a 5.8-GeV C-band linear accelerator operating at 100 Hz driving two undulator lines: Aramis (hard X-rays, 1–7 Å, 1.8–12.4 keV) and Athos (soft X-rays, 7–70 Å, 0.18–1.8 keV). Features dual micro-bunch acceleration (28 ns spacing) and beam sharing via a fast kicker. Technical parameter table and project schedule leading to first lasing in 2017. CAREER FOCUS: SEMICONDUCTORS By John R. Platt (from IEEE-USA Today's Engineer, Jan 2013). Analysis of the semiconductor industry outlook for 2013, projected to grow 4.5% to $303B according to WSTS. Discusses the cyclical nature of the industry, rising demand for software engineers in semiconductor development, multi-disciplinary requirements (analog, microcontrollers, materials, computer science), global team collaboration skills, and career entry advice from industry leaders (Intel, TI, Arrow Electronics). CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF FOR THE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING (IEEE-TMI) Nominations invited for a 3-year term (Jan 1, 2015 – Dec 31, 2017). IEEE-TMI is jointly managed by EMBS, NPSS, SPS, and UFFC. Submit nominations to Dr. Elsa Angelini (Chair, Steering Committee) by July 15, 2013. OBITUARY: PROFESSOR IGOR ALEXEFF (1931–2012) Prepared by Steve Gold, Mounir Laroussi, and Steve Gitomer. Professor Igor Alexeff passed away on October 25, 2012 at age 81 from ALS. Alexeff was a pioneer in plasma physics (first observation of ion acoustic waves in 1963, inventor of the Orbitron maser), Full Professor at the University of Tennessee (1971–1996), co-founder of the IEEE NPSS (1972), General Chair of the 1st ICOPS (1974), and NPSS President (1999–2000). The NPSS Outstanding Student in Plasma Science Award has been renamed the Igor Alexeff Outstanding Student in Plasma Science Award in his honor.