Passing the Torch
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From the Editor in Chief Editor in Chief: M. Satyanarayanan ■ Carnegie Mellon University ■ [email protected] Passing the Torch M. Satyanarayanan his issue marks the end of my sec- a highly portable information appliance LOOKING BACK, T ond two-year term as editor in that transforms nearby displays and LOOKING FORWARD chief. I am delighted to introduce my input devices into a transient personal- In August 2001, 10 years after the successor, Roy Want of Intel Research, computing environment. Roy has pub- publication of Mark Weiser’s seminal who will begin his term on 1 January lished extensively over his research career paper introducing the concept of ubiq- 2006. I will continue to serve as active and has over 50 patents to his credit. uitous computing,1 I summarized the editor in chief until that time and will It is hard to imagine a person more field’s progress and reflected on the work closely with Roy to ensure a qualified than Roy to be the next editor challenges ahead in a paper entitled smooth and efficient transition. My in chief of IEEE Pervasive Computing. “Pervasive Computing: Vision and involvement with this publication will In 2001, he was part of the founding edi- Challenges.”2 Looking back, it is grat- continue even after I step down, as I will torial board that created this publication ifying to see how much progress has remain on the editorial board. occurred in just four short years. Many forces have converged to make IN GOOD HANDS It is hard to this progress possible, one of which was Roy received his PhD from Cambridge imagine a substantial industry investment in prod- University in 1988, under the supervision person more uct development relevant to mobile and of Roger Needham. His dissertation was pervasive computing. PDAs, wristwatch titled, “Managing Voice in a Distributed qualified than computers, smart cell phones, and con- System.” From 1988–1991, he worked Roy Want to verged devices of various kinds are com- at the Olivetti Research Lab in the UK, be the next editor in chief of monplace today. Wi-Fi communication directed by Andy Hopper. At Olivetti, is widespread, with WiMax emergent. Roy was a co-inventor of the Active IEEE Pervasive Computing. Another force was significant govern- Badge Location System, widely recog- ment and industry investment in perva- nized today as a pioneering effort in loca- and defined its mission and scope. Since sive computing research. Much govern- tion tracking. He then joined the Palo then, he has served as a founding asso- ment-funded research has occurred at Alto Research Center, where he worked ciate editor in chief and has worked hard universities in the US (for example, at the closely with Mark Weiser in helping to in helping the publication achieve visi- University of Illinois, Georgia Tech, and translate Mark’s vision of ubiquitous bility and editorial excellence. Roy Carnegie Mellon) and Europe (for exam- computing into reality. At PARC, Roy brings drive and passion to his work and ple, at the Universities of Lancaster, Not- was a key member of the team that cre- demands very high standards of himself tingham, Strathclyde, Grenoble, Darm- ated Parctab, the first implementation of and others. At the same time, he is a stadt, and Göteborg). Industry research a ubiquitous computing system. wonderful colleague and a great team has been most visible at IBM, Hewlett- In 2001, Roy was one of the first player who is always willing to take on Packard, and Intel, with an entire Intel researchers to join Intel Research, a new additional responsibilities for the collec- lab in Seattle focusing on ubiquitous organization created by David Tennen- tive good and deliver on them. On a per- computing. house. At Intel, Roy has led the Personal sonal note, it has been a pleasure getting A third force was the emergence of Server project to explore the concept of to know him as a friend and colleague. many conference, workshops, and pub- MISSION STATEMENT: IEEE Pervasive Computing is a catalyst for advancing research and practice in mobile and ubiquitous computing. It is the premier publishing forum for peer-reviewed articles, industry news, surveys, and tutorials for a broad, multidisciplinary community. 2 PERVASIVEcomputing Published by the IEEE CS and IEEE ComSoc ■ 1536-1268/05/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, AND PUBLICATIONS lications devoted to pervasive comput- Conferences and workshops related to pervasive computing include ing. These have raised the field’s profile and stimulated new research on relevant • ACM International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking (MobiCom): topics. IEEE Pervasive Computing has, www.sigmobile.org/mobicom/2005 of course, been one of these publications • IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communication (PerCom): (see the sidebar for other related con- www.percom.org ferences, workshops, and publications). • IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers: www.cc.gatech.edu/ccg/iswc05 This convergence has been decisive in • IEEE International Workshop on Pervasive Computing and Communication Security moving pervasive computing forward, (PerSec): http://www-lce.eng.cam.ac.uk/~fms27/persec-2006 but can this momentum be sustained well • IEEE Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems and Applications (WMCSA): into the future? Clearly, industry devel- http://research.ihost.com/wmcsa2006 opment of new products in this space • International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services (MobiSys): must continue, which seems likely. How- www.sigmobile.org/mobisys/2006 ever, government funding in the US is at • International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Networking and Services risk. As Thad Starner and others noted (Mobiquitous): www.mobiquitous.org in a recent issue, pervasive computing • International Conference on Pervasive Computing: www.pervasive2006.org research in the US faces difficult times.3 • International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp): www.ubicomp.org/ David Patterson recently sounded the ubicomp2006 same concern from a broader computer • International Workshop on Pervasive Information Management (PIM): www.i-u.de/ science perspective.4 Fortunately, the sit- schools/hopfner/edbtpim uation is better in Europe, where sus- • International Workshop on Sensor Networks and Systems for Pervasive Computing tained government support is available. (PerSeNS): http://www2.ing.unipi.it/persens2006 Another requirement for sustained • Workshop on Context Modeling and Reasoning (CoMoRea): http://nexus.informatik. progress is the development of pervasive uni-stuttgart.de/COMOREA/2006 computing metrics and benchmarks (see • Workshop on Middleware Support for Pervasive Computing (PerWare): http://perware.cs. my previous EIC message, “Metrics and uiuc.edu Benchmarks in Pervasive Computing,” July–Sept. 2005). Only then can a proper Related publications include IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, Springer’s Journal of Per- scientific area emerge. sonal and Ubiquitous Computing, and Elsevier’s Pervasive and Mobile Computing Journal. In addition, some overlap exists between IEEE Pervasive Computing and well-established con- lthough we cannot predict pervasive ferences and transactions in computer systems, networking, and human-computer interaction. A computing’s precise trajectory, there is little doubt that it will continue to engage our attention for many years to come. To quote from the 2001 paper I NEW ASSOCIATE EDITOR IN CHIEF mentioned earlier: “The early decades of the 21st century will be a period of excite- Gregory Abowd will be stepping down from his role as AEIC effective 1 November 2005. As ment and ferment, as new hardware tech- founding AEIC, Gregory has played a vital role in shaping IEEE Pervasive Computing. I thank nologies converge with research progress him for his many contributions and look forward to his continued involvement as a member [on] many fundamental problems. … of the editorial board. Like the Frontier of the American West James Landay will be taking over for Gregory. James is an associate professor in the in the early 19th century, pervasive com- Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Washington and is the puting offers new beginnings for the laboratory director of Intel Research Seattle. He is also one of the guest editors for this special adventurous and the restless—a rich open issue on rapid prototyping. I welcome James to the AEIC role! space where the rules have yet to be writ- ten and the borders yet to be drawn.”2 IEEE Pervasive Computing, with a new editor in chief, will be there to Century,” Scientific American, Sept. 1991, “Missing the Wave? Scattershot Funding pp. 66–75. Has Its Costs,” IEEE Pervasive Comput- report on these exciting events! ing, vol. 4, no. 1, 2005, pp. 80–82. 2. M. Satyanarayanan “Pervasive Comput- ing: Vision and Challenges,” IEEE Per- 4. D.A. Patterson, “The State of Funding for REFERENCES sonal Comm., Aug. 2001, pp. 10–17. New Initiatives in Computer Science and Engineering,” Comm. ACM, vol. 48, no. 1. M. Weiser, “The Computer for the 21st 3. T. Starner, K. Lyons, and R.E. Grinter, 4, 2005, pp. 21–25. OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2005 PERVASIVEcomputing 3.