Often times a particular research topic is the result of a group of individuals working together to better characterize or solve a current problem. It can be beneficial for the group of researchers to present their research and early-stage results to fellow engineers to obtain input that may help direct their research efforts. The Special Session "Elevator Talks" provides a forum for 15 researchers to each make a 4 minute presentation (plus a 1 minute question period) on an emerging research topic and key results of this research. The work described in the "Elevator Talks" is new research that has not been presented at any other confe