Gregory T. Byrd
Position statement. The IEEE Computer Society is the premier organization for computing professionals and students. We offer numerous avenues for standards, education, and leading-edge research to be shared around the world. We are also a trusted source of information for those outside the profession, and we aim to inspire future generations of computer engineers and scientists.
The Society is volunteer-driven; we thrive because of the leadership and contributions of technical committees, editorial boards, conference committees, standards committees, and local chapters. We are strengthened by our relationships with other societies and councils in IEEE. Computer Society volunteers have been contributors and leaders in exciting new IEEE initiatives such as Rebooting Computing, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Big Data, and Internet of Things. We provide opportunities for members to form communities around common technical interests, fostering diverse and multidisciplinary professional networks.
My pledge is to support creative, sustainable efforts that will make the Computer Society even more effective for all our members and for the computing community. Together, we must continue to invent and exploit new technologies and modes for publishing, conferences, professional development, and education. We must support computing professionals at all stages of their education and careers, and recruit new generations of diverse and creative talent as members. Also, we must be good stewards of the reputation and resources of the Society, acting on behalf of our global community.
http://people.engr.ncsu.edu/gbyrd/ieeecs2017
Biography. Gregory T. Byrd is professor and associate head in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE Computer Society and its 2017 Second Vice President and vice president of the Publications Board. Previously, Byrd was a member of the CS Board of Governors (2015–2017), and a member-at-large of the Publications Board (2012–2016). In 2016, he served as Computer Society Secretary. He is a member of the Computer magazine editorial board, as computer architectures area editor (2013–14, 2017) and as creator and editor of the Student Design Showcase column (2015–16).
Byrd’s research is primarily in the area of parallel computer architecture. He received a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Prior to joining NC State, he worked at Celotek, MCNC, NC Supercomputing Center, and Digital Equipment Corporation. He has been general chair and program chair of the IEEE International Conference on Computer Design, and has served on program committees of several IEEE conferences. He received an Outstanding Teacher Award at NC State (2011) and the IEEE CS Golden Core Award (2016).
Stefano Zanero
Position statement. The Computer Society, like all societies of IEEE, needs to find the courage and vision to evolve and adapt to the new, challenging environment its members work and live in.
We must continue to empower our members to be the driving force of the technology changes that are moving humanity forward. To do so, we must reexamine the whole line of services and benefits we offer, make some hard but needed choices in terminating services and benefits that are not used anymore, engage the members to find the additional benefits they need, and make all services easier to use, more pervasively accessible. We must streamline the procedures for most of the interactions with the Society, freeing up our valuable staff’s time for new projects and endeavors.
We must embrace more fully the transformations that are happening in our traditional role as publishers of technical knowledge. We must embrace the open access revolution, face the challenges posed by it, and serve our members and our technical community better than we have done so far. We must envision a publishing and archiving structure that will live beyond the current publications and titles.
We must also address the societal needs for development and growth, enabling education, research and advancement in all regions, each according to their own needs. We must become, and be recognized as, a global positive force of change and improvement.
This is the time for bold action, investment, and growth, and we must avoid keeping a defensive stance. We must embrace challenges such as open access, new models of membership, and the new role of a scientific and professional society in a rapidly changing world.
Biography. I received a PhD degree in computer engineering from Politecnico di Milano, where I am currently an associate professor. My research focuses on cybersecurity, in particular malware analysis, threat intelligence, and the security of cyber-physical systems. I have published over 70 peer-reviewed papers. I am a regularly invited speaker at international events, including the popular Black Hat Briefings (where I now sit on the review board).
I also cofounded Secure Network, one of the leading penetration-testing companies in Italy; 18Months, a SaaS solution provider for the entertainment industry; and BankSealer, a provider of machine-learning solutions for banking fraud detection.
I have been a long-time volunteer in the Computer Society. I have chaired the Italy Chapter and served on the Board of Governors for the past five years. In 2014, I served on an ad-hoc committee on publications, and since 2015 I have served on the Constitution and Bylaws committee. I am creating the STC on Cybersecurity with a committee of colleagues. I also serve on the IEEE MGA Board as the vice chair for Information Management, and chair of the IT Coordination Committee.
Outside IEEE, I have served since 2008 on the International Board of Directors of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), a 10,000-members strong organization of security professionals. I am a Senior Member of IEEE and ACM, and a Fellow of ISSA.