IEEE Solid-States Circuits Magazine - Winter 2022 - 73

SOCIETY NEWS
I
Memories of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Council
Transition to the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society
In 2022, the IEEE Solid-State Circuits
Society (SSCS) celebrates the 25th
anniversary of its transition from
the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Council
(SSCC) into its current form. Richard
Jaeger was asked to document the
evolution. The following information
is based on conversations with
the three presidents during that period,
Harry Mussman (1994-1995),
Robert Swartz (1995-1996), and
Lewis Terman (1997-1998), as well
as other people who were involved
and detailed notes from Mussman's
time in office.
The SSCC was established in 1966
and led by Chairman John Linvill
and Vice Chairman Gordon Moore
[1]. Through the years, it considered
making the transition from a Council
to a Society but was generally satisfied
with sponsoring its conference,
the International Solid-State Circuits
Conference (ISSCC), and publication,
IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits
(JSSC). However, in October 1994,
a proposal to force Councils to become
Societies or disband was discussed
at the IEEE Presidents' Forum
and IEEE Technical Activities Board
(TAB) Retreat. Mussman (SSCC president)
and Swartz (SSCC vice president)
discussed the Council's status.
They believed it was an opportune
time to expand the Council's scope
and become a Society, with the goal
of better serving members of the
solid-state circuits community.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSSC.2021.3132179
Date of current version: 24 January 2022
In November 1994, Mussman,
Swartz, and Terman discussed the
possibility of the transition with
other Society presidents at the President's
Forum, and the topic was briefly
addressed during the TAB meeting
that followed. In December, the IEEE
Electron Devices Society (EDS) passed
a motion: " EDS supports in principle
the concept that the SSCC should be
reorganized (by merger or otherwise)
as a society within Division I and
encourages mutual cooperation and
a close liaison in recognition of the
continuum relation between solidstate
circuit design and solid-state devices. "
The IEEE Circuits and Systems
Society (CAS) preferred to merge with
the SSCC.
Mussman subsequently appointed
Swartz to chair a long-range planning
committee (LPC) to explore the options
of 1) remaining a Council; 2) merging
with a Society, such as the CAS; and
3) becoming a Society that would cooperate
with sister groups within IEEE
while representing the best interests
of the solid-state circuits community.
The LPC discussed the pros and cons
of each option immediately prior to
the February 1995 Council meeting.
No decision was made at that gathering,
but the LPC was given the task
of preparing an SSCC-SSCS transition
plan for consideration at the Council's
August meeting. Charles Gywn was
appointed Membership Committee
chair, and Terman led the constitution
and bylaws effort.
The LPC had the following members:
■ Swartz (chair, nonvoting)
■ Mussman
■ Earl Swartzlander Jr. (SSCC treasurer)
■ Charles Sodini (SSCC conferences
chair)
■ David Pricer (ISSCC Executive Com -
mittee chair)
■ Gwyn
■ Bruce Wooley (publications chair)
■ Paul Jespers (Region 8 representative)
■
Sergio Bampi (Region 9 representative)
■
Hajime Ishikawa (Region 10 representative)
■
Peter Verhofstadt (past president,
1992-1993)
■ Jaeger (past president, 1990-1991;
editor, JSSC)
■ Paul Gray (past president, 1988-
1989)
■ Miles Copeland (CAS representative)
■ Terman (EDS president, 1990-1991).
In June, the Membership Committee
sent a survey to JSSC subscribers
as well as attendees from the past
two ISSCC meetings. Seventy-three
percent of the respondents agreed
that the SSCC should become a Society,
and 81% said they would join it.
The survey confirmed the belief of
the LPC that expanding into a Society
would best serve the solid-state
circuits community. With the help of
IEEE staff, the committee prepared
a comprehensive transition plan
[including a field of interest (FOI),
a constitution and bylaws, a governance
structure, finances, chapters,
a core publication, conference sponsorships,
and so on] for the Council
to consider at its August 1995 meeting.
During this time, discussions
continued with representatives of
IEEE SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS MAGAZINE WINTER 2022
73
IEEE Solid-States Circuits Magazine - Winter 2022

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