Systems, Man & Cybernetics - January 2017 - 4

Society News

Roberts Reelected VP
for Systems Science
and Engineering
by Rodney G. Roberts

t is truly a great honor to continue
serving the IEEE Systems, Man,
and Cybernetics Society (SMCS)
as the vice president (VP) for Systems
Science and Engineering (SSE). The
SMCS and its members have continued to be an inspiration to me since
the very beginning of my graduate
career. My Ph.D. research was on
kinematically redundant manipulators. As with many important research
topics, the SMCS plays a fundamental
role in the robotics area, and many
of the seminal articles I studied as
a Ph.D. student were from IEEE
Transactions on Systems, Man, and
Cybernetics: Systems. Even today, I
get excited when I see a new issue
of the transactions because of all the
cutting-edge research it contains and
the memories it brings. For example, I
still remember going to the library as a
graduate student to read some of Lotfi
Zadeh's early work on fuzzy sets that
appeared in the transactions.
At an early stage in my career, I
became aware of the personal as well
as the technical aspects of the SMCS.
Interacting with fellow researchers is a
major benefit of any research society.
The opportunity for personal interaction is why conference participation
is so important. The Society sponsors
several annual international conferences. The 1991 International Confer-

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSMC.2016.2623872
Date of publication: 17 January 2017

of the researchers I interacted with
during that period specialized in
human-machine systems, and several
of my colleagues in the lab were involved in the SMCS.
After completing my NRC fellowship, I joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Florida A&M University-Florida State University College
of Engineering, where I am currently
a professor. My research interests still
ence on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics
include robotics but have extended to
(SMC 1991) was the first major conferother areas, such as compliant mechaence I attended. During that particular
nisms, computer vision, and teleopevent, I met Bill Gruver. As readers
eration, all topics that
may recall, the Octonaturally fit within the
ber 2016 issue of IEEE
interests of the SMCS.
Systems, Man, and
Like many IEEE ofCybernetics Magaficers, my involvement
zine contained many
in the SMCS develheartwarming stories
oped over time. After
in Bill's memory, deregularly publishing
scribing his dedication
research articles and
to the SMCS and his
serving as a reviewer,
positive influence on
I became an associate
the many people who
editor for a number
were fortunate enough
of journals, including
to know him. Bill was
IEEE Transactions
so welcoming and repon Robotics and IEEE
resented SMCS so well rodney g. roberts
Transactions on Systhat I left the 1991 contems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems.
ference not only impressed with the
I also became involved in conference
technical value but also with the Sociorganization. In 2000, I served as the
ety's mission of encouraging young regeneral chair for the Southeastern
searchers and providing role models to
Symposium on System Theory. This
emulate. It made me want to be part of
was a very rewarding experience, and
that community.
I learned a great deal about dealing
After receiving my Ph.D. degree, I
with various aspects of running a conspent two years at Wright-Patterson
ference. I later served as the general
Air Force Base as a National Research
chair for the 2007 IEEE Symposium on
Council (NRC) fellow, where I worked
Computational Intelligence in Robotwith the Human Effectiveness Direcics and Automation. The first major
torate. My robotics background was
IEEE conference I helped to organize
ideal for my work at Wright-Patterson,
was SMC 2009, the flagship conferwhich involved analyzing the capaence for the SMCS. I was honored that
bility of the Dynamic Environment
Philip Chen, who was the general chair
Simulator, a three-axis, human-rated
for SMC 2009, asked me to serve as the
centrifuge that can be modeled as a
program chair.
three-degree-of-freedom robot. Most

IEEE SyStEmS, man, & CybErnEtICS magazInE Janu ar y 2017

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