Report to TAB Finance Committee May 12, 2005 Sensors Council Report to TAB Finance Committee May 12, 2005 Christina Schober VP Finances Bob Bannon Treasurer/ Secretary

Outline Sensors Council History Sensors Council Activities Sensors Council Reserves Sensors Council Net Plans Issues FinCom’s Q & Council’s A 5/12/2005

History 1999: Formed under the leadership of John Vig Purpose: Foster joint activities among Societies doing sensors 26 Societies participate 2001: Sensors Journal 1st published 2002: IEEE SENSORS conference initiated 5/12/2005

IEEE Sensors Conference Summary 5/12/2005

Conferences Sensor Council goal is a Global rotation of locations, with a 3 year cycle Americas Europe & Africa Asia 3rd Week October is target week 5/12/2005

Conferences 2005 in Irvine, California 2006 Daegu, Korea 2002 in Orlando, Florida 2003 in Toronto, Canada 2004 in Vienna, Austria 2005 in Irvine, California 2006 Daegu, Korea 2007 Venue Selection in Process 2008 Atlanta, Georgia 2009 Leece, Italy or Athens, Greece 2010 Sydney, Australia or Beijing, China 5/12/2005

Conference Financial budget summaries 2002 Orlando, Florida, USA 2002 Conf loss -$59.9k *audited 2003 Toronto Canada 2003 Conference loss -$43.6k US * audited (2003 Hotel Attrition payoff was –29.1k US) 2004 Vienna Austria 2004 Conference gain +153.6k US ** in process of closing 2005 Irvine, CA, USA 2005 Conference gain +101k US *** current budget 5/12/2005

Publication income from Conference pubs 2002 Conf Proceedings Income +$69.3k 2003 Conf Proceedings Income +111.5k 2004 Conf Proceedings Income +51k Budget 2005 Conf Pub Income budget $58k 2006 Conf Pub Income budget $59.7k 2007 Conf Pub Income budget $61.5k New usage model in effect for 2004 5/12/2005

2002/2003/2004/2005 Florida/Toronto/Vienna/Irvine Registration #’s Attendees 617 357 596 650 # of students in total ~63 ~109 162 56 Tutorials 125 55 64 120 5/12/2005

Sensors Conf 2004 What went right! Better Management Committee managed budget & expenses (no management company) Includes returning $15k Seed money to Sensors Council. Two bank accounts set up one US, one Austria. Only US did get seed money (in Oct). Multiple donations from Vienna University (meeting rooms etc) Food & Beverages provided at lower rate from University services Donation of city of ½ banquet costs No exposure to hotel attrition, room block or food & beverage minimums 5/12/2005

IEEE Sensors 2005 Irvine, California The 4th IEEE Conference on Sensors Hyatt Regency Irvine Irvine, California Oct. 31 - Nov. 3, 2005 www.ieee.org/sensors2005 Important Dates:   Abstract Submission: April 15, 2005 Author Notification: June 30, 2005 Full Paper Deadline: October 1, 2005

Sensor Conf Bids must include Location & Date Proposed General Chair Experience in Org activities Experience in IEEE CV Location Description Advantages/Disadvantages How easy to reach by air Visa needed? Local transportation Nearby City Weather Tourist facilities Price Level Other attractive items? Facilities at Location Conference Rooms Hotels (availability, affordability) Public Transportation Cost Plan/budget Pessimistic, Most Likely, optimistic # of expected participants Profit Conf rooms & facilities Food & Beverages Financial backup (government, societies, industry) Financial risks (guarantee that losses will be covered?) Organizing committee General Chair Vice chairs are fixed (past & future general chairs) Local Chair Treasurer Exhibition & sponsoring chair Publications chair Turorials chair Publicity chair TPC Chairs (concensus with VP of Conf) Local Organizing Committee Organizing agency? 5/12/2005

IEEE Sensors Journal Summary 5/12/2005

Sensor Journal as of Oct 28, 2004 Nonmember subscriptions: 37 print, 7 online as of the September month end Member: 1409 print, 406 online, 271 print plus online (combo) Pricing plan for 2006 Total paper costs are $48.9K. "Incremental" cost as defined in the budget is $23.40 --- Using new guidelines, the 2006 price is $31 for full members. e-subscription There is no estimate for the cost of an e-subscription, as all Xplore costs are allocations of allocations of allocations. This journal’s flat-rate share of the expense is $10.1K. What's ignored is a missing expense for set-up of a subscription, which averages around $5 but is applied to neither the print or online membership subscription variable expenses. It was noted in budgets during prior year, but I don't see it being done now. 5/12/2005

Sensors Journal Pages Budget vs. Actuals Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Budget 416 720 928 1200 976 1020 (nets $117K) 1110 Actual 400 732 888 916 Will meet 5/12/2005

Newsletter starting in 2005 Two issues per year (Jan & July) Contacting each member society for appointing an Associate Editor who can provide short articles on sensor activity of his society. Use newsletter for timely reports on conferences Report on ten most popular articles published in the IEEE Sensors Journal viewed on line based on PDF views through IEEE Xplore We could also include the most frequently viewed articles from the latest IEEE SENSORS 200X proceedings. Editor M. Nurul Abedin, Ph.D. Passive Sensor Systems Branch NASA Langley Research Center 5/12/2005

Reserves Initially 26 Societies contributed $2K each = $52k in 1999 TAB loan of $100K in 2000 2002 paid back $100K TAB loan Reserves currently at $284K Projected 2005 yr-end reserves = $430K 5/12/2005

Plans Begin fostering joint activities Participate in Earth Observation Summit Develop Web-based tutorials Initiate joint workshops dealing with interface activities Inaugurate joint Distinguished Lecturer programs 5/12/2005

Issues Journal Budget Increased infrastructure allocations Increased publishing costs in 2004 Voluntary page charges increased in 2006 budget Increased infrastructure allocations 5/12/2005

New 2006 Sensors Journal Pricing Print -- $590 Online -- $590 Combo -- $720 5/12/2005

FinCom Questions In what year is your S/C expecting to achieve breakeven or better, and what specific actions are you taking to do this? 2004 was positive. Actually 2003 was positive. +136.9k Hotel attrition for 2003 paid in 2004 5/12/2005

FinCom’s Questions (Reserves) What actions are you taking to increase the revenue line while decreasing the expense line? Reserves > 50% of expenses Adjusted Journal costs / pricing Budgeting conferences for 30% profit to ensure surplus (vs. IEEE recommended 20%) Positive Actions have been put in place; Sensors Council is OK! 5/12/2005

FinCom Questions (Business Plan) We would also like to hear other elements of your business plan, such as: Do your dues and member sub prices meet the incremental costs of membership and optional publications? Yes Are conference fees high enough with respect to your competitors? Yes Are expenses under control? Yes 5/12/2005

Summary Actual or budget operating accounts positive to date Reserves are growing Corrected Conference and Journal problems Initiating new, joint activities 5/12/2005

Summary – cont’d. Sensors Council has a Strategic Plan Sensors Council has a projected and sustainable growing reserves Sensors Council has addressed all areas of financial concerns Sensors Council should be removed from the watch list 5/12/2005