Introduction to the 1980's

1980s

Within the Computer Society, the growth of the seventies continued in every function, but with new dimensions and changing emphasis. This was the decade of new magazines, major standards activities, new education initiatives, international services, and a significant growth and refinement of staff services and facilities.

Within the society, the breadth of the profession and member interest in the more tutorial-oriented materials published in Computer prompted the creation of similar magazines in specialty areas. The society introduced IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications in January 1981, IEEE Micro in February 1981, both IEEE Design & Test and IEEE Software in February 1984, and IEEE Expert in the spring of 1986.

IEEE Transactions on Knowledge & Database Engineering was introduced in September 1989. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering and IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis & Machine Intelligence moved from bimonthly to monthly publication in 1985 and 1989, respectively.

The society published more than 65,200 periodical editorial pages during the decade -- with over 33,400 pages in transactions and 31,800 pages in magazines, including 12,700 in Computer.

The number of technical committees continued to grow, mirroring the diversity in the computer industry. Fifteen new technical committees brought the total to 33 by the end of the decade. These committees were the primary sources of conferences and meetings. The society sponsored and cosponsored more than 50 conferences annually and cooperated, without financial involvement, with other organizations in dozens more. Interest in the more vertical or specialty conferences increased, relative to the broad conferences such as Compcon and Compsac. Several of the specialty conferences drew many more attendees than the broad-based conferences. The number of meetings held outside the US grew significantly, many of them sponsored by technical committees. In the eighties the society sponsored and cosponsored more than 90 conferences outside the US. CompEuro was initiated in 1987, cosponsored with IEEE's Region 8.

The technical committees began to support standards activities in a major way. The results were remarkable. At the end of the decade, 56 standards had been approved and 125 working groups were under way. These projects involved well over 5,000 people.

The growth in society services was clearly fueled by the industry's growth and by the many volunteer professionals who were motivated to provide the technical base for these services. But this growth simply would not have been possible without the staff support that developed during this period. The society brought in its first executive director in 1982, and the staff developed from 16 people at the beginning of the eighties into a highly professional operation of 94 people by the end of the decade.

The Computer Group staff operations had begun in the garages and basements of its first publisher and executive secretary. In early 1980 the West Coast publishing operation moved into its newly purchased building, and in 1985 the space was doubled with the purchase of the adjoining building. Also in 1985, the society purchased its current headquarters building in Washington, D.C., and extended its staff support overseas by opening an office in Brussels. The Brussels office was expanded in 1987. In 1988, an office was opened in Tokyo. These offices represent a major step in serving the society internationally.