What Is the Circuits and Systems Society?

The Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) is a professional society within IEEE dedicated to the theory, analysis, design, and practical implementation of circuits and systems. It encompasses analog, digital, mixed-signal, and nonlinear circuit theory as well as the systems-level perspectives that connect circuits to broader engineering problems in signal processing, communications, power, and neural computation. The Society serves engineers, researchers, and educators working across the full range of circuit-related disciplines, from device-level integrated circuits to large-scale networked systems.

CASS traces its origins to 1949, when the Circuit Theory Group was established within the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE). Following the merger of the IRE with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers to form IEEE in 1963, the group continued under IEEE's organizational structure. In 1972, it was elevated to full Society status and renamed the Circuits and Systems Society, reflecting the broadened scope of the field beyond classical circuit theory. The IEEE Circuits and Systems Society now has tens of thousands of members worldwide and sponsors a substantial portfolio of publications, conferences, and educational initiatives.

Technical Scope and Committees

The Society organizes its technical activities through fourteen Technical Committees and several Special Interest Groups, each focused on a defined sub-area. These cover topics including analog signal processing, biomedical circuits and systems, cellular neural networks and array computing, digital signal processing, nanoelectronics and gigascale systems, nonlinear circuits and systems, power systems and power electronic circuits, sensory systems, and visual signal processing. The structure allows members to participate in focused communities while remaining connected to the broader circuits-and-systems field.

Technical committee activities include organizing sessions at flagship conferences, editing special issues of Society journals, and developing tutorials and short courses. The technical scope has expanded over the decades to incorporate emerging areas such as neuromorphic computing, hardware security, and circuits for machine learning inference, reflecting the Society's practice of forming new committees as sub-fields gain critical mass within the membership.

Publications and Conferences

CASS publishes several peer-reviewed journals, among them the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers and the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, which together cover the full range of circuits and systems research. The IEEE Journal on Emerging and Selected Topics in Circuits and Systems addresses cross-disciplinary themes that do not fit neatly within established sub-fields.

The Society's flagship annual meeting, the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), is one of the largest conferences in the electronics engineering calendar, drawing thousands of attendees and covering hundreds of technical sessions. Regional conferences organized under CASS sponsorship extend the Society's reach into Latin America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Additional information on Society activities and membership is available on the IEEE CASS technical activities page.

Education and Outreach

CASS supports the professional development of its members through webinars, lecture series, and the Resource Center maintained at the IEEE CAS Resource Center, which provides video lectures, course materials, and technical tutorials freely accessible to members. Student branch chapters and regional chapters host local events and design competitions, connecting students with practicing engineers. The Society also participates in IEEE's broader initiatives on diversity and inclusion and sponsors student design challenges tied to its flagship conference program.

Applications

The Circuits and Systems Society covers research and practice relevant to:

• Integrated circuit design for communications and computing
• Biomedical electronics and neural interface circuits
• Power electronics and energy conversion systems
• Signal processing hardware for audio, video, and radar
• Neuromorphic and brain-inspired computing architectures