Prof. Sergio Verdú, of Princeton University, has been named the recipient of the 2008 IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal, "for fundamental contributions to information theory and the development of multiuser detection".

The Awards Committee, currently chaired by Andrea Goldsmith, strongly encourages all society members to consider nominating papers for the ITSoc or joint ITSoc/COMSOC prize paper awards. To stimulate more award nominations, the deadline has been extended to March 1.

The IEEE Information Theory Society mourns the loss of David Slepian, who passed away on November 29, 2007. A researcher of immense depth and breadth, Slepian was known for choosing problems of a fundamental nature and providing solutions that paved the way for many to follow.

From time to time, the Board of Governors (BoG) amends the Constitution and a set of Bylaws governing various aspects of the Society's operation. The amendments to the Bylaws have already taken effect, and the amendments to the Constitution will take effect 60 days after this notice of amendments, unless at least 1% of the voting members of the Society object, in writing, within 60 days, to the IEEE Office of Society General Activities.

The Shannon Award Committee is soliciting open nominations for the first time.

The IEEE Transactions on Information Theory will publish a Special Issue to provide readers with an overview of the most important problems in molecular biology and neuroscience, to highlight state-of-the-art applications of information theory in these fields, and to compile a collection of new research results on these subjects.