Isabel Trancoso has been appointed IEEE Fellow Committee Vice Chair, a prestigious leadership role that recognizes a singular career and unique research contributions.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Appointed by the IEEE Board of Directors for a term lasting from 01 January to 31 December 2023, Professor Trancoso — renowned INESC-ID Human Language Technologies researcher and Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) — is now Vice Chair of the Committee that makes recommendations for nominees to be conferred the grade of Fellow, itself “a distinction reserved for select IEEE members whose extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting of this prestigious grade elevation.”

“I view this appointment as an appreciation of the work I have done during several years targeting the improvement of the Fellow selection process,” Professor Trancoso commented. “In particular in the last year, in which I was deeply involved in an ad hoc committee that made major recommendations towards this goal. So I’m equally excited and frightened by the challenges that lie ahead.” Professor Trancoso added that “Being Vice Chair of a Committee that recommends nominees to be conferred the grade of IEEE Fellow would be an enormous responsibility and a great honour at any time. This year it brings the added responsibility of helping to put in place significant modifications.”

Appointment as IEEE Fellow Committee Vice Chair follows a long history of recognition of Professor Trancoso’s career by IEEE, including membership of the IEEE Fellows Committee, chairing of the IEEE James Flanagan Award Committee and the ISCA Fellow Selection Committee. Professor Trancoso was elevated to IEEE Fellow in 2011 and to ISCA Fellow in 2014.