MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL CHAIR

On behalf of the ICC 2003 Organizing Committee, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Anchorage, Alaska for the 38th annual IEEE International Conference on Communications. I also want to thank you for attending during this time of uncertainty and strife. Conferences such as this demonstrate that scientific curiosity, intellectual honesty, and respect, can transcend politics and intolerance. ICC 2003 continues the tradition of excellence that characterizes all IEEE conferences, attracting many of the world’s top engineers and scientists, who participate in customized symposia, paper presentations, tutorials, workshops, and panels.

We will get off to a dynamic start with a keynote speech by Professor Leonard Kleinrock, who created the basic principles of packet switching, the technology that makes the Internet possible. Of the various "Fathers of the Internet," Dr. Kleinrock most deserves this title. His speech is titled: "The Internet: A Pervasive Global Nervous System." We are honored to have him join us.

ICC2003 is supported by seventeen top-level program chairs and vice chairs, plus advisors, ComSoc Staff, management volunteers, and consultants, all of which add up to the knowledge and energy that brings this Conference to you. Statements from the Technical Program Chairs and the Application Sessions Chairs, which follow, give more data on the makeup of the Conference as well as the amount of effort involved. For more details, please review the program. To learn more about Anchorage and Alaska, visit our ICC 2003 web site at www.icc2003.com.

Anchorage is a unique, progressive city of 300,000, set among majestic mountains beside the Cook Inlet. During the Conference you will find the weather to be mild and relatively dry. The temperature will range between 3° and 12° C. Rainfall for the month of May averages 2 cm. Despite its size, Anchorage has outstanding attractions, including gourmet restaurants and a beautiful Museum of History and Art, where our opening reception will be held.

We urge you to take advantage of your travel to Alaska and hope you will be able to stay long enough to see some of its wonders. It is a vast land, with spectacular mountains, glaciers, forests, rivers, lakes, and ocean inlets. The conference is at the beginning of the tourist season, when most facilities are available, yet still not crowded. We have arranged optional tours and events, and suggest that you review them, especially the cruise ship journey from Alaska to Vancouver, Canada, at the conclusion of the Conference. There is far more than can be seen in one short trip—try to see as much as possible! It is still not too late to alter your schedule and sign up for more sight seeing!

Robert M. Walp
ICC 2003 General Chair
President and Chairman Emeritus, GCI, USA