Editorial for special issue on avionics September 2015

For the better part of the past century, avionics has evolved as a critical field of technology advancement in terms of direct impact on our lives, including air transportation, delivery of resources in emergencies, and platforms for environmental analysis. The Aerospace and Electronics Systems Society (AESS) has a long-standing history of providing members with contemporary information in aviation and electronics (simply referred as avionics). Innovative avionics capabilities developed, tested, and implemented by many dedicated engineers and scientists around the world have directly helped shape transportation as we know it today, which has led to many far-reaching economic advances in business and individual livelihood. Within an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), AESS carries the banner of avionics technology advancement and its continuing development and evolution through its dedicated members, who in many ways lead the profession in the important research and development necessary for its continued pursuit.