Introduction to the Special Section on Prognostics and Health Management.

The article introduces a series of articles on prognostics and health management, which were presented at the 1st International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) 2008 Conference. They include the precursor parameters to develop a physics-of-failure approach, a methodology to build a damage model, and the calculation of return on investment (ROI) for PHM activities.