Changing Hands

The time has come for me to become Editor Emeritus! On 1 October 2005, Professor Vijay Panchang, of Texas A&M University at Galveston, will become Editor of the Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering and Chair of the Publications Committee. He is a talented professor and a strong proponent of excellence in science and engineering practice. I wish him and the current members of the Editorial Board great future success. I will remain as a member of the Editorial Board as long as necessary.

During my three-term tenure as the editor, I have had the great fortune and opportunity of working with the enormously talented Editorial Board members, also known as Associate Editors (AEs). I could not have done my job without their day-to-day help. Handling the peer-review process of the papers that you read in the Journal takes a considerable amount of volunteer time and commitment on the part of every AE listed on the masthead for the Journal. The AEs do not get awards or name recognition, but it is their hard work that ensures the highest quality for the papers you read here. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to each AE who has served the Journal in the last six years. Thanks to their professionalism, dedication, and voluntary service, we are continuously maintaining and improving the quality of publications in the Journal. I will cherish the memories and friendships that I have developed with the AEs.

The reputation of this Journal is based on the quality of the work it has published. This in turn leads to a higher impact factor, a measure of the extent to which the Journal’s articles are cited in other publications and subsequent peer-reviewed journal articles. Authors wish to publish in journals with high impact factors, including this one, and as a result we have seen a continual increase year after year in the number of papers submitted. The increasing pressure on the AEs has prompted me to enlarge the Editorial Board and to recruit international experts in preparation for anticipated future challenges and to ensure the highest quality of ASCE products. Also, I cannot overestimate the important contributions reviewers make to this Journal, and would like to express deep appreciation to all of the reviewers worldwide who have been part of the Journal for many years. Lastly, I want to express sincere thanks to Johanna Reinhart and Jackie Perry and the rest of the ASCE Publications staff, with whom I have worked closely and whose invaluable assistance I have enjoyed.