Passing the Torch

It has been a privilege to serve as the chief editor of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (JGGE) since January 2007. The beginning of my tenure coincided with the launch of the Web-based Editorial Manager system that is now used for paper submission and review. Utilization of the system has not been without difficulties, but thanks in large part to helpful suggestions from users and the efforts of Journal Services staff, it has steadily improved over time and is now a highly effective tool for managing JGGE. By reducing handling time and enabling access to real-time information on manuscript status, times to first decisions on manuscripts have been reduced to a median of $3.8\text{months}$ (in 2009) and times to final acceptance is at a median of $12\text{months}$ . These reductions in review time have coincided with an enormous increase in submissions, by more than 50% compared to the pre-Editorial Manager era. With the increased submissions come reduced acceptance rates, which hover near 40% during the last three years.

The reduction in review time has contributed to, along with outstanding manuscript quality, a steady increase in impact factor from 0.65 in 2006 to 0.85 in 2008. Impact factor, while imperfect, is a widely used indicator of journal quality, and JGGE compares favorably to competing geotechnical journals. Also contributing to the competitiveness of JGGE is the addition of the electronic supplement feature (see January 2010 editorial) and the publish-ahead-of-print feature for accepted manuscripts.

While these innovations are important, it is the day-to-day hard work of our all-volunteer editors, editorial board members, and reviewers that allows JGGE to function. Through their efforts, we have continued the long tradition of publishing the highest quality and highest impact manuscripts in geotechnical engineering while significantly reducing review and publication times.

In April 2010, Patrick Fox will take my place as chief editor. Having witnessed his excellent work these past three years, I know that JGGE is in good hands under his leadership. I want to express my sincere gratitude for the long and dedicated service of Joseph Labuz and Kenneth Fishman as editors, who retired in December 2008 and December 2009, respectively. Mo Gabr and Vaughan Griffiths will continue on as editors, and I am deeply appreciative of their work during my time as chief editor. Dr. Iraj Noorany and Professor Joseph Wartman are joining the Journal as editors. I am confident they will serve with distinction.

I offer my sincere gratitude to the Geo-Institute and ASCE for providing me the opportunity to serve this outstanding journal as chief editor. It has been a rewarding and enriching experience.