Editor’s Note

In the past $14\text{months}$ , during which I have served as Editor for the Journal of Environmental Engineering, one aspect of the job has become eminently apparent to me—the volume of work that must regularly be completed is so consuming that it becomes difficult to find the time to undertake proactive activities that will further enhance the Journal and make it more valuable to those who use it. In the process, I have developed a great respect for my predecessors. This job is a voluntary one; and like many of you, I am not independently wealthy enough that I can devote full time to the role of Editor. One way to overcome this limitation is to involve more individuals in focused activities of the sort that many would like to see come to fruition. Toward that end, we have created two new editorial positions that I am happy to be announcing here. They are Special Issues Editor and Invited Papers Editor. Two of our current Associate Editors, Dionysios Dionysiou of the University of Cincinnati and Alan Rabideau of the State University of New York at Buffalo, have agreed to serve in these capacities.

The Special Issues Editor (Dionysios Dionysiou) will do just what the title implies, i.e., identify, coordinate, process, and shepherd special issues for the Journal. He will work closely with an Associate Editor or Guest Editor who proposes a special issue to make sure that the issue papers meet the standards of the Journal and are processed in a timely fashion. A significant level of effort is needed to bring a special issue to fruition. The Guest Editor, who may have brought the idea and the contributing authors to the Journal, will be greatly aided by having Dion assist the process. We expect this will enable the process of producing a special issue to run more smoothly and to be completed more quickly. If you have an idea for a special issue, I encourage you to contact Dion. His e-mail address is [email protected]. The thought of generating enough high-quality papers to fill an entire Journal issue is daunting and no small feat. An alternative is a special section of a Journal issue, i.e., a compilation of several high-quality papers devoted to a common theme, an alternative that I personally prefer. Publishing more frequent Special Sections has a number of advantages over publishing less frequent special issues, and I again encourage you to discuss any ideas that you may have in this regard with Dion.

The Invited Papers Editor (Alan Rabideau) will also do just what the title implies, i.e., identify, coordinate, process and shepherd invited papers for the Journal. We know that individuals in our profession are preparing seminal papers on relevant topics. We want to publish those papers in the Journal of Environmental Engineering on a regular basis, and we want to make it a little easier for those papers to be published in the Journal of Environmental Engineering. This goal does not mean a compromise of principles or quality. Any such papers will still undergo the usual rigorous peer review process. However, the difference is that we will make sure that these papers get a timely review and an efficient publication schedule. I have no doubt that this will benefit the profession and the Journal. If you have any suggestions for such papers, I invite you to contact Alan. His e-mail address is [email protected].

I expect these two changes in the way that we manage the Journal will reap significant benefits. Of course, it will take some time before these benefits are realized. But that leads me to close this Editor’s Note with reference to another aspect of this job that has also become apparent to me. For this one, I am reminded of my mother who once told me that the secret to preparing a fine meal is time and patience. Maybe the same secret applies to preparing a fine journal.