Editor’s Note

As the new editor of the Journal, I hope to continue to improve the content and increase the readership of this excellent journal. Brian Brenner, the outgoing editor, and Mark Evans, the previous editor, have left me with a very tough act to follow. There is no way that I can hope to match the incredible improvements they have made to the quality of the Journal over the past decade. However, I will do my best to try. I’ll need your help to spread the word about this journal to your friends and colleagues. I hope to see the number of submissions continue to grow.

Our Journal covers a wide range of topics of interest to civil engineers including education, professional practice, legal affairs, history, and ethics. Although some of these topics are not traditionally considered research, they are vital to the scholarship and advancement of the profession. They are all also, to me, intensely interesting, and I look forward to reading each issue of the Journal—as I’m sure you will too.

I began my service with the Journal in 1998 while working closely with Brian as a corresponding editor. I’m presently an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. You may know of Cleveland State as the origin of the Order of the Engineer Steel Ring Ceremony in the United States. Prior to that, I was on the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Before that, I was an active duty officer in the Army Corps of Engineers, where my final assignment was to the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

I would like to thank Brian for his excellent and inspiring service as the editor of the Journal over the past 5 years. His work in bringing the new Legal Affairs section into the Journal is particularly worthy of notice. This was not an easy task and was tantamount to editing two journals simultaneously. Brian was excellent at finding new authors from a variety of sources, and often reached out to potential authors to solicit high-quality submissions for the Journal. Another important part of this effort has been his work to make the Journal’s corresponding editors full partners in the development of the Journal. Throughout this time, I have been impressed by his aggressive attempts to improve the content and expand the readership of the Journal.

Several of the features that he has added to the Journal include regular columns on ethics and education. The Journal’s extensive backlog of excellent papers, which increased by a factor of two or three during his tenure, speaks to his skill in acquiring quality material. He carefully guided and managed the review process to ensure timely, thorough reviews of all submitted papers.

Through his frequent communications with the Editorial Board, he worked to improve the quality of the Journal and handled all issues quickly and to the satisfaction of all. He used e-mail and well-organized meetings to skillfully guide the direction of the Journal. The Journal’s present health and quality are due to his leadership. His energy and professionalism have been key to the development of the Journal over the past few years. Some of you may not be aware of the lengths to which Brian went to be fair to authors. He has provided authors with a lot of help and guidance in improving their manuscripts.

Fortunately, I will have the help of all of the folks that Brian thanked in his “Goodbye” column back in July. I’ll need it. Thank you, in advance, for your support as we move the Journal forward together.