Farewell

It is time to move on. This issue is my last as Editor, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who have contributed to the Journal, the dedicated professionals who see to its daily operation, and our Associate Editors; and I would like to share a few parting thoughts.

The Journal has continued to attract high-quality papers from around the world, and it has been an honor to work with the authors and with our dedicated reviewers. Since this is our last issue of the year, it includes our annual list of reviewers who have contributed to our 2005 effort. Please take a moment to review this list.

Ours is one of 30 journals published by ASCE, and the staggering task of producing them on schedule is made possible only through the tireless efforts of a highly talented and dedicated staff. The editors of the individual journals interact extensively with Managing Editor Jackie Perry, and I am particularly grateful for her help and support during my tenure.

I am grateful to our Associate Editors who handle the technical review process for most of our papers. Our AEs have consistently secured reviewers of the highest caliber and applied their own expertise and judgment to assure that the Journal’s high standards are maintained. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Sivan Parameswaran, who has handled a substantial number of our papers with efficiency and superb technical insight.

Jon Zufelt, P.E., who has been serving as an Associate Editor, will take over as Editor starting with our next issue. Jon’s several decades of service to ASCE, his long-term involvement with the Technical Council on Cold Regions Engineering, and his international reputation as a researcher make him an ideal candidate for this position. We can look forward to reading his thoughts on the future directions of the Journal in our next issue.

It is a sad truth of our era that ever-increasing job demands cut into the time that many active professionals can dedicate to their service-related activities—such as helping out directly with the Journal’s operation or performing technical reviews. Such factors are an undeniable part of my own decision to step down at this point. However, plans are maturing to move the ASCE journals to a Web-based submission and review process. From the standpoint of many of us who volunteer time to perform technical reviews and edit papers, this automation and streamlining of the review, tracking, and publication processes will be more efficient than our current paper-based methods and can thereby provide some welcome relief.

As evidenced by the number and quality of our submissions in recent months, we are rebounding nicely from a previous downturn in our submission rate. In addition to papers in our traditional technical areas, it is interesting to note that an emerging theme deals with engineering responses to climate change in cold regions. In looking ahead, I am confident that the Journal will continue to grow in that, as well as other, relevant directions.