Editor’s Note

The Journal’s Editorial Board is pleased to present this issue on construction performance problems related to expansive soils. Included are an introduction and forum by Dr. Oswald Rendon-Herrero and seven technical papers describing various aspects of working with expansive soils and reviewing case histories of distressed constructed projects built on such soils.

This special issue was conceived and implemented by my good friend and colleague, Dr. Rendon-Herrero. It has been my pleasure to have known and worked with him over many years on many projects, especially those undertaken by the Education Committee of the ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering. Dr. Rendon-Herrero is professor emeritus at Mississippi State University. Despite his retired status, he continues to share his technical knowledge and wealth of experience through involvement with forensic engineering workshops for educators, both in the United States and abroad. In addition to his introduction and his work on assembling the technical papers included in this issue, he has contributed a forum, in which he generously and selflessly describes a less-than-successful courtroom experience for our benefit. From my personal viewpoint, the chief advantage of ASCE membership has been the opportunity to engage in lasting friendships with outstanding individuals such as Oswald Rendon-Herrero. Assembling this special issue is only one of the many enjoyable activities we have experienced together.

Our readers seem to appreciate the production of special issues. They represent additional work for the editor and Editorial Review Board and a great deal of extra work for the ASCE journals staff. I want to again express my appreciation to Kelly Anderson, publishing manager of journals, and to Emily Sirotta, our publications staff contact, for their extra effort in helping with yet another special issue. Such projects would never come to fruition without their cheerful and competent guidance.

The Ninth International Conference on Shock and Impact Loads on Structures is planned for November 16–18, 2011, in Fukuoka, Japan. The theme of the ninth conference is “Performance-Based Design and Safety Assessment of Protective Structures.” The Shock and Impact Conference series began in 1996 and continues on an approximate two-year cycle. Conferences have been held in Singapore, Australia, China, and now Japan. This Journal has been designated a support journal for the conference, as was the case for the eighth conference held in Adelaide, Australia, in 2009. A special issue is in preparation based on technical papers written by invited authors who made presentations at the eighth conference.

This is the first issue for the 25th year of publication of the Journal. It has been my great pleasure to serve as editor in chief since the founding of the Journal in 1986. During this time the Journal has grown from a very small and insignificant quarterly publication to an internationally respected forum published bimonthly, all under the direction of a minimally competent editor. The growth and success of the Journal is the result of many individuals, including our altruistic authors, volunteer reviewers, and enthusiastic readers, as well as the dedicated publications staff at ASCE.

This summer I retired from my faculty position at Washington State University after teaching the structural engineering course sequence to architecture and construction management students for nearly $38\text{years}$ . I plan to continue my contributions as editor in chief of this Journal and my involvement with the Technical Council on Forensic Engineering, at least for a few more years. With additional time and fewer distractions, my goals are to become more competent, both as an editor and as a fly fisherman. Please feel free to contact me at any time regarding submission of a manuscript or to offer your contributions as a peer reviewer. I may be contacted by mail: Kenneth L. Carper, Professor Emeritus, School of Architecture and Construction Management, College of Eng. and Architecture, PO Box 642220, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2220; by phone: (509) 335-1229; by fax: (509) 335-6132; or by e-mail: [email protected].