Path Forward

Volume 1, Number 1 of the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management was printed on August 1957—I am delighted to be able to say that the Journal is older than I am (even if it is by only one year). Under the astute leadership of previous editors (Jahren, Jaselskis, Rowings, Maloney, Harris, Carr, Bidwell, Wellman, Li, Prugh, Carter, and Morris), our Journal’s evolution and maturity has mirrored the growth and development of construction management and construction engineering. As we make inroads into the second decade of the 21st century, we witness an unprecedented expansion of the journal’s body of knowledge. Key drivers contributing to this growth include (1) development in informatics infrastructure; (2) development and use of smart construction materials with the corresponding innovative means and methods of placement; (3) design and use of smart construction equipment; (4) multifaceted labor, training, and safety management issues; (5) sustainable design, construction, and operation practices; (6) complex financing mechanisms; (7) innovative project delivery mechanisms; (8) integrated and interoperable supply chain enabling lean construction processes; (9) innovative organization and collaboration cultures for project execution; (10) original project/program risk management strategies to help identify unknown unknowns; among others.

I consider it an honor and a privilege to be your editor in chief. I thank the Executive Board of ASCE’s Construction Institute and the Editorial Board for entrusting me with this great responsibility. I look forward to working with the readership, the authors, the reviewers, and the editorial board to embrace the future of the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. I hope to continue on the path to establishing our Journal as the premier scholarly publication, relevant to both academics and practitioners.

Our collective responsibility is to channel the expansion in the journal’s body of knowledge in a way that maintains the highest professional writing and peer-reviewing standards, and adds value to all consumers of this knowledge.

For me, the life cycle of the research process has come full circle. It is intriguing to find myself in this editorship role, which for the most part deals with knowledge dissemination, given my recent tenure as program director at the National Science Foundation, which funds research.

In short order, I will be caucusing with the Editorial Board to discuss innovations to the existing processes, including manuscript handling process, manuscript peer-review process, and content structure of each manuscript. I welcome suggestions from all within the readership and reviewership communities, as we strive toward continued growth.

Everyone who has published in the journal in these 54 years and everyone who will do so in the future is a shareholder. As your new editor in chief, I am committed to increase the value of our shares.