ES&T
EDITORIAL
Swan song Since 1977, this space in the December issue has been used to give the number of experts called on to review technical manuscripts for the Current Research section during the year and to tell how we go about finding them. This year we've decided to digress from our routine for two reasons: 1) Late in July, a serious problem occurred with our computer that resulted in the loss of six months of records. As a consequence, we had to recreate all of our records from paper files. Although it would be impossible to come up with an exact figure for the number of reviewers used, we can say with some assurance that it is well over 500. 2) As the writer is retiring this month, after 33 years on the ACS publications staff, some reflection seems ap propriate. At the beginning of ES& T, in late 1966, papers had to be solicited to make up the Current Research sec tion for the first few issues. The magazine was well received, and early in 1967, prospective authors began to submit manuscripts routinely. In the first volume we published 79 articles in 400 pages. In the present volume we will publish about 175 articles using over 900 pages. In 1967, we received 169 manuscripts for consideration; this year, the figure will be more than 350. Total figures (in round numbers) for manuscripts processed from January 1967 through September 1982 are: received 4200, accepted 2000, rejected 2150, and published 1850. To handle 4200 manuscripts meant getting at least 10 500 reviews, using 30004000 different reviewers. Thus, it takes the time of a lot of people to publish this magazine. And the re viewers do their work for free. Thanks! The other five journals for which I have had some responsibility for a number of years were all started (as spinoffs from Industrial and Engineering Chem
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istry) after I joined the A C S staff. I was associated with each of them from the beginning. So, when ES& Τ began publication, I already had some expe rience in helping to launch publications. There is satisfaction and pride in knowing that I have "done my bit" to get it off the ground in the first place and to keep it growing in both size and quality. The quality of the product—each monthly issue of the magazine—involves the combined intellectual effort of authors, reviewers, editors, and staff. The majority of our reviewers, who are crucial to a peerreviewed publication, are cooperative in giving thoughtful and speedy responses. Most authors ap preciate reviewers' comments and strive to improve their papers as a result of criticisms. My job description states, among other things, that I ensure timely processing of manuscripts, achieve maximum efficiency in meeting deadlines, and maintain essential communication with editors, re viewers, authors, and staff. In simple language, my responsibility is to try to keep everybody happy. It is not always easy, and I have not always been successful, but I've given it my best shot. It has been a pleasure to work with the two editors of ES&T: Jim Morgan and Russ Christman, and the three managing editors: Mel Josephs, Mike Bowen, and Stan Miller. All of the staff editors, too numerous to list, have helped through the good and the not-sogood times. May the young staff I leave with my re sponsibilities have as much fun as I've had in this en deavor.
0013-936X/82/0916-0636A$01.25/0
© 1982 American Chemical Society
