Editors in Chief

Marking Two Decades of Journal Leadership

As reported in the July APS News, APS presented a plaque to the Ram’s Head Inn on Shelter Island, in recognition of a historic conference that took place there in 1947. Coincidentally, the occasion brought together the three individuals who have provided the leadership for APS journals over the last two decades. In 1990 the journals existed only as paper copies, and individual subscriptions still played an important role. Now the primary medium for both communication and archiving is electronic, and journals are distributed mostly through institutional subscriptions and consortia. Even the editorial process has changed–the handling of manuscripts, including peer review, is almost all done electronically, and the vast files of paper copies have largely vanished. In the picture are Benjamin Bederson (right) who served as editor in chief from 1992 to 1996, Martin Blume (center) who held the position from 1996 to 2006, and the incumbent since 2006, Gene Sprouse (left).