EIC Editorial

THE IEEE Transactions on Haptics (ToH) began operations with the formation of an Editorial Board three years ago. Three years is an awfully short time in research, but when I refl ect on the fall of 2007, it seems long, long ago. I suppose—I hope—that is because a lot has happened in three years. Hundreds of papers have been submitted and reviewed, and with this issue we have printed 61 papers. Many more are available on our website as preprints. Two special issues have been produced and papers for two more are under review. This year, Associate Editor Federico Barbagli began producing podcasts: interviews with authors and guest editors that provide a great introduction to ToH content and that you can enjoy in the gym, on the drive to work, or wherever and whenever you have a few free moments. You can fi nd these on our website. Our three-year anniversary has been a time of transitions for ToH. For example, this year ToH came due for “periodical review.” The review provided an excellent opportunity to step back and think through every aspect of our journal, and to ask how well we are serving our community, including readers, authors, industry, and academia. I think that the answer turned out to be “pretty well,” but not without some lessons learned. More importantly, passing the review marked a transition from probationary to full-fl edged status as an IEEE journal. The biggest changes I have to report, however, concern our editorial board. Three years ago with the help of our two AEICs, I set out to assemble the strongest possible board, offering the new AEs three year terms. In retrospect, it might not have been my smartest move to set up a mass board retirement for the fall of 2010! As things have worked out, a number of AEs have agreed to continue for another year so that we may stagger board terms. Nonetheless, a number of terms have come to a close, and it is with great gratitude that I would like to recognize the following individuals, all of whom contributed richly to the development of ToH: Martin Buss, Marc Ernst, Antonio Frisoli, Brent Gillespie, Abderrahmane Kheddar, Ming Lin, Brian Miller, Haruo Noma, Allison Okamura, Marcia O’Malley, Jeha Ryu, and Yasuyoshi Yokokohji. In addition, I would like to thank a very special person, Susan Lederman, for her three years of hard work and leadership as an Associate Editor in Chief. It is diffi cult to overstate the value that Susan has brought to this journal, not just because of her extraordinary grasp of the fi eld, but also because of her work ethic, her collegiality, and her commitment to the cause. Even in stepping down, Susan has offered a gift: a personal interview including her refl ections on the fi eld that you will fi nd in this issue. Of course, a major reason for term limits is to ensure a steady fl ow of new people having fresh energy and ideas. Accordingly, I am pleased to introduce fi ve new Associate Editors: Seungmoon Choi, Martha Flanders, Keyvan Hashtrudi-Zaad, Miguel A. Otaduy, and Hiroyuki Shinoda. Finally, I am pleased to introduce Lynette Jones, who served three years as a ToH Associate Editor, edited (with Matthias Harders and Yasuyoshi Yokokohji) a special issue, and who has now transitioned into the role of Associate Editor-in-Chief. We are fortunate indeed to have a scholar of Lynette’s caliber and experience succeed Susan Lederman.