This issue marks the departure of the longest-serving of the current
editors of Geological Magazine, Dr Chris Hughes,
and his replacement by Dr Tim Palmer (University of Wales, Aberystwyth).
The
Geological Magazine has always had a
strong content of palaeontology and biostratigraphy, and Chris Hughes has
efficiently maintained the quality of these contributions
since 1973. He is moving on from his lectureship in the Cambridge Earth
Sciences Department to head the
Associated Examining Board, based in Guildford. The other editors thank
him
warmly for his experienced guidance over
the past 24 years and wish him success in his new post.
The editors welcome Tim Palmer, whose appointment from outside the
Cambridge department represents a significant
and deliberate departure from custom. Some 13 years ago, the Magazine
broadened its editorial advice in a major way by
appointing an Editorial Board, most of whose members have come not just
from outside Cambridge, but from beyond the
UK. Our new editorial appointment signals an extension of this same policy.
An important advantage of having all the Magazine's editors
under one roof has been the efficiency and speed of communicating
with each other. However, with the Cambridge editors now talking to each
other as much by Email as face-to-face,
geographical proximity has become a less crucial asset. The spread of
Email is changing many other aspects of the
editorial practice and the Geological Magazine office, run by
Jane
Holland, is now on-line at geolmag@esc.cam.ac.uk.
The editors now encourage the use of Email for all business except for
submission of manuscripts, and in particular for
contributors' queries and for referees' reports.