Hello from the New Editor of SRL

Abstract

When I returned to academia after a sojourn of seven years in Vienna, I applied for the Seismological Research Letters editor position as a way to reintegrate myself to the academic world and to perhaps serve as a liaison between the many “worlds” I have experienced during my professional career. In Vienna, I worked for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization to establish the Treaty's International Monitoring System. Now, as I write my self-introduction as the new SRL editor, I keep wondering: Why did I do it? Those of you who know me know that I am not usually short for words, but now that I am in the spotlight, I am speechless. At first I found it comforting to be following in the footsteps of Editors John Ebel and Susan Hough, but now I know that it is not going to be easy. Over the past 11 years they managed to establish this flexible scientific publication as a respected journal among earthquake scientists and engineers. SRL was conceived as a general forum for informal communication amongst its constituency. In the first SRL Opinion, John wrote, “I took the job as editor of the New SRL because I feel strongly that more communication …