As I pass the Editorship to my successor, I am very pleased to report that the Journal of Engineering Mechanics maintains its position among the leading society-based, archival journals in the broad field of applied mechanics, in particular the field of mechanics that has its base in civil engineering. The journal remains among the largest ASCE journals in terms of the number of papers published, as well as being among the most visible and productive mechanics journals based on readership, impact, and citations. The number of manuscripts submitted has continuously grown over the years, and in 2001 the number was 344. The total number of papers published during the 12 months ending in May, 2002, was 156. Nearly one-half of the papers published come from overseas, which is a particular testimony to the international nature of the journal and mechanics in general. The journal receives a constant stream of high quality papers, and we expect this trend to continue. During the past 5 years, we have devoted on the average two issues each year to special topics to stimulate readership and authorship in related fields of mechanics with the expectation to grow the journal in these areas. While the performance indicators and statistics for the journal are generally very favorable, the Editorial Board members and I are concerned that a large number of reviews are long overdue, which does not reflect well on the journal and often frustrates talented authors, who may publish their papers elsewhere. It is very important that our authors know that the journal will process their papers quickly and fairly, and at the same time provide meaningful reviews. Another area of grave concern is the increasing number of cases involving multiple paper submissions and publications, which both violate the integrity of the journal and copyright agreements. In recent cases, the journal has barred offending authors from publishing for a period of 10 years. Clearly, the journal is deeply concerned about these developments and is making major efforts to address the issues. This year marks ASCE’s 150th anniversary, and the journal is joining the celebration by publishing three invited papers by outstanding scholars in the field of mechanics in separate issues this fall. The subjects range from past achievements, state-of-the-art reviews, and future trends. As Editor, it has been my very good fortune to witness firsthand many new exciting developments in mechanics, both in terms of theory and experiments. This has been one of the most rewarding and exciting tasks I have had, and I thank you so much for the opportunity to serve the broad mechanics community. As I bid you farewell, please join me in welcoming the new Editor, Professor Mircea Grigoriu from Cornell University, who officially takes over on October 1, 2002.