JBME continues to thrive, and our impact factor rose to 2.057 in 2017. Over 550 manuscripts were received in 2017, and our acceptance rate was 20–25% (final number will depend on the outcome of manuscripts currently in review). We continue to streamline all stages of the review and publication process, with time to first decision now averaging 2.3 months and immediate on-line availability of accepted manuscripts. The tremendous effort of the Associate Editors (AEs) on this front, and on all aspects of the journal operation, is acknowledged here with our profound thanks—JBME would not work without them! We especially thank retiring AEs Silvia Blemker, Naomi Chesler, Kevin Costa, Tim David, Rich Debski, Michael Detamore, Ender Finol, Hai-Chao Han, Sean Kohles, and Mohammad Mofrad and welcome new AEs Seungik Baek, Raffaella De Vita, and Sarah Kieweg.
This year marks the sixth publication of the Annual Special Issue of the JBME. This Annual Special Issue highlights reviews by leaders of the field and also papers from the Fung Medal, the Mow Medal, the Woo Medal, and the Lissner Medal winners from 2017. We thank all of the authors for contributing. We have moved student award papers from the SB3C meeting to June's Annual Education Issue (AEI), a new initiative that promotes the educational aspect of our mission and recognizes that many members of the Bioengineering Division have significant educational as well as research roles. Thanks to Kris Billiar and Eric Kennedy for serving as the Guest Editors for the 2017 AEI.
In November, 2017, we published the second “Spotlight on the Future” issue, containing a set of invited papers by early career researchers in an important subfield within biomechanical engineering. The 2017 issue, which focused on musculoskeletal bioengineering, contained eight papers and an introductory piece by the issue's Guest Editor, Kyle Allen, and Guest Commentator, Dawn Elliott. We thank them both, as well as the contributing authors, for helping to make the issue a success. The Spotlight issue for 2018 will focus on the intersection between imaging and biomechanical engineering; recommendations for invitees are welcome.
The ASME staff, especially Philip DiVietro, Colin McAteer, Beth Darchi, Tamiko Fung, and Jennifer Smith, continued to provide us with outstanding support year-round and particularly in handling the unique challenges around the Annual Special Issue. Our editorial assistant, Yolanda Washington, deserves special mention for her work on day-to-day operations.
Finally, we thank everyone involved in JBME for their tremendous efforts and look forward to next year's continued success.
