Hello there, readers. Please allow me to introduce myself as the new Editor of Geoscientist. I am honoured and thrilled to take over this role from Ted Nield. Over the past 20+ years, together with fantastic Editorial Board members and Chief Editors, including current Chief Editor Peter Styles, Ted has built Geoscientist into the stimulating and informative publication we know today. Thank you, Ted, for all your hard work. The magazine is cherished by Fellows, and you will be sorely missed.
Clearly, I have big shoes to fill. Initially trained in the environmental sciences, I segued into geophysics, geology and sedimentology during my postgraduate and postdoctoral years. But it was the communication of science, rather than its practice, that really motivated me; so eight years ago I moved into scientific publishing.
As an editor at Nature Geoscience, my days have been consumed by the trials of peer review, interspersed with the more light-hearted tasks of commissioning, editing and writing news content. Now, under the safe stewardship of our incoming Chief Editor, Andy Fleet, and the Editorial Board, I’m excited to help shape the future of Geoscientist.
In coming weeks, I will spend much of my time focusing on the ‘how’ – specific tasks I must learn in order to deliver a magazine every month. But, in doing so, I won’t forget the ‘why’. I have thought a lot about what Geoscientist and the Geological Society stand for, their purpose, and the value they bring to our community.
Going forward, I want to ensure that Geoscientist retains a vibrant mix of science, opinion and news. The Fellowship should view this magazine as a valuable resource, with scientific articles that stimulate thinking within and beyond one’s own specific field. The magazine will remain a go-to place for keeping up with events and activities of the Society and the broader geoscience community in the UK and abroad. Importantly, Geoscientist will continue to provide a voice for the whole community.
Mounting pressures on the natural environment mean that geoscience has never been more relevant, diverse or interdisciplinary. Scientists across the geoscience fields are working together with social scientists, economists and policy-makers to tackle issues of climate change, escalating demand for natural resources, and the need to sustain an ever-growing population on an increasingly polluted planet. The fabric of the geoscience community is changing, and Geoscientist will reflect and foster that change. The voices in our pages should mirror the diverse nature of the problems we tackle – I encourage readers from all backgrounds to get in touch.
DR AMY WHITCHURCH, EDITOR
[email protected]