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Call for applications: Editors for Therapy and Imaging Physics for the journal Medical Physics

All submission materials should be sent to editorsearch@mail.aapm.org


Effective January 1, 2014, Jeffrey Williamson, Ph.D. will succeed William Hendee, Ph.D., as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Medical Physics. Under the new structure established by the AAPM Board of Directors, the Editor-in-Chief will share responsibility for managing the Journal content and its editorial direction with two additional Editors: the Therapy Physics Editor and the Imaging Physics Editor. A search committee established by the Editorial Board is now seeking applications from qualified individuals to assume these positions. The Editors will be appointed by the Board of Directors of the AAPM and will report operationally to the Editor-in-Chief. The two Editors will share responsibility with the Editor-in-Chief for

  1. Ensuring the scientific integrity, quality, and international stature of Medical Physics.
  2. Managing the manuscript review process for manuscripts in their respective areas of responsibility, including selection of potential Associate Editors (AEs) for each paper; ensuring that the AEs secure the services of referees in a timely fashion; and ensuring that the review process is completed within the allotted time period.
  3. Representing the Journal in national and international forums.
  4. Selecting members of the Editorial Board, which has authority over the policies and procedures of the Journal. The Editors will serve as vice chairs of the Medical Physics Editorial Board, which is chaired by the Editor-in-Chief.
  5. Working with the American Institute of Physics to address Journal production issues
  6. Planning and launching strategic initiatives to improve the stature of Medical Physics and enhance its readership in collaboration with the Editorial Board and Journal Business Management Committee.

Editorial and administrative services will be provided to the Editors and Editor-in-Chief by AAPM Headquarters staff under the supervision of the AAPM Executive Director. These services include timely distribution and tracking of manuscripts; assistance with Journal correspondence; generation of statistical data, maintenance of archival records; and other administrative services as requested by the Editors. A transition period during the second half of 2013 between the new Editorial team and Dr. Hendee is planned to ensure continuity of editorial operations.

Candidates for the Therapy and Imaging Physics Editors should:

  1. Be highly distinguished members of the medical physics community in the areas of therapeutics and imaging, respectively, through research, publications, professional society involvement, and other activities.
  2. Be committed to maintaining Medical Physics as the premier journal for the publication of scientific and clinical papers in keeping with the Journal’s masthead as “The International Journal of Medical Physics Research and Practice”.
  3. Have strong organizational and administrative skills and the ability to work collegially with Editors, Editorial Board, and AAPM staff in an environment of distributed support and responsibility.
  4. Have a basic understanding of scientific journal management and operation and have prior service on one or more editorial boards or equivalent.
  5. Possess a strategic vision for the continued improvement of the Journal within their area of expertise and an operational plan. The Editor-in-Chief is particularly interested in enhancing the Journal’s value to physicians with medical physics-driven research interests; engineers, physicists, and biologists who work in non-clinical environments; and other cutting-edge applications at the frontiers of medical physics.
  6. Be aware of the changing publishing environment associated with electronic publication technology and challenges such as open-access publication.
  7. Be willing and able to commit 25% of full-time equivalent effort to this project. The AAPM will provide honoraria (comparable to 25% of the NIH salary cap plus an allowance for fringe benefits but not indirect cost recovery) along with an expense allowance. Applicants must work in an environment that will support such a commitment, be prepared to serve as an Editor for 6 years (subject to reappointment after a three-year term), and reside in North America.

Individuals who are interested in applying for the Editor position should send an e-mail to editorsearch@mail.aapm.org at the earliest opportunity indicating their intent to submit a detailed application by April 15, 2013. The detailed application should be submitted electronically to editorsearch@mail.aapm.org in the form of a letter addressing the above items plus any other relevant considerations along with a curriculum vitae.

The anticipated timetable for the selection and transition processes is as follows:

  1. The search committee will compile a short list of the most qualified candidates by May 1, 2013.
  2. Selected candidates will give a presentation to the Search Committee in June 2013.
  3. The new Editors will be appointed on or before July 1, 2013, at which time the transition process between the outgoing and incoming editorial teams will be initiated.
  4. Transition arrangements occurring during 2013 will be the responsibility of the current and new Editors with the support of the Editorial Board, the Journal Business Management Committee, and AAPM staff.
  5. The new Editorial team will assume full responsibility on January 1, 2014.