Journal of Food Engineering 11( 1990) 1-2

Editorhi

This issue sees a reorganisation of functions within the editorial team. Ronald Jowitt, the founder of the Journal of Food Engineering, has stepped down from the editorship and that task is now the joint function of Martin Okos of Purdue University, who will process papers from North America, and myself, Brian McKenna of University College Dublin, who will deal with papers from all other sources. Ronald Jowitt now moves to a new role of Founding Editor from which post his advice and experience will be available to the joint editors.

Ronald Jowitt has not only been the editor of the Journal of Food Engineering since 1982, a period that has seen its growth from four to eight issues per year, but it was also he who developed the concept of a specialist journal for food engineering and convinced Elsevier Science Publishers that it was both an appropriate and viable topic for a journal.

Because a journal such as the Journal of Food Engineering has as its primary task the tran.$er of information between engineers involved with food topics, it is not inappropriate to consider his contribution by using the classical heat or mass transfer concept of rate being equal to a driving force divided by a resistance. He has without doubt been the driving force that has raised the journal to its present international status. It is in no way uncomplimentary to state that he also provided the resistance that ensured that only papers of the highest scientific standard were passed to the referees. Indeed, this resistance is essential for any journal in its early years when the naturally slow rate of submission of papers could easily result in a lowering of standards so that issues could be filled. Happily, Ronald Jowitt has ensured that this did not occur with the Journal of Food Engineering and we now have the anomaly that with the same driving force and resistance the rate of transfer of information has increased to its present level!

While the explanation of this anomaly may not be apparent to many readers, it certainly will be to many of the authors whose papers have appeared in the journal. Indeed, the driving force has increased continu- ously over the years. Ronald Jowitt bas devoted an ever-increasing portion of his time and effort to assisting authors in raising the quality of their papers not only to an acceptable 8scientific/technological standard but also to an acceptable ‘level of clarity for the reader ad eventual user

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Journal of Food Engineering ( 11) ( 1990) - 0 1990 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain

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of the information. It is no exaggeration to state that his name could have appeared not only on the cover of the journal but also as a contributing author to many of the published papers!

The use of the process engineering analogy, whkle appropriate, is not necessarily one which would meet with his full approval, lest it suggests that food engineering and food process engineering are synonymous in the journal title. His editorial, policy was that food engineering is much broader and encompasses all interactions between engineering and food.

Ronald Jowitt has not retired but is now devoting an increasing amount of his time to his many other food engineering activities. His advice will continue to be appreciated by the editors of the Joumul of Food Engineering during this second phase of its development.

Brian McKenna