Editorial
Changes in place for BAMOS As our society has expanded in recent years, so too has the scope of communicating our work and achievements— both to members and to the wider public. In response to a submission to the AMOS National Council by outgoing BAMOS editor Duncan Ackerley, former BAMOS editor Linden Ashcroft, myself and the Council agreed that the demands of BAMOS’s production had grown to the point that they were no longer manageable for an editor working in an honorary role. As Duncan explained in the April 2014 issue of BAMOS, a new AMOS Communications and Publications Officer will now manage publication of the Bulletin, with two additional supporting staff to manage peer reviews and typesetting. The adoption of this new structure is a strategic move, not only for BAMOS but also for AMOS in general. The AMOS Communications and Publications Officer is not only tasked with managing BAMOS, but also with the broader responsibility of communicating the Society’s (and members’) goals and achievements, through all AMOS publications, the society website, press releases and social media. It has taken some time for us to get to this point. Duncan, Linden and I first met to form a submission to the AMOS National Council in November 2013. Then, with the Council’s support and some more work (primarily by Duncan) towards generating a firm and clear proposal, the National Council formally endorsed the new structure and we were ready to start the recruitment process. The interview panel was faced with a very strong shortlist of worthy candidates, spanning a range of diverse backgrounds including journalism, publications and scientific presenting. However, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Lyne to the Communications and Publications Officer position. Melissa comes to AMOS with a strong background in scientific communication, with experience in publishing and media relations. She is also a skilled photographer—a great asset, for conferences and for capturing an interesting looking sky! Melissa has now taken the reins of BAMOS and I have no doubt she will be keen to introduce herself to the Society through BAMOS. I would also like to welcome Willow Hallgren and Tom Naughtin who will be overseeing the scientific content and the production of BAMOS, respectively. As Melissa takes over the role of Editor from Duncan, he will, in turn, take over the Editor-in-chief role from me.
Bulletin of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Vol. 27 page 57
I have been involved with BAMOS for more than 6 years and so I will indulge myself a little by closing this editorial with some brief words of thanks. Firstly, I would like to thank Jeanette Dargaville for her dedicated assistance over several years. It has been a pleasure to work closely with her. Prior to that, Susan Karoly worked tirelessly in the same way. When I was Editor, my Editor-in-chief, Andrew Watkins, served as a valued mentor. First Linden, and then Duncan, were both exceptional Editors during my tenure as Editor-in-chief and they always strove to improve BAMOS for the benefit of its readers. Apart from the new Communications and Publications Officer position, I suggest the most significant changes have been: •
the move to digital publication during Linden’s stewardship,
•
the development of a formal peer-review policy during Duncan’s stewardship.
Both of these have greatly facilitated the transformation of BAMOS into a publication that is both modern and on par with its contemporaries from the societies of our international peers. I sincerely thank Linden and Duncan for their efforts. There were several others—too many to list individually—that helped or made regular contributions to BAMOS and I thank them too. Lastly, I wish to thank the National Council not just for their support of BAMOS, but also for supporting our vision of making it manageable, stronger and more valuable to our members. Because of this support and the efforts of everyone I have mentioned, I feel I am leaving BAMOS in an even stronger state than when I started.
Stewart Allen Editor-in-chief