As most readers will be aware, the aims and scope of Structures and Buildings are to publish the highest quality papers on the design and construction of civil engineering structures and buildings and the associated applied research. In order to accomplish this we accept papers at any time which are reviewed and, if of the quality required, are published. In addition, as I have previously mentioned, occasionally we publish special issues on a subject of particular current interest. The panel invites a guest editor with expertise in the area who then coordinates that issue of the journal. The next issue will be a special issue on risk, reliability and vulnerability of civil engineering structures and the guest editor is Professor David Blockley. The issue will contain a number of papers which we hope will both inform readers and lead to further discussion of this interesting and, with the arrival of the Eurocodes, relevant topic.
The following special issue will be on high-mass low-velocity impacts which will appear early next year. We already have a good range of interesting papers and I expect that the issue will be of interest to many engineers. I will be guest editor for the impact special issue. We also have a call out for papers for a special issue on ‘advanced composites in construction’ to be edited by Professor Stuart Moy (see www.structuresandbuildings.com). If any reader would like to suggest, and possibly edit, a special issue, please do not hesitate to let either a member of the panel or the editorial coordinator Agnes Alvite (agnes.alvite@ice.org.uk) know.
Of course it is not just the publication of a paper that is important, whether it is in a special issue or a standard issue of the journal, it is also the discussion that follows. The main avenue for this is through written discussion in subsequent issues of the journal and we always welcome these valuable contributions. A second avenue is the oral presentation of a paper. By the time this issue has been published Michael Willford, Peter Young and Caroline Field will have presented their two part paper on predicting footfall-induced vibration1 at ICE's headquarters in Great George Street, London. The meeting is already fully booked and I have been assured that there will be a lively discussion which I hope will be reported on at a later date. It is intended that in the future other papers that are considered to be of interest to a wide audience can be presented in a similar way.
