Evolution of JMD During the Early Years: 1978–1989

Abstract

As we approach the 200th issue of the Journal in Jun. 2013, it would be timely to provide our readers with an overview of the evolution of the Journal of Mechanical Design (JMD). In this editorial, I focus on the early years, 1978–1989. For this period, I looked over about 1100 editorials and articles in the Journal. In the inaugural editorial of Jan. 1978, the founding editor, Charles McLarnan, wrote: “After more than two years of discussions, planning and work, the Journal of Mechanical Design is now in print … the official transactions volume for the Design Engineering Division of the ASME.â€‌ While editor, McLarnan added a number of features to the Journal to promote and inspire further development in design engineering. These included guest editorials, calls for papers, a listing of conference meetings and papers, reports on technical committees' activities, and special panels and sessions that were of interest to design engineers and educators. For example, in Jul. 1978, there was an editorial on a design education meeting that examined the question: “do design educators know what they are doing?â€‌ And in Jan. 1979, there was a guest editorial recommending that assistant professors spend time in industry early in their careers to gain practical experience that in turn would benefit their students. Unfortunately, McLarnan died suddenly in Apr. 1979, as announced by the interim editor, Richard Berkof.