The state of optical physics, as evidenced by the pages of JOSA B, is as vibrant as ever. During my soon-to-end six-year stretch as Editor-in-Chief of JOSA B, my editors and I rode the surge in scientific publishing that coincided with significant worldwide funding increases for research and development.

Compared to twenty years ago, for example, China increased R&D funding by 19 times (now averaging \$362M per year), whereas the US and EU increases were 1.5 and 1.7 times, with respective annual spending at \$449M and \$341M [1]. This surge stimulated the launch of new boutique journals, with some targeting sub-specialty research areas or a high impact cachet. During this period, internet usage and paperless publishing trends have challenged scientific publishers, as electronic delivery of PDF documents has largely replaced paper subscriptions. In the face of so many changes, it is therefore remarkable that The Optical Society (OSA), a non-profit organization representing more than 21,000 members and over 350,000 optics and photonics professionals worldwide, has remained a dominant force for the publishing of optical science.

One reason for the success of OSA journals like JOSA B is a broad sense of shared community. Readers and authors continue to seek, cite, read, and publish full-length research articles in this Journal because of reliably high standards, technical excellence, and fair policies. These qualities are sustained by the broad OSA community, a small professional publishing staff, and a large international body of volunteer editors and reviewers.

The professional staff consists of a team of editorial, production, marketing, and technology specialists. They support the editors, authors, and reviewers throughout the peer-review process, prepare manuscripts for publication, develop the online systems to host the content, and promote it to the appropriate audience. I am particularly grateful to Alison Taylor (Executive Editor), M. Scott Dineen (Senior Director, Publishing Production & Technology), Daphne Greenwood (Senior Director, Publishing Sales & Marketing), Kelly Cohen (Senior Publisher), and Elizabeth Nolan (Deputy Executive Director and Chief Publishing Officer) for their exquisitely professional perspectives and service over the years. In addition, Keith Jackson (Journal Coordinator), Dan McDonold (Editorial Director), Rachelle Stover (Editorial Development Manager), Scott Mullin (Managing Editor), and Bob Sumner (Marketing Manager) have provided invaluable management of day-to-day issues and processes for the Journal.

The volunteer editors are typically mid- to late-career scientists who have published extensively in OSA journals. As the Editor-in-Chief, I have aimed to recruit editors who represent the geographic and gender diversity of the authors. I take this opportunity to especially thank the JOSA B editors for their service to the optics community over the past six years (see below). I am particularly thankful to David Andrews (University of East Anglia, UK) and Kurt Busch (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany), both of whom served as the JOSA B Deputy Editor with great devotion.

I am therefore delighted that Kurt Busch will succeed me as Editor-in-Chief. Please welcome him by submitting a full-length manuscript, suggesting a Feature Issue, volunteering to review papers or serve as an editor, or reading, sharing, and citing outstanding papers.

My foremost thanks go to the JOSA B community of authors, readers, and reviewers for all your remarkable contributions. The 100-year plus legacy of JOSA B is yours to preserve and extend as the world of optical science continues to amaze us.

TOPICAL EDITORS 2012–2018

FEATURE EDITORS 2012–2018