15 August 2025—The Seismological Society of America announces its search for the next Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA), its flagship, peer-reviewed international journal.
Nominations for the position, including self-nominations, will be accepted through October 2025. The EIC leadership transition is scheduled to take place during the late spring and summer 2026.
SSA has initiated the search to replace the retiring current Editor-in-Chief P. Martin Mai, who began his five-year term in 2021. During his tenure, Mai cultivated several special issues on Caribbean tectonics and seismicity, seismoacoustics, seismic hazard models, seismic tomography, earthquake source parameters and a centennial issue on the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake.
First published in 1911, BSSA is the premier journal of advanced research in earthquake seismology and related disciplines and has an impact factor of 2.9. BSSA publishes original research articles in the fields of earthquake seismology, Earth structure imaging, seismic hazard assessment and related disciplines. Its articles advance theory, present new methods and show novel applications. Periodic special sections cover major earthquakes and technological advances with broad impact for the field. BSSA’s format allows papers to fully explore research topics in detail.
The journal is well-known in the seismological community for its outstanding editorial board and exceptional peer review. It also plays a key role in supporting SSA’s core purpose of advancing seismology and the understanding of earthquakes for the benefit of society. Revenues from its publication enable the nonprofit Society to provide a host of professional benefits for its members. (For more information on the member benefits provided by SSA journals, please visit our Publishing Program page.)
Role and Responsibilities of Editor-in-Chief
The BSSA EIC is fortunate to work with a dedicated volunteer editorial board, which the EIC oversees and recruits. The EIC’s primary responsibility is to ensure the quality and timeliness of the content published in the journal and to make the final acceptance and rejection decisions on submitted papers. The EIC is also supported by a deputy EIC who focuses on the development of special issues. SSA supports the EIC through a network of paid contractors and staff.
Specific tasks of the EIC include:
- Overseeing the work of Deputy Editor and Associate Editors
- Overseeing the peer-review process to ensure that it is rigorous, fair and timely
- Recruiting the Deputy Editor and Associate Editors as necessary, with advisement by the chair of SSA’s Publications Committee
- Working with SSA staff and contractors to establish an efficient editorial workflow
- Completing an initial screening of submitted papers, assigning those suitable for BSSA to Associate Editors
- Making final decisions on acceptance or rejection of peer-reviewed manuscripts based on the recommendations of Associate Editors and/or reviewers
- As warranted, communicating directly with authors of rejected papers, establishing and implementing procedures for reconsidering editorial decisions, referring disputes to the Publications Committee
- Reviewing and deciding on all comments, replies and errata
- Determining the line-up of articles for each issue
- Working collaboratively with SSA’s press officer to promote papers published by BSSA
- Selecting cover art for each BSSA issue
- In collaboration with the Deputy Editor, proposing special issues to the Publications Committee Chair and managing Guest Editors for special issues
- Establishing editorial policies and guidelines and regularly reviewing these with the publishing management team, revising as necessary
- Working collaboratively with EICs of Seismological Research Letters (SRL) and The Seismic Record (TSR)
Role as SSA Liaison
The Editor-in-Chief works with SSA’s Publishing Director, Executive Director and Publications Committee to make policy decisions that affect the overall direction of BSSA and that have a financial impact on SSA. In the role of liaison between BSSA and SSA, the Editor-in-Chief:
- Participates in conference calls and email discussions with the BSSA publications team, including the Publications Committee Chair and SSA staff, recommending policies that could improve the journal
- Prepares an annual report on journal statistics and the activities of BSSA
- Represents BSSA at the meeting of the Board of Directors every April
Candidate Profile and Nomination Process
The BSSA EIC is chiefly responsible for the content and quality of the journal. As editorial leader, the EIC ensures the journal’s continued importance and service to the community by recruiting the best submissions, maintaining the quality and integrity of the peer-review process, and serving as an ambassador for SSA.
The EIC must be well-regarded in the seismological community and have excellent scientific credentials, exceptionally good judgment, and strong communications skills, and must actively support the ethical standards described by the SSA Professional Ethics Policy.
The EIC position is a volunteer position that serves at the pleasure of the SSA Board. SSA anticipates a five-year agreement and will provide a modest annual honorarium.
SSA Publications Chair John Townend is leading the search committee. Nominations and applications, including self nominations, can be sent to either search@seismosoc.org or submitted via this form at the SSA website.