A Note of
WE ARE frequently reminded that critical reviews of technical papers are necessary to protect their authors as well as their readers. Actually, it is not easy to provide a thorough, critical review which will contain useful, constructive criticism. Therefore it is with pleasure that we acknowledge the excellent work of our many referees.
Basically, the success of this journal depends heavily on referees' comments and suggestions for improving or even discarding some of the papers which are submitted or selected for possible publication. It is apparent that many of the referees often spend hours studying a paper and making detailed suggestions which are at times three or four pages long. Although some authors may be annoyed by criticism of their paper, most do appreciate the efforts that are made to provide suggestions which generally enhance the value of a paper considerably and often prevent the Appreciation embarrassment caused if an incorrect paper is inadvertently published.
Three referees are normally selected by an associate editor to review a paper. Preferably each referee is an outstanding authority on the special area of interest, and hopefully, the selected referees will have a direct interest in the paper, and they may benefit also from the opportunity of reading new material, possibly with new ideas, before it is published. Even papers which are not accepted may provide useful information. However, whether or not a referee does find a paper he is asked to review interesting and informative, he usually takes time to study it carefully, and we wish to express our thanks and deep appreciation for the valuable contribution he makes toward the value and the success of the IFAC Journal, Automatica.