Hello MSA and all my authors, associate editors, editors, reviewers, and readers:

It is worth noting that creating a journal takes a village – a huge worldwide village. If you have ever wondered exactly what the managing editor does, it is keep everything on track, on time, in budget, with quality. It has been challenging and satisfying! And when I started my career in publishing, “hot lead” was just going out and the excitement that made gathering forms and communication easier was – the fax machine! Then, before I was at MSA, the big boss at the place I was working came down one day with a computer, the program “Pagemaker,” and an enrollment for me in a training seminar. Who had ever heard of such a thing? I have seen so many changes in publishing over the decades, and change seems to be constant. I am leaving the journal in the very capable hands of Christine Elrod, but I have been thinking about how to say goodbye in a way that goes beyond a press release, even talking about the transformation behind the scenes from pen and papers charts, to excel, to the cloud. I’ve ended up deciding to tell you about a few rocks (or minerals I still can’t keep the difference straight) that I am sure you know more about than me, but that if I had not had this job, I never would have known about.

The first rock that really amazed me was an “iron-banded formation.” I worked on a paper (and I don’t remember who were the authors or anymore about it) that used this term, and I happened to mention it to Dr. Speer, then the Executive Director, and as some of you know, a person who actually likes to teach. In short order my head was spinning, thinking about how old these formations are and the amazing Great Oxidation Event. Who knew that there was a time before oxygen? Thinking about the sweep of time and the formation of the earth is not an everyday sort of thing for me. I am more likely to think about what to cook for dinner today. It was amazing and almost fearful to think about the sweep of time in this way. And then I visited a friend who works at Harvard, and she took me to the Mineralogical & Geological Museum, and we found a sample in the museum there. It was like looking at time. It was amazing!

The next mineral that amazed me is the fulgurite – lightning strikes sand and creates fossilized lightning or frozen fire. It is amazing to me, that power and that mystery of lightning itself and then looking at a fulgurite! I suppose it is a type of glass (Wikipedia is confusing about this). But a type of glass that represents such energy and can look like fragile trees or like a small little rough tube. This is just astonishing. I don’t remember who but some mineralogist I mentioned this to said they are interesting but not scientifically important. I suggest they are actually physical poetry and thus very important!

Finally, and on a sad, serious note, I learned at MSA’s wonderful Centennial Celebration that the very life of the planet depends on minerals as much as water and clean air and anything else. And I think it was John Huges who said, “what is dug up and used is then gone.” The rocks and minerals under our feet our feet are finite.

And on top of this, you and I need minerals to stay strong! I am learning more about calcium and magnesium these days, and I didn’t really expect this intersection between earth science and health. I may be leaving American Mineralogist, and this amazing world of time, frozen poetry, and essential ingredients for life, but minerals, it turns out, are a vital part of me.

This would be incomplete without thank you’s but there are so many people! Thank you all, everyone!

Christine and Kristi will take good care of you!

Sincerely,
Rachel

Sept 30 –  The Big Retirement Day for Rachel!
Email Christine Elrod at editorial@minsocam.org for any American Mineralogist inquiries

Rachel,

It's been a pleasure and an honor to work with you for the many years that I've been an AE at American Mineralogist! It would be difficult to come up with a managing editor of any other journal anywhere in the world that has semi-annual meetings with AE's, stays on top of publishing trends, trains new employees, works seamlessly with AEs, chief editors, and authors alike, and generally handles everything with the combination of diligence, grace, professionalism, compassion, timeliness, and attention to detail that you have pulled off year after year. Your leadership is most definitely part of what makes American Mineralogist such a great journal. I'm sure I speak for a great many in the community when I say that we will miss you a great deal, and we wish you a happy and healthy retirement!!

Best,
Dan Hummer

From: Rachel Russell via MSA-talk msa-talk@minlists.org
Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2024 8:26 AM
To: msa-talk@minlists.org
Subject: [MSA-talk] Thank you MSA and Am Min

[EXTERNAL EMAIL ALERT]: Verify sender before opening links or attachments.
Hello MSA and all my authors, associate editors, editors, reviewers, and readers:

It is worth noting that creating a journal takes a village - a huge worldwide village. If you have ever wondered exactly what the managing editor does, it is keep everything on track, on time, in budget, with quality. It has been challenging and satisfying! And when I started my career in publishing, "hot lead" was just going out and the excitement that made gathering forms and communication easier was - the fax machine! Then, before I was at MSA, the big boss at the place I was working came down one day with a computer, the program "Pagemaker," and an enrollment for me in a training seminar. Who had ever heard of such a thing? I have seen so many changes in publishing over the decades, and change seems to be constant. I am leaving the journal in the very capable hands of Christine Elrod, but I have been thinking about how to say goodbye in a way that goes beyond a press release, even talking about the transformation behind the scenes from pen and papers charts, to excel, to the cloud. I've ended up deciding to tell you about a few rocks (or minerals I still can't keep the difference straight) that I am sure you know more about than me, but that if I had not had this job, I never would have known about.

The first rock that really amazed me was an "iron-banded formation." I worked on a paper (and I don't remember who were the authors or anymore about it) that used this term, and I happened to mention it to Dr. Speer, then the Executive Director, and as some of you know, a person who actually likes to teach. In short order my head was spinning, thinking about how old these formations are and the amazing Great Oxidation Event. Who knew that there was a time before oxygen? Thinking about the sweep of time and the formation of the earth is not an everyday sort of thing for me. I am more likely to think about what to cook for dinner today. It was amazing and almost fearful to think about the sweep of time in this way. And then I visited a friend who works at Harvard, and she took me to the Mineralogical & Geological Museum, and we found a sample in the museum there. It was like looking at time. It was amazing!

The next mineral that amazed me is the fulgurite - lightning strikes sand and creates fossilized lightning or frozen fire. It is amazing to me, that power and that mystery of lightning itself and then looking at a fulgurite! I suppose it is a type of glass (Wikipedia is confusing about this). But a type of glass that represents such energy and can look like fragile trees or like a small little rough tube. This is just astonishing. I don't remember who but some mineralogist I mentioned this to said they are interesting but not scientifically important. I suggest they are actually physical poetry and thus very important!

Finally, and on a sad, serious note, I learned at MSA's wonderful Centennial Celebration that the very life of the planet depends on minerals as much as water and clean air and anything else. And I think it was John Huges who said, "what is dug up and used is then gone." The rocks and minerals under our feet our feet are finite.

And on top of this, you and I need minerals to stay strong! I am learning more about calcium and magnesium these days, and I didn't really expect this intersection between earth science and health. I may be leaving American Mineralogist, and this amazing world of time, frozen poetry, and essential ingredients for life, but minerals, it turns out, are a vital part of me.

This would be incomplete without thank you's but there are so many people! Thank you all, everyone!

Christine and Kristi will take good care of you!

Sincerely,
Rachel

Sept 30 -  The Big Retirement Day for Rachel!
Email Christine Elrod at editorial@minsocam.orgmailto:editorial@minsocam.org for any American Mineralogist inquiries