Open to change

Renee Robbins, Editorial Director -- Control Engineering, 8/1/2006

"A person needs at intervals to separate from family and companions and go to new places. One must go without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change," said writer Katharine Butler Hathaway. During a time of tremendous change in manufacturing, personal decisions to move on or to separate can often facilitate tremendous growth and satisfaction.

After 20 years of service to this magazine and more as a life-long student of industrial automation and engineering, Frank J. Bartos, P.E., is leaving companions at Control Engineering and retiring as executive editor. Frank has written hundreds of articles for us and for other Reed Business Information publications on topics ranging from motion control to motors to artificial intelligence. He also has reported from points around the world, extracting important automation, control and instrumentation announcements from events like Hannover Fair.

Starting this month, the staff of Control Engineering must go without the familiar day-to-day presence of a man whose wisdom and intelligence is surpassed only by his grace and integrity. At 68-years-young, Frank is taking some well-earned time to travel, to explore and to learn new things. It is, he says, a change to which he's looking forward:

"Technology still excites me, not for its own sake but for what it can do when properly applied for peoples' benefit. Equally important are opportunities to meet with innovative engineers, developers, and managers that make technology happen. Talking to them and learning from them has been part of a life-long education."

Frank told me that the most enjoyable aspect of his editorial career has been the chance to interpret technology and provide clearer understanding for our readers. We look forward to supporting his pursuit of that pleasure by helping him carve out a new role as consulting editor with the magazine.

Frank's decision to change roles coincides with other changes to the staff. This month we welcome Charlie Masi and Pete Welander to Control Engineering as senior editor and process industry editor, respectively. Charlie will take over Frank's areas of motors, motion control, and discrete manufacturing topics. Pete takes on the areas of advanced process control and instrumentation. I'm honored to have both these experienced gentlemen as part of the team, and look forward to seeing how they influence us to change and grow and serve our readers better in print and online. You can read more about Charlie and Pete in this month's News section.

"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly," said Henri Bergson. May we all be fearless in creating ourselves again and again, to the betterment of all.