Hello, readers of VTS Mobile World. In this short text, I would like to talk a bit about the current state of the IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, a journal for whom I have had the honor of serving as Editor-in-Chief for almost 3 years now. The IEEE TVT is an esteemed and competitive journal, a fact that is especially notable when we look at the number of submissions.

In 2020, we received 4438 unique manuscripts, an increase from 4028 received in 2019. This is over 12 new submissions per day during 2020, showing how there is a huge interest in the IEEE TVT right now.

Of course, this interest is generated by how we focus on very interesting and up-and-coming topics, such as autonomous driving and future network communications.

However, I argue that our authors are also attracted by our work ethics. For example, our average review time is only 50 days and our average submission-to-ePublication time is of 6 months only. These numbers are comparable with our performance in 2019 when the average review time was 49 days and submission-to-ePublication was about 7 months. The result is that authors can get feedback quickly on their research and have it available to the public in an expedited fashion.

Of course, we have maintained publication quality despite this quick turnaround time. Our reviewers and editors are highly talented and only select the top submissions for publication. This is reflected in our citation metrics. We currently have a high impact factor of 5.379, with an Article Influence Score of 1.105, both being improvements over the previous year. Our H5 index has increased significantly, growing from 90 in 2018 to 105 in 2019 (the latest number as of this date), putting our journal as the 4th highest ranked among those in computer networks and wireless communications.

All these metrics show how the papers published in the IEEE TVT are influential and well regarded, something we will never compromise on. For 2021, our goal is to not only maintain the fast review time and high citation metrics but to even improve on them. For this, we have pioneer special sections scheduled for this, such as one on Innovative Electrified Vehicles and one about V2X application on 6G networks. This comes in addition to our usual Connected Vehicle Series special sections. To maintain a quick response time to our authors and keep up with our growing volume of submissions, we will increase the size of our editorial board.

One thing that I must mention is that the performance of our journal is due almost exclusively to our excellent team of editors and reviewers. These are volunteer positions and require a great deal of effort and time. We do not take this sacrifice lightly because we know our reviewers and editors are very busy, being renowned professionals in their areas and I am extremely grateful for their work.

For 2021, a particular goal of VTS is to become more inclusive. This goal is of course extended to the IEEE TVT, where we will strive to reach a more diverse body both of authors and readers. One of our strategies in this effort is to hire editors from underrepresented regions and minorities, thereby leading by example. Of course, this will be done in tandem with our usual high quality of publications and review process that our authors and readers deserve.

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