1. State of the Journal

 IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems (TPDS) continues to be one of the healthiest IEEE transactions. We received a total of 987 submissions (666 original) in 2019, and a total of 2274 submissions (1487 original) to date since January 2018. We continue to process these submissions as efficiently and effectively as possible, while maintaining a rigorous process for evaluating the excellent research contributions in this area and the high quality of the journal. Currently, the average number days from submission to first decision is less than 3 months, which is comparable to the top conferences in the field. TPDS is among the top IEEE transactions in terms of impact factor and downloads, and its impact factor remains the highest amongst the journal’s competitors. We also launched several new activities and initiatives, which are summarized below.

2. Reproducibility Initiative

Reproducibility is at the core of solid scientific and technical research. The ability to repeat the research that is produced is a key approach for confirming the validity of a new scientific discovery. The TPDS Reproducibility Initiative currently focuses on reproducible research through transparency and the availability and potential reuse of code and data. TPDS has partnered with Code Ocean, a cloud-based computational reproducibility platform, to pilot the post-publication peer review of code associated with articles published in TPDS. Authors who have published in TPDS can make their published article more reproducible and earn a reproducibility badge by submitting their associated code for post-publication peer review. TPDS is the first IEEE transaction to pilot reproducibility badging. TPDS currently offers two badges:

• Code Available: The code, including any associated data and documentation, provided by the authors is reasonable and complete and can potentially be used to support reproducibility of the published results.
• Code Reviewed: The code, including any associated data and documentation, provided by the authors is reasonable and complete, runs to produce the outputs described, and can support reproducibility of the published results.

Call for Supplemental Papers Evaluating Reproducibility: The TPDS reproducibility initiative invites authors willing to submit supplemental papers that present their experiences in replicating published results using the artifacts and/or evaluations or experiences with published artifacts. These supplemental paper submissions will be reviewed, and if accepted, they will be linked to the original publication and will be citable.  Learn more.

3. TPDS Awards for Editorial Excellence

 Established in 2019, the IEEE TPDS Awards for Editorial Excellence recognizes exceptional contributions by members of the TPDS Editorial Board. The award is awarded based on factors such as the number of papers handled in the past year, turnaround time, and review quality. Learn more.

4. Special Sections

We are seeing rapid and often dramatic changes in the research and technology landscapes in our field, and TPDS needs to respond to this dynamic and rapidly evolving publication landscape. It is important that TPDS responds appropriately to ensure that it continues to publish high-quality research that is relevant, interesting and timely. The TPDS Special Sections provides a mechanism to achieve this.  Led by Pavan Balaji, Associate Editor in Chief of Special Sections, the special sections will focus on emerging topics with a short turnaround time. Each special section will have a call for papers, and the expected time from paper submission to online publication is approximately 6 months. Learn more.

5. TPDS Review Board

TPDS has established a review board composed of experts in the areas of focus of TPDS. The review board will complement its “Editorial Board” in performing timely and high-quality reviewing for the international research community.

The goals of the TPDS Review Board are three-fold:

1. to provide a pool of high-quality reviewers for TPDS;
2. to support the development of the next generation of leaders for TPDS; and
3. to recognize the contribution of high-quality reviewing to TPDS.

TPDS Review Board members serve an 18-month term.  During that time, they commit to reviewing up to 10 manuscripts and to provide manuscript reviews within 8 weeks of assignment.  They will be assigned no more than 2 papers at any one time.

The TPDS Editorial Board will support the development of board members in three ways:

1. An editorial board member will serve as a “review mentor” and will be available to discuss challenging issues encountered in reviewing and to provide constructive feedback on reviews;
2. TPDS will host face-to-face meetings to promote networking among the TPDS editorial and review board; and
3. when TPDS review board members finish their term, those who performed well will become candidates for the TPDS editorial board.

The online and print versions of the journal will list the review board next to the editorial board.  This recognition and the stature of TPDS in the field will confer recognition on its members that is similar to a top conference program committee.