Professor Lincoln R. Manson-Hing served as President of the American Academy of Dental Radiology* 1967-68, while your current President was just entering dental school at Birmingham in England, and he was directing an advanced radiological research laboratory and oral and maxillofacial radiology training center at the University of Birmingham, Alabama. This was the "Mecca for pilgrims of our discipline” at that time. He was a prolific author of cutting edge papers and books on dental radiology, with a special emphasis on panoramic dental radiography.  The book on Dental Radiology that he co-authored with Art Wuehrmann was the leading text of its day and ran to several editions. Professor Manson-Hing  was also Editor for the Radiology Section of "Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology**” during the 1970’s while I was training first in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and subsequently in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology. For me, he was "THE EDITOR” and his letters of acknowledgment and acceptance of articles were revered.

In my own two extended terms as Scientific Editor, the importance of the reviewer to the final stage of the scientific method, namely peer-review to determine publication suitability, has never been clearer.  As the number of submissions has grown through electronic submission making this readily achieved, the load on reviewers has grown. This has led to "reviewer burnout” in some instances. There are few ways in which reviewing is recognized beyond perhaps a listing once a year that few if any read. One small step towards recognizing special service in reviewing is the introduction of an Award for Distinguished Service as a Scientific Reviewer. This is not just any award, it will be "The Lincoln R. Manson-Hing Award for Distinguished Service” as a Scientific Reviewer thanks to the agreement from Professor Lincoln R. Manson-Hing to use his name for this purpose. What was special about the letter I received from Professor Manson-Hing,  giving his go ahead was that it was written on official letterhead of the Academy that must date back four decades to his term as President. Apparently he found this when cleaning up after Hurricane Ida passed through Alabama last year, and put it to use in the letter to me.

Anyone who acts as a scientific reviewer or our section in OOOOE will automatically be entered as a potential winner. The initial work in seeking a winner will be done by the computers of the publisher, Elsevier that keep detailed information of the number of reviews made (or declined!), the time taken to review, the number of reviews accepted but not completed and metrics regarding the review scores made. It also permits editors to grade the value of the reviews as they are received. The Editor and Associate Editors of the Academy (who are ineligible to be award winners) will act as the Awards Committee. They will revisit the reviews made by the top 10-12 reviewers chosen by the publisher’s computer… and rate then impact of those reviews. The decision on the winner will be then made by consensus. Winners will be ineligible for a second award of this recognition within 5 years. The Award will be announced at the Academy Annual Banquet. Hopefully, Professor Lincoln Manson-Hing will be available to make the first award.

*subsequently renamed AAOMR

** subsequently renamed "Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology in 1995.