45 BEACON: MEET THE AMS

Asacollegestudent studying English at Bates College, Jennifer Giblin never dreamed her first job would in any way involve the sciences. In fact, after completing her core science requirements her first year, she managed to avoid any courses ending with the suffix "-ology." But when looking for jobs in publishing alter graduation, [en came across a position as editorial assistant in AMS's Publications Department. Hive years later, she's the managing copy editor for the journals and enjoying the mix of science and English in her day-to-day work.

As copy editor, Jennifer edits journal articles tor grammar and style. Though she leaves the math and science to the technical editors, her knowledge ot weather terminology has increased dramatically over the past few years.

"The copy editors here, who were nearly all English majors, quickly learn 'areal' is not a typo, and that when we hear the word 'Noah,' it's probably spelled NOAA," she says.

As managing copy editor, Jen is responsible for a staff of nine copy editors and two editorial assistants. The position is a new one, created as part of ongoing efforts to grow and reorgani/e the department in the face ot an ever-increasing volume of papers submitted to AMS journals. In the past year, Jen has overseen the hiring and training of two additional copy editors as well as a new editorial assistant.

"It takes at least six months to fully train a new copyeditor," she says. "There's a learning curve not only because of the intricacies of AMS style, but also because that person has to learn the editing software we use."

In tact, the department is in the final stages of a conversion to an all-electronic publishing process. Less than three years ago, everything from submission to publication was paper-based. Jen is confident that the new process, together with the larger staff, will ensure faster production in the future.

In addition to her editorial and managerial duties, Jen has also worked at the exhibit check-in desk at the past three AMS Annual Meetings. She enjoys the chance to interact with some of the students and authors who publish with the AMS-and especially enjoys listening to their feedback.

"The copy editors do occasionally get feedback from the authors, but it's rare that an author will contact us directly," she says. "Hearing from authors keeps us on our toes, and reminds us that people do notice our editorial decisions."

Jen's passion for the English language extends well beyond her work at the AMS; she has been working part-time toward a master's degree in English literature at University of Massachusetts in Boston. She will be finishing her degree this spring after writing her master's thesis on little-known nineteenth-century Scottish poet Ellen Johnston.

-RACHEL S. THOMAS-MEDWID