This year we celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the University of Niš and the 40th Anniversary of Technical Faculties and of teaching mechanics and we would like to present the Jubilant issue of the Series " Mechanics, Automatic Control and Robotics".
The Series "Mechanics, Automatic Control and Robotics" has been published since 1991. To this date 10 regular issues, including one special issue, were printed. The Editorial Board has received 250 papers; more than 160 papers, 70 assessments of scientific meetings and about 20 short bibliographies were printed. The published papers are from the fields of mechanics, automatic control and robotics. The basic field this Series is concerned with is mechanics.
The papers have been reviewed by scientist from our country and abroad.
The papers published in our Journal are presented in the Reviews Journal-Mechanics, Moscow, as well as in:
* Mathematical Reviews (American Mathematical Society, Rhode Island USA),
* Referativniy Zhurnal, Moskva, and other series
* Zentralblatt fur Mathematik (Springer Verlag-Berlin),
* Applied Mechanics Reviews (USA),
* International Aerospace Abstracts (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, USA)...
Each new issue of the Series " Mechanics, Automatic Control and Robotics" is presented at the University web site at: http://ni.ac.yu/Facta .
In the previous period, the most difficult thing was to form the awareness of the need to establish and carry out the idea about publishing a certain Series, as well as to earn the trust of the authors. They had to be assured that the paper they sent would be published if it contained original scientific results and was positively reviewed. We had to earn the reputation of the internationally acknowledged journal, we had to maintain and augment it among the scientific public.
What preceded the publication of the first issues of each Series was a number of invitations and letters sent to colleague authors and reviewers; the editors of the Series have deposited their scientific reputation in order to obtain the papers and earn the trust of the authors and reviewers. This was accomplished in extremely difficult conditions of information and scientific blockade of our country. When the pioneering work of establishing a series has successfully been completed, we had to gain a position in referential magazines and provide an opportunity to present papers published in our journal and earn the reputation of a world-wide acknowledged journal. Nowadays, papers from the Series- Mathematics, Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chemistry and Sociology are constantly referred to and presented in journals of leading referential centers. Unfortunately, we have incomplete feedback since our libraries have been deficient in such journals for almost a decade.
The value of our journal is varied and based on the following:
1* The Journal has become fully established in the period from 1991 to the present day. By 1991 two Series (of fourteen Series) were published, while today all of the thirteen Series are published;
2* The Journal has brought about the change in the awareness of the people at the University about the local and international boundaries and proved that our scientist are coequal to the scientists world-wide in a particular area; all this has been achieved under continuous scientific blockade;
3* The Journal has aroused interest of the scientists from Japan, United States, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Greece, Canada, China, Poland and other countries world-wide to publish their papers in the Journal, to become members of Editorial Boards or be the reviewers;
4* The greater part of the Series are passed the critical, initial and pioneer period of the publication; in each Series at least three or four issues were published; therefore, a Series has been established with respect to international scientific presentation and flow of information. The Editorial Board receives a considerable number of papers, thus, annually at least one issue of the Series is published. The Editors of the Series have gained a reputation, which for the authors and reviewers is a guarantee of the continuity and quality of publication of certain Series.
The affirmation of the Journal continues in the direction of professional advancement.
"FACTA UNIVERSITATIS" is a unique publication promoting our University and it is, therefore, an important feature of the existence of our University in international flow of information.
Finally, the engagement in establishing this Journal and its Series was an extremely demanding task both for the editors of the Series and the editor-in-chief; we had to overcome numerous difficulties; nonetheless we persisted and continued to work with lots of love, endeavors and offering our scientific reputation as a deposit; we rejoiced the publication of every new issue and its acceptance in scientific public.
We would like to mention that the Editorial Board has received over 1800 papers, for which it was necessary to obtain more than 3600 reviews. This could be accomplished only by relying on the scientific reputation of the members of the Editorial Board and editors themselves.
I would like to thank all those who participated in the publication of our Journal, in the first place to the authors and reviewers, and editors, associates for computer processing of the papers, foreign languages editors, as well as to the University department which contributed to reaching the present quality of the Journal.
We would especially like to thank the Rector, professor Branimir Djordjević, Ph.D. who resolved the issues of financing the publication of the Journal. He had faith in the editors he appointed on the basis of the proposition of the Head Editorial Board in an open competition. His contribution was exceptional in forming the awareness that the Journal is a scientific need of the University which contributes to the promotion of the University and its most creative researchers.
The efforts of the members of the Head Editorial Board and Editorial Boards of the Series as well as the Rector himself and the reviewers from all Yugoslav Universities and abroad have contributed to establishing a scientific journal with thirteen series covering diverse fields of science studied and researched at the University. Since the Journal has already been acknowledged in international scientific circles, the efforts are being made for it to enter the SCI list. The future of the Journal depends on the number of papers with original results which will be sent to the Editorial Board. We would like to appeal to all the Yugoslav researchers to send their finest papers, especially those containing results obtained in project researches financed by Yugoslav Ministries. These would be published in appropriate Series of the Journal and the Ministry of Science and Technology would score it appropriately. This is the only way to succeed in our journals becoming favoured and referred to because of the original results they contain, as well as becoming an integral part of the international scientific circles.
Papers published in the Journal are constantly referred to in leading referential journals world-wide and the reviews have been, by CD, included in all the significant data bases.
We have to emphasize that the first issue of the Series "Mechanics, Automatic Control and Robotics" has been prepared and published, as well as established during the first five years, with a full professional support and engagement of the researchers working on a Republic project No. 1113, in the period from 1990 to 1996.
We have to underline the role of the Ministry of Science and Technology in co-financing the publication of all the issues and series of the Journal and the role of the Ministers- academician Dušan Kanazir, Prof. Slobodan Unković, Ph.D. and Prof. Branislav Ivković, Ph.D. and their associates in supporting this Journal.
We are certain that the Journal will continue to exist based on the scientific achievements and results of the researchers from the University of Niš, colleagues from our country and abroad, friends of the University and our country. We hope it will serve the welfare of people in keeping the harmony with nature.
Editor-in-Chief Facta Universitatis
Katica (Stevanović) Hedrih
