In recent months, two papers by my group, on disparate topics, were editorially highlighted in two different reputable journals. Having your work selected by editors as particularly interesting to the community is a pretty cool recognition; it comes with additional exposure and eventual citations of your work. (One of the journals has very nice metrics tracking, and you could see a dramatic uptick in the number of downloads after the editorial highlight.)

Our egos get smacked around a lot in this job. Grant rejections are more common than not. Publishing in a very good journal is no cakewalk, either; getting a paper finally accepted brings relief first, joy second.

So it feels really good to get a veritable pat on the back in recognition of the importance of one’s work.

Prof. Xykademiqz (light grey shirt) is grateful for the pat on the back. (Source)