Together with the Editorial Board of the Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (JMR), I am pleased to announce the winner of the journal's 2020 Best Paper Award:

Hossein Habibi, Chenghao Yang, Isuru S. Godage, Rongjie Kang, Ian D. Walker, and David T. Branson, III. “A Lumped-Mass Model for Large Deformation Continuum Surfaces Actuated by Continuum Robotic Arms.” J. Mechanisms Robotics. February 2020; 12(1): 011014. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4045037

The 2020 Best Paper Award is given to the paper recognized by the Editor and Editorial Board for its outstanding contribution to the field of mechanisms and robotics published by JMR in 2020. The prize includes a wall plaque for each author and will be announced in the journal, on JMR's companion website, and through the journal's online social media channels.

We would also like to acknowledge the meritorious contributions of three (3) papers awarded an Honorable Mention certificate:

Yu She, Hai-Jun Su, Deshan Meng, and Cheng Lai. “Design and Modeling of a Continuously Tunable Stiffness Arm for Safe Physical Human–Robot Interaction.” J. Mechanisms Robotics. February 2020; 12(1): 011006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4044840

Enrico Ferrentino and Pasquale Chiacchio. “On the Optimal Resolution of Inverse Kinematics for Redundant Manipulators Using a Topological Analysis.” J. Mechanisms Robotics. June 2020; 12(3): 031002. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4045178

Jiancheng (Charles) Ji, Shuai Guo, Fengfeng (Jeff) Xi, and Leigang Zhang. “Design and Analysis of a Smart Rehabilitation Walker With Passive Pelvic Mechanism.” J. Mechanisms Robotics. June 2020; 12(3): 031007. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4045509

JMR would like to congratulate each of the awarded authors and thank all submitting authors for their contributions to the journal in 2020. The ongoing submission of your work is critical to keeping our community apprised of the latest research and maintaining the high quality of our publication.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Awards Committee for their diligent and conscientious work in reviewing and evaluating the nominated papers: Andrew Murray, Shaoping Bai, Clément Gosselin, and Nabil Simaan.