Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for SAE Technical Session Organizers

Question: How many reviews are required for each technical paper?

Answer: Each technical paper must be reviewed by three qualified reviewers before it can be considered for publication, and at least two of those reviews must be rated either "Approved" or "Approved, if modified." You may disapprove (reject) a technical paper at any time it is appropriate, regardless of how many reviews have been completed to that point.

Question: Do reviewers have to be SAE members?

Answer: No. Anyone who is technically qualified to review a given paper and has internet access may do so.

Question: I'm not an SAE member, how do I log in to MyTechZone?

Answer: If you have received anything in the mail from SAE, you will find a 10-digit number above your name on the mailing label. By default, your SAE user ID is this 10 digit number, and your password is your first initial and last name, all in caps. For example, Joe Smith's default password would be JSMITH. If you don't have a customer or member number, you may click on "I need a user ID and password" to create an identity for yourself.

Question: May I provide one of the three required reviews for a paper(s) in my own session?

Answer: Certainly, provided you are technically qualified to do so, and that you are neither an author nor co-author on the paper.

Question: Will papers that I recommend for SAE Transactions automatically be included in that journal?

Answer: Not necessarily. After you and your fellow organizers have approved papers for publication, your Activity Chair or Conference Chair (depending on the conference) will view all the scores for every paper in the conference, plus the Transactions recommendation of each reviewer and each session organizer. The Chair will then make selections for the conference as a whole, considering all eligible papers. Exception: for World Congress, the papers are sub-divided by Technical Activity (e.g., Fuels and Lubricants; Commercial Vehicles; etc.)

Question: Are there any authors whose technical papers I must handle uniquely?

Answer: Yes. For technical papers written by authors from Iran, you must either approve or disapprove the paper as it is submitted. That is, you must still have it reviewed, but you may not provide comments and/or suggestions for improvement to the author. The paper must be either approved or disapproved as submitted. The final approval decision falls to your discretion as the session organizer.

Question: How do I know when review-ready manuscripts are due; when reviews are due; when final manuscripts are due, and so on?

Answer: Log into MyTechZone (www.sae.org/mytechzone), select the conference in question and click on the "Deadlines" link. The pertinent deadlines for your conference will be displayed in a popup window.

Question: Are there any papers in my session that I may not review?

Answer: Yes. MyTechZone will not allow you to review any paper for which you are an author or co-author. Also, you must not review a technical paper that is written by your colleague or co-worker. In other words, you must avoid conflict of interest issues.

Question: How do I log into MyTechZone?

Answer: Go to http://www.sae.org/mytechzone and use your SAE website user ID and password.