I’m proud to help dedicate this volume of the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School to Dr. Jesse Jupiter. It is quite fitting, given that I produced the inaugural volume of this journal in 1999 using the skills in writing and editing, and the dedication to teaching and to our profession that Jesse fostered in me and has fostered in countless others.

When I arrived at Harvard in 1993, Jesse Jupiter was already one of the most well recognized names in orthopaedics. “Browner and Jupiter”, editor of Flynn’s hand surgery text, Deputy Editor at JBJS, and frequent and prominent publications were important, but even more important was his dedication to teaching worldwide. Jesse cannot cross the floor of the annual AAOS meeting without running into countless friends from all over the globe. Everywhere I go, when people ask me where I’m from and what I do, all I need to say is that I am Jesse Jupiter’s partner and mentee; and they know where I work and what I do because they know Jesse. Everywhere I go, there are countless tales of imparted wisdom, friendship and camaraderie.

As a new intern at MGH, Jesse was the attending I saw most. He was one of the few attendings in the hospital at “intern hours”, and he was always teaching. There were morning conferences, and afternoon conferences, and books full of classic articles. This was my first introduction to the dedication to teaching for which Jesse is renowned. But Jesse is also the guy who let the residents into the faculty suite to get free beer at AO courses, who still runs circles around us when we play soccer or basketball at journal club (he played soccer, baseball, and basketball at Brown), who is always ready with a good story, and one of the few people who always dances at the holiday party.

Part of being a good teacher is being a good student and Jesse has always recognized useful knowledge. He did his hand fellowship at the Kleinert Institute at time when they were developing microvascular surgery. He became a proponent of the AO as a resident and along with a group of like-minded friends who finally brought the benefits of modern internal fixation to the United States. He went to Kurgan to learn from Ilizarov. He has mastered all of these techniques, helped develop them, and taught them all over the world.

Jesse is a role model for dedication above and beyond personal gain. He speaks with passion about the time he spent as a general practitioner for the Pima Indians in Arizona. For him orthopaedic surgery is a calling. This is evident in his dedication to Massachusetts General Hospital where he started as a foot and trauma surgeon; his dedication to the AO/ASIF for whom he has developed countless implants without royalty; and his dedication to worldwide educational activities on his own time away from his family and practice. Dr. Jesse Jupiter assesses the progress of Bruce Ristow after replantation of the Maine teacher’s severed right foot

It’s good to recognize our champions and heroes while they are at the height rather than the end of their career. We all benefit from Jesse’s continued passion for teaching, research, and publishing.

It is an honor and a pleasure to dedicate this journal, our celebration of academic activities throughout the Harvard Orthopaedic Residency Program, to one of our greatest academics: Dr. Jesse Jupiter.