VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1
JANUARY 1997
© Copyright 1997 by the American Chemical Society
Editorial 1996: A Year of Change In last year’s editorial we announced several changes in the format and content of the journal. Those of you have dealt with this journal as an author or reviewer in the past few months will realize that some further changes were underway during 1996. Starting officially this month, but actually in process since September, two new associate editors, Mark Davis and Elsa Reichmanis, will take over the editorial duties that have been so ably handled since the journal’s inception by Dennis Hess and Gary Wnek. In addition, Jim Crivello has agreed to serve as an onsite, acting associate editor to fill in for me during any extended absence. After serving this journal for eight years as associate editors, both Dennis and Gary asked to be relieved from their duties during 1996. Fortunately for the editor, they have agreed to remain on the Editorial Board, where they will continue to be available for advice and occasional assistance. Thanks to input from Dennis and Gary, Mark and Elsa are now up to full speed in their new roles. We would like to thank Dennis and Gary for their efforts and look forward to their continuing participation as reviewers and authors. Among the changes introduced last year was a modification of the cover design to include illustrations. In addition to enhancing the visual appeal of the journal, these illustrations were originally intended to signal the presence of one or more “short review” papers in that issue. In 1997, while continuing to give preference to review papers, we are planning to have an illustration on the cover of every issue and will select illustrations from either articles or communications when no reviews are available. We hereby encourage authors to submit, either at the time of submission of the paper or after acceptance, any photographs or illustrations that would be good candidates for use on S0897-4756(96)00800-9 CCC: $14.00
the cover. We also invite individuals to submit suggestions for short review topics, as well as to offer to prepare such review papers. These reviews are intended to introduce readers to specific topics at the forefront of current research in materials chemistry. In addition to short reviews on research topics, we also encourage the submission of ideas for our new review series on “Materials Chemistry Issues in Key Technologies”. This series was first introduced in 1996 with a review on “Materials Chemistry Issues Related to Advanced Materials Applications in the Automotive Industry” (May 1996, pp 984-1003). Further details regarding these two types of reviews are given in the Notice to Authors. Efforts are underway to obtain at least one of these reviews for publication during 1997. Both types of review papers, research- or technologybased, invited or contributed, are sumitted for peer review in the usual manner and must meet the same high standards of quality and significance that are applied to all papers published in this journal. Last year, a special issue on “Nanostructured Materials” was published in August (pp 1569-2193). Judging from the comments received from our readers and authors, our second effort to devote one of the regular issues of this journal to a particular topic in materials chemistry was highly successful. We are planning another special issue this year on the topic “Sol-Gel Derived Materials” (see the notice included in this issue). This special issue will be based, in part, on a symposium to be presented at the Spring 1997 ACS Meeting in San Francisco and will include review papers from a number of the symposium participants, as well as other types of papers; however, this will not be a “symposium volume” per se. As was the case for the prior special issues, all papers will be subjected to © 1997 American Chemical Society
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rigorous peer review and no guarantees will be given regarding the acceptance of any submitted paper, invited or not. Moreover, we are actively encouraging the submission of papers from any and all individuals who are working in this area, independent of their participation in the ACS symposium. The last change announced in 1996 was the addition of a “contents by topic” index to the Table of Contents. This was also judged to be successful and will continue in 1997. One measure of a successful journal is its ability to attract an increasing number of high-quality papers. By all measures, this journal has grown considerably in size and stature since its inception in 1989. Despite an increase in our rejection rate from around 30% to close to 40%, in 1996, 390 papers were published, representing an increase of 10% relative to 1995. These papers represent an increasingly wider range of topics in materials chemistry as well as a broader range of authors and geographical distribution. With close to half of these papers coming from outside of the U.S., this journal is becoming increasingly international, representative of the growing worldwide interest in materials chemistry. Despite the increase in the manuscript submissions, we have managed to maintain a relatively rapid publication schedule. Our ability to do this depends directly on the dedicated efforts of our reviewers and authors who continue to set the standards for high quality and short turnaround time. We thus want to express our sincere appreciation to those
Editorial
individuals and to request their continued cooperation in our efforts to ensure the timely publication of the highest quality work in materials chemistry. In 1996, about two-thirds of the papers that we published were submitted to our publications office in electronic form (on diskette). To allow the continued growth of this journal to proceed without a large increase in its cost or a delay in its publication schedule, we are looking for an increase in this percentage of softcopy submission to 100% from this year onward (see Notice to Authors). Moreover, for these softcopy submissions to be useful, it is imperative that the manuscripts included thereon are identical with the copy that was finally approved for publication and that the electronic version conforms to the requirements specified in the Notice to Authors. Finally, we ask that these diskettes be clearly marked with the manuscript number and that they be included in an envelope attached to the diskette submission form provided. Diskettes that are shipped loose in the package or not clearly labeled are susceptible to damage or loss during shipping and subsequent handling. A number of the changes that have been made in this journal to improve its format, quality, and timeliness have come from suggestions received from its readers. We look forward to a continuing close interaction with authors, reviewers, and readers and hope that you will use our email address (
[email protected]) to send us your comments, suggestions, and criticism. Best wishes for a happy and successful 1997.
Leonard V. Interrante Editor CM9608002
