Editorial pubs.acs.org/cm
25 Years of Proud History: Building for the Next 25 Chemistry of Materials is now 25 years old, and since its founding in 1989 by the Editor-in-Chief, Len Interrante, this journal has played an instrumental and central role in the development of materials chemistry during these years under his careful watch. Its high scientific standards, its focus on the chemistry of materials science, and the breadth of its highly interdisciplinary readership represent a few of the many strengths of the journal. It is with a great deal of optimism and excitement, tempered with a generous sprinkling of nerves, that I step into these large Editor-in-Chief boots. It is both an honor and an enormous responsibility to maintain the very high standards of the journal and to ensure its future growth among the next generations of upcoming authors and readers. The team of editors work hard so that you, our authors, choose Chemistry of Materials as the place to proudly publish your top work, as we are delighted to carefully handle your manuscripts and share them with the materials world. At Chemistry of Materials, as a member of the American Chemical Society family of journals, we are ourselves all authors in the area of materials. We know from our own everyday research experience that each manuscript we receive is the culmination of many months and, more typically, years of time, effort and resources. The work could be the most important paper of a graduate student’s Ph.D. thesis, or the first publication of an assistant professor on his or her way to becoming established, or the result of a longstanding research effort from an established group; we understand what all of these situations are like, because we have experienced all of them firsthand. You can be assured that we will make sound and thoughtful decisions in each case. The journal has a top caliber group of editors who are leaders in their field, some of whom have been with the journal for many years, and two very new additions who have just been announced. We are a cohesive group who will take care of your work and will endeavor to reach the right decision as quickly as possible, with constructive and personal emails to explain the reasons. The rapid growth of materials chemistry, the broader field of materials science, and nanoscience has led to a dramatic increase in the number of researchers in these areas, which of course is a healthy development for Chemistry of Materials. These areas have, however, become parsed and divided because of the existence of many new journals that have arisen since 1989. When all finally begin the writing of a paper, the inevitable question arises, which is the following: “Now, where will we publish this work?” Typically, when choosing the venue for publishing, a number of intangibles come into play, as well as the opinions of the different authors, from the younger scientists and students to the principal investigator. Ultimately, confidence that your paper will be handled in a careful and personalized way, by editors you know are leaders in their field, will play a major role in your decision. To address the changing needs of our authors and readers at Chemistry of Materials, a number of goals and new initiatives are about to be launched and include the following. © 2014 American Chemical Society
1. Our “Up and Coming” series of perspectives. Starting in 2014, we will begin publishing at least 12 invited perspectives a year from up and coming young researchers, typically pre-tenure assistant professors or other young scientists at government laboratories or in industry. These perspectives will highlight not only the work of future leaders in materials science and chemistry but also the newest and latest areas that have been identified by these researchers as exciting and full of future potential, from both the standpoints of fundamentals and applications. 2. Increased communication with our authors and readers. Through personalized email correspondence, we will provide constructive comments and updates regarding the status of your submitted manuscript, at all stages. Through social media, we will let you, our readers and authors, hear about the latest work appearing in the journal. Follow us on Twitter (@ChemMater), and please contact us directly with any thoughts, questions, and concerns. We will also coordinate media releases regarding publications in Chemistry of Materials with the ACS media office and the media offices of the authors’ institutions to ensure maximum coverage. 3. An editorial in every issue. We plan to use the editorials to help provide insight, advice, and thoughts regarding issues that affect the materials community, from publishing, to new developments in science, to highlighting best practices in materials chemistry, and other topics of broad interest. 4. Expansion into new areas. Thanks to our diverse group of editors, we have the expertise to handle your manuscripts in all areas of materials chemistry, from developments in soft materials to solid state inorganics, and highly interdisciplinary areas in between. 5. Working with other ACS journals. During the next year, we plan on increasing communication with other ACS journals that publish work in materials science so that we work together toward common goals, to ultimately provide more fluid service to our authors, and to promote the materials community at ACS. 6. New media to complement the printed page. There are times when a short video or slide show could best communicate a scientific result or experimental details. While videos are already more than welcome in the Supporting Information section, we plan to institute, and highlight on our Web site, video summaries and other complementary materials. 7. A new look. We are very pleased to announce a new and clean look for Chemistry of Materials, with a new logo, page formatting, and other associated features. The Editors and I at Chemistry of Materials welcome your input and feedback with regards to these initiatives or other Published: January 14, 2014 1
dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm403964m | Chem. Mater. 2014, 26, 1−2
Chemistry of Materials
Editorial
aspects related to the journal. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Jillian M. Buriak, Editor-in-Chief
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm403964m | Chem. Mater. 2014, 26, 1−2
