The well-worn phrase about living in a rapidly changing world applies especially to the world of analytical chemistry. The forces for change in our discipline are both direct-from new discoveries of analytically important principles, theory, and chemical reactivities, and indirect-from the development of environmental concerns, the impact of the microelectronics age on analytical instruments, and the emergence of topics like biotechnology and materials chemistry as frontiers of chemical knowledge. How we both teach and practice our discipline must respond to these changes, as indeed must our perception of what analytical chemistry is. The borders of our intellectual turf are necessarily fuzzy in the midst of change, which is good; a scientific discipline with static boundaries is headed toward the province of science historians, whereas a vigorous discipline seeks to explore and to stand on new turf. Analytical chemistry, the science of chemical measurements, has such vigor, and it is an exciting age in which to be an analytical chemist. has several roles in the This JOURNAL evolution of our discipline. First, we serve the scientific community, both the research scholars and the users, by dis-
seminating peer-reviewed new knowledge in the most timely manner possible. emphasizes the elSecond, the JOURNAL ement of originality in the research manuscripts it accepts for publication, be they of a fundamental or an applications nature, in order to promote a continual redefining of the frontiers of analytical chemistry. Indeed, the JOURNAL must especially seek to recognize new analytical frontiers as they emerge. publishes original Third, the JOURNAL research on all aspects of the discipline, which promotes the cross-fertilization, or "un-compartmentalization," of new knowledge. This breadth is one of the JOURNAL'S strong attractions to its readers and users. Finally, the JOURNAL'S A pages are an important source of news about the discipline and, along with the annual Review issues, of timely digests of modern topics. This new Editor, and the fine group of Associate Editors and Washington staff he has inheritin ed, will endeavor to lead the JOURNAL fulfilling these roles.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 63, NO. 3, FEBRUARY 1, 1991
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