© Copyright 2005 American Chemical Society
JANUARY 4, 2005 VOLUME 21, NUMBER 1
Editorial Growth, Changes, Transitions As Langmuir enters its third decade, the journal is in the midst of a remarkable period of growth. During the past seven years our submissions have more than doubled; by November of 2004 we had crossed the level of 3000 submissions for the first time and there is no indication that this growth will slow as we enter 2005. Of course the increase in submissions is not confined to Langmuir but has occurred for other ACS journals as well as other scientific publications. The fact that the scope of Langmuir overlaps other journals offers authors an attractive array of options but also presents a situation where there exists a potential for ethical and copyright issues. Recognizing this, together with our need to expand the pool of conscientious reviewers upon which the success of a journal is so critically dependent, we have instituted a somewhat more structured submission process for both Websubmitted and conventionally submitted manuscripts. We have also modified our reviewer forms, although this occurred somewhat earlier. The submission/ reviewing forms are “living” documents, and we anticipate that further changes may be made to improve both of these processes. We welcome suggestions from authors and reviewers as we go forward. The great preponderance of our submissions (∼96%) arrive via Web (Paragon), and it is possible that we may convert to Web-only submission in the not distant future. The Langmuir Senior Editors have worked together with their editorial staffs during this period of rapid increase in submissions, and during much of this time individual offices have experienced concomitant increases in their workload. Our Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) has served us well during this period, and we are very grateful for their support. As many of our authors and reviewers have noted during the past year, there have been changes in the group of Senior Editors and it seems an appropriate time to make note of these changes. We note that Anne Plant has taken up new duties at the National Science and Technology Council in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and that these duties made it not possible for
her to continue as a Senior Editor with Langmuir. Anne has been an outstanding editor, and she has greatly facilitated the role of Langmuir as a leader in the area of biological interfaces, biocolloids, and biomolecular and biomimetic materials. The Special Issue (“The Biomolecular Interface”, March 4, 2003) she collected was an event that has recruited an important new community of authors and reviewers. Although we are sad that Anne has left, we are pleased that she is serving on the Langmuir EAB. We all thank Anne for her service as editor and wish her well in her important new activities. Continuing to serve as Senior Editors are Bob Rowell, who passes his 20th anniversary as a Langmuir editor during 2005; Josef Holzwarth; Ralph Nuzzo; Franc¸ oise Winnik; and Kirk Schanze. These editors have served diligently as their workload has increased each year. They are pleased however that the ranks of Langmuir editors have been augmented by the addition of four new Senior Editors during 2004. We are very happy that these new Senior Editorss Richard Crooks of Texas A&M, Tejal Desai of Boston University, Daniel Schwartz of the University of Colorado, and Richard Weiss of Georgetown Universityshave joined with us to build an editorial staff increased in numbers and broadened in experience and editorial expertise. A Special Issue honoring Bob Rowell’s contributions will appear later this year. We are pleased that John Berg, Ray Farinato, Bob Pelton, and Bob Tilton have agreed to be “Guest Editors” in organizing this issue. Finally I note that concomitant with a shift in the primary focus of my professional activities, the Langmuir central office has been moved to the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. David G. Whitten, Editor-in-Chief Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering University of New Mexico MSC01 1120; 209 Farris Engineering Center Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131
10.1021/la0401359 CCC: $30.25 © 2005 American Chemical Society Published on Web 12/28/2004
LA0401359
