Editors' Column
Looking Back and Ahead This is a year for looking back and ahead. Our nation celebrates its Bi centennial: 200 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The American Chemical Society cele brates its Centennial with impressive ceremonies scheduled to take place in New York City this month at its Na tional Meeting and other activities to take place throughout the year. Over the years, one of the major concerns of the Society has been its publications program. The strength of this program lies in the organization's ability to sponsor and accommodate all of the diverse journals representing different areas and appropriately edit ed by well-known, respected research chemists in these fields. The organiza tion thus focused on the total journals publication program when it integrat ed the artificially separated so-called basic and applied journals into one or ganizational unit in 1965. Each of the 17 journals, including the two journal/ magazines, Environmental Science and Technology and ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY,
cerned with the discipline of analytical chemistry and with the publication of research in this field. Volume 1, No. 1, is dated January 15, 1929. It was, of course, the Analytical Edition of In dustrial and Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) which collected as a group those methods papers previously in I&EC. It appeared as a quarterly until 1933 when it became a bimonthly. In 1937 it began monthly publication as a ANALYTICAL
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is not only one within
the ACS structure, but is also one within its field. For instance, ANA LYTICAL CHEMISTRY does have con cerns and policies that also reflect its place in the analytical research field. Likewise, Biochemistry, so ably edited by Hans Neurath of the University of Washington, has to meet the needs of its particular breed of chemists and find its place among kindred non-ACS journals. Overall, although the jour nals have similarities because of their ACS affiliation, they are also quite different since they strongly reflect their respective editors views of the individual journal's place in its field. The freedom of individual editors to determine questions of scope and broad editorial policies with the help of advisors chosen by the editors is of great value. Under this excellent organizational umbrella, ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY will go into its 50th year in 1978. In looking back, one is impressed with the intellectual effort, dedication, and continuity achieved by those con
separate entity under the leadership of Harrison J. Howe. Leadership passed in 1943 to Walter J. Murphy who headed the applied publications program at the American Chemical Society until 1956. The complete sep aration of the journal from I&EC did not occur until 1948 when the title A N A L Y T I C A L C H E M I S T R Y was offi
cially adopted. Lawrence T. Hallett became associate editor in 1944, was appointed science editor in 1953, and became editor in 1956. Under Walter J. Murphy with L. T. Hallett, ANA LYTICAL C H E M I S T R Y became editor
ially more than just a place to publish methods. In the 1929 guide to authors, the format, organization, and require ments for these methods papers were
spelled out in detail. In 1935 policy stated, "Articles dealing more with the fundamental or theoretical consider ation of no immediate application to chemical analysis belong more proper ly in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. " The first paper, interestingly enough in Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 1, is entitled "Quantitative Analysis with the Spectrograph" by Charles C Nitchie of the New Jersey Zinc Co. Perhaps this was fortuitous since in strumentation has continued to play such an important role in analytical research. ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY as a journal and as a discipline has gone far beyond the originally narrow ly defined scope of methods. The scope was redefined in 1946 to include "papers dealing with principles and theory of analytical chemistry" along with other areas of concern to analyti cal chemists. A look at our current Manuscript Requirements, page 2525, Dec. 1975, suggests just how broad the scope has become: from theoretical principles at one end to practical mea surements at the other end with all sorts of variations and concerns in be tween. This broadened scope con tinues to be a major concern of ANA LYTICAL CHEMISTRY'S current edi tor, Herbert A. Laitinen, who was ap pointed in 1965 at the retirement of L. T. Hallett. The first "Board of Associate Edi tors" appointed in 1935 included the following: B. L. Clarke, Bell Tele phone; T. R. Cunningham, Union Car bide and Carbon Research; Ν. Η. Furman, Princeton University; I. M. Kolthoff, University of Minnesota; G.E.F. Lundell, Bureau of Standards; and H. H. Willard, University of Michigan. This distinguished group was aug mented in later years to nine mem bers, in 1948 to 12 members, and in 1954 to 15 members. The functions of the board have changed so that now it is an advisory board. Members serve three-year terms, staggered so that five new members are appointed each year. Changes in scope and editorial coverage in ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY through the years have been made
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 48, NO. 4, APRIL 1976 · 417 A
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Editors' Column
with the advice and active support of the distinguished persons who have served on these boards. Reviews first appeared in January 1949 when 29 "Fundamental" topics were covered in 171 pages. This program was expanded as analytical activities increased to the current system with biennial reviews on "Fundamentals" and "Applications" appearing in alternate years. A-page editorial material first made its appearance in 1946 when Ralph Miiller began contributing a monthly article on Instrumentation. In 1947 the Analyst's Column was introduced by L. T. Hallett. Reports began appearing in 1956 and Briefs in 1957. The A-page section of ANALYTICAL C H E M I S T R Y has been continued and strengthened under the leadership of Professor Laitinen. The Instrumentation feature, written so engagingly so many years by Ralph Miiller, has been expanded into a monthly feature of several pages written by invited authors with the help and advice of an outside panel of experts. In 1973 in response to the increasing importance of the problem-solving side of analytical chemistry, The Analytical Approach began appearing at irregular intervals under the adept editorship of Claude Lucchesi. One cannot discuss the journal without mentioning the importance of the support provided by commercial suppliers, instrument manufacturers, and makers of laboratory equipment who have been advertising their products in ANALYTICAL C H E M I S T R Y
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418 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 48, NO. 4, APRIL 1976
since the beginning. In fact, the cover of Vol. 1, No. 1 is an advertisement for laboratory furniture from the Van Dorn Iron Works Co. Other cover ads in the early years came from J. T. Baker Chemical Co., still a major manufacturer of fine chemicals. Advertising support to this day contributes greatly to the journal's viability. Finally, it is appropriate in the Centennial year of the American Chemical Society to acknowledge and pay tribute to the continuing support given to ANALYTICAL C H E M I S T R Y ' S publica-
tion program by its parent organization. A capsule history of the ACS publications program, written by Richard L. Kenyon with the collaboration of Kenneth Reese, forms a chapter of the ACS's Centennial history book, "A Century of Chemistry," scheduled for publication this month. Josephine M. Petruzzi
