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ANALYTICAL C H E M I S T R Y Walter 1. Murphy, Editor - - -
What's Ahead? r
HI
Ahii..nIc.isCHEMICAL SocImu.
end of the year is a l o g i d tinie t o pause and evaluate
I r i u l t s :irliiei.ed and to plan foi, the future.
First, xve n-i,qh to express our thanks and appreciation foi' CHEMISTRY by K. K. the serx-ices performed for ASALYTICAL C'lien, I. AI. Koltlioff, and IT. J . Sn-eeney, n-ho retire Deceni! ~ 31 r from the *$idvisory Board. The nssistance rendered by tlie board is invaluable to the Editor and his assistants and has led to the adoption of many innovations in the journal. The profession of analytical chemistry owes a deep debt of gratit,ude to these individuals for their untiring and unwlfish devotion to the field of analysis. K e are always sorry t o bid a n official nu revoir to retiring board nieinber,s, but n-e recognize the value of bringing to the tle!ilxrations of the board a continuing flow of fresh viewpoints. Then, too, i t has been our pleasant experience to be nlile to call on ex-board nienibers a t all times when assistance and advice have been needed in specialized fields. K e welcoine to the board X. H. Furinan, David 11. H u n ~ e . :ind Stewart S. Kurtz, who have agreed to serve four-yea], terms. I t is our practice to t r y where possible to replace retii,ing members with individuals who hare sonie~vhatthe same srientific interests, thus maintaining a broad board perspective. Turning to soiiie st'atietics, we report that the paginated editorial pages in 1951 total 1922. Thie figure compares with 1602 pages in 1950, 1062 pages in 1947,784 pages in 1944, and 498 pages in 1936. The field of analytical chemistry, pa1,ticulady in its use of instrumentation, is one of the fastest growing divisions of science. We can see 110 likelihood of the growth curve leveling off in the foreseeahle future. K e have received permission from the Board of Directors of the AMERICANCHEMICAL SOCIETYto increase by 114 the editorial pages published in 1952, a n increase of 5.5%. We earnestly hope this increase will permit us tjo remain on a current publication basis. Rising publication costs continue to plague societies such ns ours. Private publishers can always curtail editorial content to fit' the pocketbook. but the scientific and technical society has the very real moral obligation to publish all papers that meet the standards of quality and originality. The Board of Directors has been very generous in authorizing a 17yGincrease in tlie 1952 budget over 1951. And now looking to special events in 1932. The now wellestablished syniposium sponsored annually by Louisiana State University will be held January 28 to 31. The fifth in the series on "Modern 1Iethods of Analysis" is expected to attract a record cro~-cl. The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy will be held 1laich 5 to 7 . The usual exhibit of scientific apparatus and equipment n.ill be shown a t the William Penn Hotpl. X great tle:i1 of interest is developing in the International Congress on Analytical Chemistry, to be held a t Oxford, England, September 4 to 9. It is iinfortunate that this gathering is scheduled so clwe to the fall nieet'ing of t'he
HoxevPr. those who \vi*li to xttenci both can do so by tight scheduling. It pin1)ahly n i w i i * the use of airplane travel for the return trip. 11:iny other meetings of interest to :inalysts n-ill be held tiwing lOX?. The ASTM and the API are buF;y with ~pecial fr:itui,es of interest to analytical chemists. We are happy to i.epoi,t the close cooperation that exists between these groups anti AXALYTICALCHEXISTRY, as evidenced by the publieation of the Symposium on Analytical Research in the Petroleuni Industry in our Octoher issue-papers presented before the Division of Refining a t the 16th Midyear Xeeting of the American Petroleuni Institute, held a t Tulsa in April. V'e firnil>-anticipate that the movement in local sections to form analytical subdivisions will grow in 1952. Such groups have shon-n great vigor in developing interesting program of practical value to the analyst. Turning again to national affairs, we report that plans for the annual suniiiier synposium, sponsored by the Division of Analytical Chemistry and ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, are well along and a most interesting program will be put together for the visitors to the llichigan State College campus in June. More details n-ill tie available shortly. The year 1951 has tieen one of distinct progress for the field of analytical chenii$ti,\-,the Division of Analytical Chemistry. and this publirntion. Sonie examples have been mentioned. many others rould be recalled, but me cannot close without nientioning the puhlication of "Reagent Chemicals." To the committee responsible for its compilation belong the sincei,e thanks of the entii,e pi'ofession. To o u r reade1.s. authors, and reviewers, heartfelt thanks for your. lo>-a1 support in 1951 and a plea for your continued intei,est in 1952. To all of you, the staff pledges a continuance of its effort to make the publication a real service to the profession.
The Human Touch T receive E a large number of very interesting communications, and wish we had the space to publish many of them. One such letter makes the point that authors are always gratified to receive communications from readers. Our correspondent goes on to say: ~
Such letters are very helpful to the author in evaluating his contribution, and in planning future contributions. ('ontroversial and important papers undoubtedly bring comments to the author's att,ention that. leave no doubt about the extent t.0 which his ideas have been used. Oft,en it is possible to glean some information about the ext,ent of use of apparat'us or methods from subsequent papers by other aut,hors and by contacts at meetings and in visits t o other laboratories. On the other hand, little contributions often seem t o be dropped into a bottomless echoless pit. The author never knows whether they have been of use to any one, or xhether any one has tried to use them at all. He just keeps on blindly pouring more pennies into the wishing w ~ l l never , knoll-ing whether they help any one.
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Certainly an author will be greatly pleased by letters of commendation, or even a brief note scribbled on a postcard.
