Editorial—2003

Happy New Year to all our readers!

2002 has been an exciting year of development and growth for New Journal of Chemistry. Indeed, 2002 saw a record number of Papers and Letters submitted for publication. During the last five years, the number of Letters submitted for publication has increased by 59% and the number of Papers submitted has increased by 145%! This healthy growth in submissions is evidence of the excellent service that New Journal of Chemistry offers its authors. This service includes good publication times (typical times from acceptance to publication are currently 12 weeks), free use of colour where scientifically necessary and a web-based e-submissions service.

Fig. 1 Increase in submitted Papers to New Journal of Chemistry.

The web-based e-submissions service for authors was launched in 2001, and continues to be popular, with 54% of new submissions sent to the New Journal of Chemistry Editorial Offices via this web-based service. The service is fast, efficient and, importantly, easy to use, and now makes submitting work to New Journal of Chemistry simple for any author in any part of the world. To take advantage of this easy-to-use service, and the savings in time and postage that it offers, we encourage you to submit your articles for publication by e-submissions (www.rsc.org/submissions).

Other exciting electronic publishing developments in 2002 included the introduction of reference linking to the online version of the journal. Readers can now follow links in the references of online articles to the cited articles. This reference linking facility now includes free access to the Chemical Abstracts Service abstract for the reference via ChemPort (http://www.chemport.org), and links to the full text of the reference, where available online, on the publisher's server (a subscription or pay-per-view may be required to access the article). 2002 also saw the introduction of pdf proofs and pdf reprints for New Journal of Chemistry authors. Pdf proofs are sent electronically to authors, reduce delays caused by the post, so papers are published in the journal even sooner than before. Authors receive a pdf reprint of their article, which has advantages over printed reprints: Electronic pdfs can be filed electronically and, of course, copies can be printed off on demand.

New Journal of Chemistry provides a forum for creative chemical scientists to share their work with other researchers, and represents an open and non-segregated forum that spans all areas of the chemical sciences, from molecular to supermolecular chemistry to hybrid networks, from crystalline to amorphous materials, from soft to hard matter and from experimental studies to theoretical and modelling studies. This open attitude towards the different branches of the chemical sciences and types of research provides an important role for the conceptualisation and development of new systems that can be adapted for the needs of our world and its societies.

Examples of the interdisciplinary nature of articles published in New Journal of Chemistry are highlighted by the Chemical Biology Virtual Journal. The RSC's Chemical Biology Virtual Journal was launched in 2002, and provides a valuable resource for the chemical biology community. This web-based journal gathers together all the RSC's published material in chemical biology, including, of course, those published in New Journal of Chemisty. Articles in the virtual journal are free for one month after they appear in the journal. For more information visit the Chemical Biology Virtual Journal at www.rsc.org/chembiol.

This issue of New Journal of Chemistry contains the range of different article types that are published in New Journal of Chemistry: Letters, Full Papers and Opinions. Opinions were launched in 2001 and provide a means for authors to express a short comment on topics closely related to chemistry and can include highly focused topics as well as those of broader interest to the chemical community. Opinions can also cover more general subjects related to educational, ethical, philosophical or sociological concerns of the chemical community. Do you have an Opinion? If you do, we'd like to hear it!

We thank those members of the Editorial and Advisory Boards who retired at the end of 2002. In particular, many thanks go to Professor Pierre Braunstein, who retired as Associate Editor. Pierre has been involved with New Journal of Chemistry for many years, and has played a major role in the development of the journal. Pierre will continue to be involved with New Journal of Chemistry as a member of the International Advisory Editorial Board. Professors Bruno Chaudret and Hansjörg Grützmacher also retired from the Editorial Board, while Professors Reinhard Hoffman, Jan Reedijk, Jeremy Sanders and Jean-Pierre Sauvage move from the Editorial Board to the International Advisory Editorial Board. Advisory Board members retiring are Professors Christian Amatore, Martin Banwell, Claudio Bianchini, Carsten Bolm, Ian Dance, Roger Guilard, Harry Kroto, Jean-Marie Lehn, Ryoji Noyori and Isabelle Rico-Lattes. We extend our warmest thanks to all members who left the Editorial and International Advisory Boards in 2002, for all their efforts and suggestions for the development of the journal.

In January 2003 we welcome the following to the Editorial and Advisory Boards. New Editorial Board members are Professors Michael Veith (Germany) and Laurent Bonneviot (France), while new Advisory Board members are Professors Markus Antonietti (Germany), Hideki Sugihara (Japan), Kenneth Caulton (USA), Philippe Sautet (France), Henryk Kozłowski (Poland), Jerry Atwood (USA) and Peter Junk (Australia). We very much look forward to working with them all.

We are also pleased to announce that from January 1st, 2003, Professor Jean-Pierre Majoral will become one of the three New Journal of Chemistry Associate Editors. Jean-Pierre is based in Toulouse, France, and has research interests in dendrimers and hyperbranched polymers, particularly those involving Group 13 and 15 elements. Authors, may, if they wish, submit their articles to Professor Majoral’s Editorial Office in Toulouse, via the web (www.rsc.org/submissions) or as hard copy. Details of where articles can be submitted are given in the inside front cover of the journal.

We look forward to receiving more of your articles for publication in the journal, and wish you a peaceful, prosperous and successful 2003.

Professor Clément Sanchez, Editor-in-Chief

Dr Denise Parent, Managing Editor (CNRS)

Dr Jamie Humphrey, Managing Editor (RSC)

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