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DOI: 10.1039/B418224N (Editorial) New J. Chem., 2005, 29, 13-13

NJC set to strengthen further

Abstract

Professor Jean-Pierre Majoral, the new Editor-in-Chief, reflects on recent developments and looks forward to further strengthening the position of NJC as an “International Journal of the Chemical Sciences”.

On behalf of the Editorial Board, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the CNRS, I welcome you to this first issue of 2005 which includes contributions of cutting-edge chemical science from members of the Editorial and Advisory Boards.

The end of last year saw the retirement of Professor Clément Sanchez as Editor-in-Chief and Chair of the Editorial Board. Whilst it is a pleasure and an honour for me to take on these roles, it will be a difficult task to live up to Clément’s achievements. During his four years as Editor-in-Chief, Clément did a remarkable job, not only in greatly raising the standing of NJC, but also as a referee and an author, publishing six high quality papers1–6 in the journal as well as contributing three works to this Special Issue: a Letter, an Opinion and a full Paper. Moreover, his ceaseless efforts in striving towards strengthening the journal, raising standards and broadening its appeal have been entirely successful. Clément presided over the introduction of Opinion articles in 2001, high-impact Perspective reviews in 2004, as well as many enhancements to the design, all of which have improved the readability and overall image of NJC. I have noted that during Clément’s term as Editor-in-Chief, submissions to NJC have almost doubled—a testament to the rapidly growing appeal of the journal. Also, the impact factor for the journal has increased from 2.06 for 2002 to 2.272 for 2003, indicating a significant improvement in its quality. These are just two measures of his success. I am pleased that Clément will still be closely associated with NJC as a member of the International Advisory Board.

NJC has established itself as a leading international journal. It is our desire to strengthen its position further, and to develop the journal into the forum for all facets of modern chemistry. Chemistry is at the crossroads of many scientific disciplines, including biology, biomedicine, materials science, and physics. I am convinced that the most promising developments will be found at the interfaces between chemistry and these other disciplines. I encourage authors working in these multidisciplinary areas to submit their highest quality work to NJC and remind them of the full variety of formats available: Perspective and Interface review articles, full Papers, Opinions and Letters.

Of course, the cornerstone of New Journal of Chemistry is chemistry. The search for excellence in this field is one of our major preoccupations. We are aiming to publish work that is in the top 30% in its field and, therefore, of exceptional interest to the scientific community. As Associate Editor of NJC during the last two years, I have noticed that the number of papers reporting outstanding results increased significantly, raising the quality and impact of the journal. I also noticed that many more manuscripts are being submitted by our colleagues from Asia. It is our hope that the very best papers from this emergent and strong scientific community will be submitted to NJC as the journal of first choice so we may contribute to the dissemination of the highest quality original chemical science from this part of the world.

In a recent Editorial7 it was emphasised that the Editors are committed to strengthening NJC as an “International Journal of the Chemical Sciences” that publishes outstanding quality work. This is also my mission as Editor-in-Chief.

Regular readers will have already noticed significant enhancements to NJC for 2005—the new front cover design, the inclusion of the RSC’s monthly news supplement, Chemical Science, and the new full colour contents pages. Chemical Science draws together news and research highlights from all RSC publications and will appear in each issue of NJC. We hope that you enjoy reading it. We would also commend the colour contents pages to our authors and urge you to supply colour images as part of your graphical abstract for these pages.

The Editorial teams at the RSC and the CNRS, the Associate Editors and Editorial Board will always be pleased to receive your suggestions and comments. As readers and authors, the journal is yours and its successes will be essentially yours.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our many referees who continue to do a tremendous job in handling an increasing number of manuscripts and in playing a key role in increasing the quality of our journal.

Best wishes for a happy and a successful 2005.

Jean-Pierre Majoral

Editor-in-Chief

References

  1. G. J. de A. A. Soler-Illia, E. Scolan, A. Louis, P.-A. Albouy and C. Sanchez, New J. Chem., 2001, 25(1), 156 RSC.
  2. B. Bensaude-Vincent, H. Arribart, Y. Bouligand and C. Sanchez, New J. Chem., 2002, 26(1), 1 RSC.
  3. R. Vivas-Reyes, F. De Proft, P. Geerlings, M. Biesemans, R. Willem, F. Ribot and C. Sanchez, New J. Chem., 2002, 26(9), 1108 RSC.
  4. E. L. Crepaldi, G. J. de A. A. Soler-Illia, D. Grosso and C. Sanchez, New J. Chem., 2003, 27(1), 9 RSC.
  5. B. Lebeau, C. Marichal, A. Mirjol, G. J. de, A. A. Soler-Illia, R. Buestrich, M. Popall, L. Mazerolles and C. Sanchez, New J. Chem., 2003, 27(1), 166 RSC.
  6. S. Willemin, G. Arrachart, L. Lecren, J. Larionova, T. Coradin, R. Clerac, T. Mallah, C. Guerin and C. Sanchez, New J. Chem., 2003, 27(10), 1533 RSC.
  7. C. Bostock-Smith, G. Gokel, J.-P. Majoral, D. Parent, C. Sanchez and J. Steed, New J. Chem., 2004, 28(4), E3–E4 RSC.
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