JAAS—a historical perspective

Jim Harnly is a Research Scientist at the US Department of Agriculture in Beltsville, Maryland. He has been the JAAS North American Editor and a member of the Editorial Board since the journal's launch in 1986. Dr. Harnly currently directs the efforts of the Food Composition Laboratory. His research interests include metal speciation and phytochemical analyses.

In the spring of 1985, John Ottaway asked me if I would be interested in serving as the North American Editor for JAAS. The position was established in an attempt to shorten the manuscript review time. At that time, prior to e-mail, correspondence between the U.S and the U.K. took a week (unless you forgot to put “air mail” on the envelope, in which case delivery sometimes took 2 months). Submission and review in the U.S. could shorten the process by up to 2 weeks. I was very flattered and immediately accepted the offer. Little did I suspect that as we now enter the 21st year of JAAS publication, I would be the longest serving member on the JAAS staff and editorial board.

JAAS was the inspiration of John Ottaway and Barry Sharp. The story goes that they came up with the idea of combining atomic spectroscopy papers from the The Analyst with Atomic Spectrometry Updates based on the chapters of Annual Reports on Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy (ARAAS) while on the train returning from a BNASS meeting. John became the first chairman of the JAAS editorial board and Barry headed the ASU Executive. From the very start, John pushed for low subscription rates to achieve the largest possible circulation. He also wanted JAAS to have high visibility and Judith Brew (now Judith Egan-Shuttler) was appointed to serve as the first Managing Editor.

John and Judith made a very effective team for promoting the journal and recruiting papers. John brought the same enthusiasm and energy to the journal that characterized his scientific research. Judith attended all the major conferences and was always conspicuous as the only staff representative present from any of the analytical journals. It was initially thought by many that JAAS would compete with Spectrochimica Acta, Part B for papers. It was even suggested that JAAS publish only applied research and that Spectrochimica Acta, Part B publish fundamental papers. John quickly vetoed this idea and JAAS has always accepted submissions on all aspects of research in the field of analytical atomic spectrometry. In actuality, the shift of Analytical Chemistry to a bioanalytical orientation proved a boon to JAAS and Spectrochimica Acta, Part B.

John and Judith also initiated a reception at the Pittsburgh Conference to promote the journal. While such receptions were standard practice for commercial organizations, it was a first for a journal. This was done as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the analytical community for their initial support of the journal.

The success of JAAS is the result of the excellent papers from contributing authors and the critical reviews of many others. As an editor, I am particularly sensitive to the dependence of the journal on the quality of the reviews that we receive. A good review requires considerable time and effort. It is a critical part of the scientific process. In this era of electronic information, the review process is the only means of distinguishing good science from anecdotal reports. JAAS is tremendously in debt to all the scientists who have devoted their time to reviewing papers.

If John Ottaway were alive today, I am sure he would be pleased with the progress of the journal, although he would probably complain that our subscription rate was too high. As the field of analytical atomic spectrometry has changed, the journal has remained flexible and viable. The current impact factor attests to the relevance of JAAS. But, this relevance is the result of the hard work of our contributors and reviewers. A sincere THANK YOU to all of you who have been a part of the journal’s success.

James M. Harnly

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