An exciting year for Lab on a Chip

A new phase with George Whitesides at the helm

We start 2009 with the significant news that Professor George Whitesides, from Harvard University, is the new Editorial Board Chair for Lab on a Chip. Professor Whitesides received an A.B. degree from Harvard University in 1960 and a PhD from the California Institute of Technology (with J. D. Roberts) in 1964. He was a member of the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1963 to 1982. He joined the Department of Chemistry of Harvard University in 1982, and was Department Chairman 1986–89, and Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry from 1982–2004. He is now the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor. Professor Whitesides has won a multitude of significant and prestigious awards and fellowships that are too many to mention here. He has also served on Advisory Committees to the National Research Council; National Science Foundation; Department of Defense; and NASA, as well as a variety of Committees within MIT and Harvard.

George is also on the Board of Directors for Rohm and Haas, Theravance, Hughes Research Laboratories, Surface Logix, Nano-Terra, WMR, Biomedical, Diagnostic for All, and Paper Diagnostics.

Present research interests include: physical and organic chemistry, materials science, biophysics, complexity and emergence, surface science, microfluidics, optics, self-assembly, micro- and nanotechnology, science for developing economies, catalysis, energy production and conservation, origin of life, rational drug design, and cell-surface biochemistry.

With his wealth of experience and expertise as well as his unique outlook, there is no one in the field who is better equipped than Professor Whitesides to help Lab on a Chip reinforce and advance its position as the world's leading journal in miniaturisation science.

Finally on this topic, recent material from the Whitesides Laboratory has caused quite an impact within the miniaturisation community as it offers us new paradigms such as microfluidics using paper (Lab Chip, 2008, DOI: 10.1039/b811135a) and point of care using an egg beater to separate blood (Lab Chip, 2008, DOI: 10.1039/b809830c) as tools to help provide care in a cost-effective manner in the so called “third world” nations.

Lab on a Chip has established itself as the number one choice for leading research in micro and nanofluidics. It has also found a strong position at the heart of the miniaturisation community as a consequence of the support the journal provides through various conference sponsorships, prizes and awards, which recognise and highlight the contributions of young and emerging scientists in the field; to online support via new initiatives such as ‘Chips & Tips'—the quick-fix online forum providing useful advice on common practical problems for scientists in the miniaturisation world.

With a steep rise in journal submissions every year since launch (over 20% per annum) (as shown in the diagram), January 2009 is the right time for the journal to move to 24 issues per annum. This will lead to greater visibility and readers being able to read the latest research sooner.

This move to 24 issues is a direct consequence of the high scientific quality of the submissions that the journal receives. It is also indicative of the success of LOC in providing an excellent publication service to more and more authors from around the world.

With more issues, more leading research and a new Editorial Board Chair—2009 promises to be an exciting year for the Lab on a Chip journal and community.

RSC continues from success to success

Same great ReSourCe—just better!

During 2009 we will release a new version of ReSourCe, our system for online manuscript submission and peer review (www.rsc.org/resource). Already popular with authors and referees, we've listened to your feedback and made further improvements to our service. We're keen to build on your experience of ReSourCe, so if you would you like to help us shape the next release by taking part in beta-testing or by supplying your comments and suggestions please contact mailto:resourcesupport@rsc.org.

More papers and greater impact

As we look forward to 2009, RSC Publishing is working with more authors than ever before—2008 saw the number of authors published in RSC Journals increase by 30%. Meanwhile titles from across the collection recorded impressive rises in impact factors, and the latest immediacy indices confirm the relevance and topicality of research published by the RSC.

RSC Publishing is committed to providing a world-class publishing service and global visibility to its authors and with the number of citations increasing, immediacy and impact factors rising it is clear to see that Lab on a Chip and RSC Publishing are recognised by researchers throughout the world as a key resource to publish and read the very best research.

Your RSC subscriptions and free content

We know that it can be difficult to keep track of online resources that are available to you. So, we've introduced a special web page to help you to find out exactly what RSC content you can access. This new page is called Your RSC Subscriptions (www.rsc.org/Publishing/your_access.asp) and it lists all products for which your organisation has a current subscription, plus other content which may be available to you, such as the RSC Journals Archive and the RSC eBook collection.

You can also find out about RSC content that is available free—including: research articles that are free for a limited time; news articles in magazines; and free chapters from the RSC eBook Collection. Visit www.rsc.org/Publishing/freeRSCcontent.asp.

Journal information

New journals

Our journal portfolio has expanded with the launch of three new journals.

Energy & Environmental Science, launched in July 2008, publishes research from all aspects of the chemical sciences relating to energy conversion and storage, alternative fuel technologies and environmental science (www.rsc.org/ees).

Metallomics: Integrated biometal science covers the research fields related to metals in biological, environmental and clinical systems (www.rsc.org/metallomics).

Integrative Biology: Quantitative biosciences from nano to macro will provide a unique venue for elucidating biological processes, mechanisms and phenomena through quantitative enabling technologies at the convergence of biology with physics, chemistry, engineering, imaging and informatics. Visit the website for the latest news: www.rsc.org/ibiology.

The current issue of all three journals is freely available online. Free online institutional access to all 2009 content is available for registered users—full details are on the website.

Harp Minhas

Editor, Lab on a Chip

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