Polymer Chemistry – first for impact

It would be hard not to start with Polymer Chemistry's first impact factor, which was announced in July as 5.32. Although we are really pleased with the quality of our papers, it is wonderful to see the journal's first impact factor coming out so high, and firmly placing us in the leading position for polymer chemistry research. We have many people to thank for this, most importantly the polymer community who have supported us from the start and ensured we have the highest quality submissions. We would also like to mention our referees, who have made the peer-review process smooth and efficient, even when the journal has grown in size!

We are also very pleased with our fast publication times, which are mainly down to the very positive refereeing process handled by the editors Dave, Eva Harth (Vanderbilt University), and Brent Sumerlin (University of Florida); Brent is welcomed to this team following his change in role from Editorial Board member to Associate Editor in July. This year also saw us say goodbye to founding Associate Editor Yuliang Yang, who started with the journal's launch, and we thank him for all his work for the journal and for really setting us up with the ever important Chinese polymer community – we remain indebted.

Apart from our impact factor, Polymer Chemistry celebrated another first this year. The 1st Polymer Chemistry International Symposium was held in September, hosted by Tsinghua, Soochow and Fudan Universities in China. With Editorial Board members Dave, Eva and Brent speaking, in addition to excellent local speakers, the symposium proved a great forum for scientific discussion and fostering collaborations. We were especially impressed with the high attendance and participation by the student community at all Chinese universities. A huge thank you goes to the local organisers at the three hosting institutions who provided an excellent and welcoming environment for this event.

Themed issues were introduced in 2011, and following on from their positive reception we published two more in 2012: ‘New methods of polymer synthesis’ with guest editors Christopher Barner-Kowollik (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany), Jean-François Lutz (Institut Charles Sadron, France) and Sébastien Perrier (University of Sydney, Australia), and ‘Supramolecular and dynamic covalent polymers’ with guest editors Neil Ayers (University of Cincinnati, USA) and Marcus Weck (New York University, USA) – thanks goes to these guest editors for their hard work. Look out for some more hot themes in 2013!

Changes for 2013? Polymer Chemistry is going fortnightly. Due to the successes and growth of 2012, Polymer Chemistry will now publish 24 issues a year, double the 12 published in 2012. Again, thank you to the community for making this possible. Have a great and productive 2013! Remember, “may all your molecules be long and all your equations short” (Plesch)!

Dave Haddleton, Editor-in-Chief

Liz Dunn, Editor

Serin Dabb, Deputy Editor

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