Jeroen Cornelissen retires as Editor-in-Chief

Publishing is an essential part of academic life; and when I was invited to join the team of – at that time – the Journal of Materials Chemistry as an Associate Editor just over 12 years ago, I didn’t hesitate long to agree. Eager to learn about the process of publishing, I was involved with understanding cover letters, finding referees and the (sometimes unpleasant) part of pre-screening submissions in order to save time of both authors and referees. It was a steep learning curve, but smooth with the fantastic help of the RSC team in Cambridge. Not long after that, the journal was split into Journal of Materials Chemistry A, B and C, and naturally I got connected to JMC B. With the Editorial Board and Christine Smith as Deputy Editor-in-Chief we had to define the scope, and the consensus was that our submissions could cover a broad range of materials with applications related to biology and medicine, but with a strong chemistry focus. The journal took off and we had to find our position in the materials chemistry community.

When Christine retired from the journal, I was asked to take up the role of (Deputy) Editor-in-Chief and I entered a new steep part of the learning curve. I set it as my personal goal to increase the international visibility of the journal and built a community that would see JMC B as a preferred medium to publish some of their best work. Together with the RSC team in Cambridge, we worked hard on analyzing submission data, further composing the Advisory Board and looking to uncover new topical areas within the scope of the journal, such as bionics, sensors, nanomedicine, etc. I am proud to see that it worked out; the Journal of Materials Chemistry B has become an established brand name with a solid global readership.

In particular, I also take pride in acknowledging that, with my colleagues Anders Hagfeldt and Natalie Stingelin, the Editors-in-Chief of JMC A and JMC C, we managed to establish the annual Journal of Materials Chemistry Lectureship award as a powerful recognition of talented materials chemists that have impact, not only with their scientific contributions, but also with other services to the academic community, while keeping a keen eye on diversity.

While initially a bit reserved, if there was room for another materials chemistry journal, we were excited to add a gold open access journal to the JMC family. It is safe to state that Materials Advances is now a mature journal complementing the materials portfolio at the RSC.

Upon stepping down as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Materials Chemistry B and co-Editor-in-Chief of Materials Advances, I would like to thank the RSC team that has so fantastically supported me over the years – in particular the Executive Editors Liz, Fiona, Sam, Jeremy and Michaela – and the materials chemistry community for trusting us with their submissions. I am fully confident that the journals are in good hands with my successor Jessica Winter!

It was a pleasure to serve you!

With best wishes,

Jeroen

---