Welcome to the first issue of APL Materials, a new, open access journal in materials science from AIP Publishing. APL Materials is the second fully open access journal from AIP Publishing and is being launched at a key moment: the coincidence of very rapid growth in the field and a push from government funders for their researchers to make their work publicly available. We are excited that anyone in the world with access to the Internet will be able to discover our papers and re-use and build upon the research, all while you, as author, can be compliant with your funding agency's new mandates.
It is a great privilege for me to be the journal's Editor, supported by a very strong team of Associate Editors from around the world: aplmaterials.aip.org/about/editors_bios.
All of the APL Materials Editors are active researchers who have enormous expertise across the breadth of the field. We are reactive to the needs of the modern research community and understand how important it is for materials researchers to have their work published in high-visibility journals, quickly, and via a fair and thorough peer-review process.
Nearly all of you will know of Applied Physics Letters (APL). While APL Materials is related to this highly successful journal, we are entirely new and different with a remit that spans the whole field of materials science (including chemical, biological, and engineering topics). It is fitting to launch APL Materials as APL celebrates its 50th anniversary. We pay tribute to APL's great continuing success while at the same time acknowledging the enormous growth of materials science in the last half century.
The field of materials science is growing faster than traditional disciplines (Materials Science and Technology Global Research Report, Science Watch, June 2011). There are good reasons for this. Materials are often the bottleneck to progress in the key technological sectors of energy, transport, and IT. A Commentary on EU policy (Tomellini, Veiga Benesch, and Alming, in press) in this first issue emphasizes the great importance of materials research to future economic progress.
It is interesting to me that both the most simple forms of materials (e.g., single element and single layer structure, namely, graphene) as well as very complex forms (e.g., solar cells combining complex organics, with nanostructured complex perovskites, metals, and binary oxides) are both forefront, critical research topics. The key point though is that discovery of new materials and exciting materials developments and combinations are vital to future human progress on our fragile planet.
Excitement in materials science is not only spurring on those who are deeply involved in the field, it is also sparking wide interest among the general public. This is borne out by the, nearly daily, transmission of materials-related stories in the international press. In the past couple of months, many materials stories on BBC, CNN, and NY Times as well as general medical websites have grabbed my attention in diverse areas such as bioinspired self-healing materials, ultrafast rechargeable microbatteries, advanced nanofiber membranes for bandages to promote rapid wound healing, artificial smart skin which incorporates thousands of ZnO nanowire transistors embedded in a flexible polymer, and creation of the world's lightest material using a carbon aerogel (a Commentary on this topic by Chao Geo, Zhejiang University will appear in an upcoming issue).
We are on the cusp of a new “Materials” Age. Not one that follows on from stone, bronze, or iron, but one that encompasses all material types in new and interesting forms. It is the perfect time for us to proudly launch what we aim to be the top open access journal dedicated entirely to materials science. We look forward to publishing your best and most exciting work.
