FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 06, 2011

ACS Macro Letters will publish urgent results in polymer science in record time, debuts January 2012

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2011 — ACS Publications announces that ACS Macro Letters is set to publish its first issue January 2012. This new rapid-publication journal, available exclusively online, makes it possible for authors around the world to publish their urgent, peer-reviewed findings in all facets of polymer science in record time, within four to six weeks of submission.

The journal will accelerate the pace of research and fuel new findings in the field by providing the global research community with brief, focused articles containing the information researchers need to advance their own important investigations.

“Polymer science has never been more intellectually vibrant, nor more essential to technological progress,” says Editor Timothy P. Lodge, Ph.D. “Whether it is in sustainable plastics, biomedical materials, renewable energy, or abundant clean water, polymers have a key role to play. The time is ripe for a rapid-response journal that can deliver the most exciting fundamental advances in this broad arena.”

Deputy Editor Stuart J. Rowan, Ph.D., said, “This is a very exciting time to be a polymer scientist as there are many emerging areas aided by the development of more controllable syntheses of polymer architectures, better characterization techniques, and an increased understanding of the role of macromolecules in biological systems. Especially hot topics are the design and application of functional polymers that are useful to meet challenges in the areas of health, energy, and sustainability. Beyond these application-driven trends, several material-based trends have emerged at the interface of polymer science with other fields.

“I would like ACS Macro Letters to be seen as the place for researchers to publish their high-impact findings, serving the established polymer science and engineering community, while also attracting authors and readers from related disciplines. With a rapid communications format, the goal is to have fast turnaround for authors, ensuring their high-impact publications reach the polymer community as fast as possible.”

ACS Macro Letters will report only high impact research results that warrant rapid publication and meet the strict editorial standards of the editors. If a letter is published in ACS Macro Letters, readers will know that it represents an important step forward in current research and in the state of knowledge and practice of polymer science and engineering. ACS Macro Letters will report major advances in all areas of contemporary soft matter science in which macromolecules play a key role, including nanotechnology, self-assembly, supramolecular chemistry, biomaterials, energy generation and storage, and renewable/sustainable materials. The journal will include high-impact research of broad interest in all areas of polymer science and engineering, including cross-disciplinary research that interfaces with polymer science.

In keeping with the ACS’ mission to spread knowledge and foster new research, ACS Macro Letters will be broadly disseminated around the world, reaching hundreds of thousands of researchers in nearly 5,000 institutions. Moreover, these researchers will access the journal via the award-winning ACS Web Editions platform, offering an enriched research experience that quickly guides users to relevant findings and then connects them to related research findings across the web.

ACS Macro Letters has been developed to complement Macromolecules, since 1968 the leading journal in polymer science. As reported in the Thomson Reuters 2009 Journal Citation Reports®, Macromolecules ranks #1 in total citations in the category of Polymer Science, with more than twice the number of citations as the #2 journal. Macromolecules received a 2009 ISI Impact Factor of 4.539 and has long delivered the lowest cost per article among comparable journals. With the launch of ACS Macro Letters, all Communications to the Editor that were formerly published in Macromolecules will be published as Letters in ACS Macro Letters. Readers will turn to ACS Macro Letters for reports of early, urgent results and to Macromolecules for comprehensive research findings.

ACS Macro Letters will be led by Lodge. He is Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor, and Lloyd H. Reyerson Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. Since 2001, he has served and will remain as the Editor of Macromolecules. Lodge has been recognized with such awards as the Paul J. Flory Polymer Research Award, the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry, and American Physical Society’s Polymer Physics Prize for his outstanding contributions to the field.

Rowan will serve as Deputy Editor for the new journal. He is Kent Hale Smith Professor of Engineering in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He holds joint appointments in both the biomedical engineering and chemistry departments and serves as the Director for the Institute for Advanced Materials at Case Western. Winner of a NSF Career Award, Rowan’s research focuses on the investigation and application of stimuli-responsive, supramolecular polymers toward the development of novel materials.

The Editorial Board, consisting of leading international researchers in polymer science, will play a key role in helping to guide the successful development of ACS Macro Letters.

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