Birth of a Journal: A Chronicle Reflections on Journal of Materials Research at Its Three-Year Anniversary

Abstract

Journal of Materials Research was conceived and launched in less than two years from initial conception and is now in its third year of publication. The Journal's immediate success is a result of its unique purpose and of the meticulous attention given it by a few dozen committed seientists. With little or no Publishing management experience, they were guided by their need for scientific information as they developed a Journal that would fill a void in the literature on advanced materials. The following is a description of the Journal's evolution from inception to the valuable scientific medium it is today.Journal of Materials Research will soon begin its fourth volume, a very satisfying milestone for those of us who helped launch it. The Journal was designed to fill a unique role for researchers and the libraries which serve them. It's worth recounting how the myriad of qualitative and quantitative aspects of the Journal's creation quickly fell into place, for it's a story of dedicated volunteers, lofty goals, and an Organization which itself, at the time, was almost too young to tackle so formidable a task.The Materials Research Society (MRS) was founded in 1973 expressly to provide a forum for reporting scientific research on new materials in an interdisciplinary format, encompassing physical, chemical and engineering developments that all affect the advancement of materials. The opportunities to do this under the auspices of the existing societies at that time were few or nonexistent.