Editorial

In late August 2012, liquid crystal scientists from around the globe gathered in the historic city of Mainz for the 24th International Liquid Crystal Conference (ILCC 2012). The meeting was attended by over 850 participants with some 300 talks and over 500 posters presented during the course of the week. This special issue contains 18 articles based on plenary and invited lectures delivered at the ILCC in 2012. This should not be viewed, however, as the conference proceedings, but rather as a collection of invited articles spanning the diverse range of topics discussed at ILCC 2012, and follows on from the earlier highly successful collection of invited articles published from ILCC 2008.[1] The areas described in this special issue include some of the most recent and exciting developments which did so much to create the vibrancy and success of ILCC 2012. These incorporate all aspects of the field, ranging from fundamental considerations to novel applications, and encompassing chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and engineering.

In many ways it could be deemed to be invidious of me to select a single paper for particular mention from this collection of excellent articles. I am though going to run this risk, however, by drawing your attention to the contribution entitled Teaching Liquid Crystals – Observation Inspired Curiosity by Mojca Čepič. This is the first time the Journal has published an article about how to teach liquid crystals, but, I very much hope, not the last. The continued health of our field requires us to attract a steady stream of the very best graduate students. This places us in competition with all the other areas of science and engineering, many of which have a considerably higher profile in undergraduate degree programmes. To counter this, we need to see liquid crystals taught more widely in later undergraduate years, and, in a way, which inspires students to want to learn more. Not only this, we should also seek to inspire school children of all ages, and even pre-school children in our fascinating field of endeavour drawing attention to how liquid crystals affect their everyday lives right now. We must also not forget the wider constituency who fund much of what we do, the general public, and it is imperative that we take the time to communicate our science to them. In this respect, I am always reminded of the paper written by Maxwell in which he describes how the telephone works to a lay audience. In attempting to capture the imagination of these various audiences, our task is made easier given the ubiquitous role liquid crystals have in everyday life and modern technologies, and this should be our hook. Indeed, explaining the operation of a liquid crystal display in a highly accessible manner is a central theme of the article by Professor Čepič. He addresses the challenge of how to inspire interest in liquid crystals in all ages and backgrounds through a series of demonstrations and hands-on experiments. Not only this, his paper also provides a masterclass in multidisciplinary teaching, combining concepts from chemistry, physics, biology and engineering in conveying some of the underlying principles of liquid crystals and their applications. I very much hope that this article stimulates more contributions to the Journal discussing liquid crystal education.

The ILCC 2012 also hosted the presentation by Professor Geoffrey Luckhurst of the 2011 Luckhurst-Samulski Prize [2] for the best paper published in Liquid Crystals that year. The prize was awarded to Igor Muševič and his colleagues for their contribution entitled Atomic force microscope based method of measuring short cholesteric pitch in liquid crystals.[3] Last year, at the 12th European Conference on Liquid Crystals held in Rhodes, Greece, the 2012 Luckhurst-Samulski Prize [4] was awarded to Professor Stephen J. Picken and his colleagues for their paper entitled Uniaxial to biaxial nematic phase transition in a bent-core thermotropic liquid crystal by polarising microscopy.[5]

Liquid Crystals celebrates its 28th anniversary this year and I am delighted to announce that it continues to go from strength to strength, reflecting the vibrancy of our field. Most notably, 2013 saw the Journal achieve its highest ever impact factor of 1.959, and receive more submissions than ever before. It remains the only journal dedicated solely to our field, and the publishers, Taylor and Francis, are strong and enthusiastic supporters of our community. Not only do they publish Liquid Crystals and Liquid Crystals Today, but last year also saw them launch the new journal, Liquid Crystals Reviews edited by Professor Oleg Lavrentovich.[6] In addition, Taylor and Francis continue to provide sponsorship for the Luckhurst-Samulski Prize as well as generous sponsorship to a number of conferences.

Which brings me nicely to the 25th International Liquid Crystal Conference to be held in Dublin later this year. For those of you visiting Dublin for the first time, I assure you that you are in for a real treat while those making a return visit will know why it is often referred to as Europe’s friendliest city. Please take the opportunity to visit the Taylor and Francis stand at the meeting, and let us know what you think about the Journal. We are here to serve the community and the continued success of Liquid Crystals depends on you.