2016 sees the 30th anniversary of Liquid Crystals. Founded in 1986 by Geoffrey Luckhurst and Ed Samulski, the Journal has quite simply gone from strength to strength over the past three decades, and during a period which has seen many other journals come and go. The Journal has had remarkably few Editors. Geoffrey and Ed were replaced by George Gray and Noel Cark, respectively, and in turn, I succeeded George.
There are many ways in which to measure the success of a journal but perhaps the most recognisable is impact factor. Liquid Crystals’ current impact factor of 2.486 is an all-time high, and has risen in each of the last 6 years highlighting and showcasing the quality of the science published and all the hard work the Editorial Board and publishing team have invested into the Journal.
Another measure of success is the number of submitted manuscripts received by a journal. Submissions to Liquid Crystals are at record levels, and continue to increase year on year.
Success brings its own challenges. As Liquid Crystals has grown in recent years, times to publication have become slightly longer. To rectify this, I am delighted to announce that from 2016, Liquid Crystals will move to 15 issues per year. The layout of the Journal has also been reimagined for 2016 to reflect developments in publishing, enhance the version of record and better meet the needs of today’s scholarly community. This includes the introduction of graphical abstracts.
In the Journal’s very first editorial, Geoffrey and Ed wrote that ‘… this is a burgeoning field of interdisciplinary endeavour and now is an exciting time to be involved in liquid crystal research.’ [Citation1] Twenty years later, writing in their preface to the 20th Anniversary Issue, they added that ‘These words seem as true today as when they were written 20 years ago.’ [Citation2] The passing of another decade has done nothing to dull this sentiment, and indeed the future looks very bright.
Later in the year, we will celebrate the Journal’s 30th anniversary by publishing a special issue. In the meantime, I must thank the whole community for its strong and continued support of Liquid Crystals which has been absolutely central in ensuring the Journal’s success.