This first issue of Volume 24 corresponds to the twentieth anniversary of the creation of the SAR and QSAR in Environmental Research (SQER) journal. Launched in 1993 by Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, the journal is now owned by Taylor & Francis. The first volumes consisted of only four issues encompassing approximately 320 pages of peer-reviewed material annually. Since then the journal has steadily grown and developed, with six issues published annually from volume 10 (1999) to volume 17 (2006) and then eight from volume 18 (2007) to volume 23 (2012). From now, SQER will publish twelve issues per year representing more than 1000 pages that will continue to be published only after a highly selective review process, the rate of rejection in SQER being approximately 65%.
The journal still covers the original research topics described in the aims and scope of the first volume, with additional directions corresponding to the expanding field of QSAR modelling. To account for the continuous development of the QSAR research field and to remain representative of the readers, the editorial board periodically renews a part of its members. I want to thank wholeheartedly all the members who served on the editorial board in the previous years. Their role has been essential to establish the journal's reputation. I also want to thank the Guest Editors of the Special Issues which have made an important contribution to the journal as well as the many reviewers, who have provided insightful and constructive reviews. I am grateful for the editorial assistance I have received from Taylor & Francis for the publication of SQER as well as to have favoured the development, with CRC Press, of the series of books entitled QSAR in Environmental and Health Sciences to create a synergy with the journal.
I hope that after this 20th anniversary, SAR and QSAR in Environmental Research will continue to best serve our scientific community during the next decades.