Smart Materials &
Structures
Featured Journal Interview
A recent analysis of
Essential Science IndicatorsSMfrom
Thomson
Reuters noted an
increasing impactof the
journal Smart Materials & Structures in
the field of Engineering. The journal's current record
includes 1,719 papers cited a total of 10,240 times
between January 1, 1999 and April 30, 2009, placing it
among the top 100 journals in this field.
Founded in 1992, Smart Materials & Structures
is published by IOP Publishing, and its
Editor-in-Chief is Dr. Ephrahim Garcia.
In the interview below,
Publisher Mrs. Natasha Leeper talks with
ScienceWatch.com
on behalf of Dr. Garcia about the journal's history and
citation record.
Did you expect Smart Materials &
Structures to become highly cited, or is this surprising to
you?
We had been keeping an eye on citations of recently published articles and
so were cautiously optimistic before the 2008
Journal Citation Report® Impact
Factors were published by Clarivate. Of course we were delighted
by the increase in Impact Factor of 15% to 1.743 this year—the
culmination of a great deal of hard work to raise the quality of the
journal.
We are confident that the rigor of our peer-review process which, coupled
with proactive editorial activity aimed at attracting articles in the most
cutting-edge areas of smart materials, systems, and structures, has ensured
this journal is top in its field.
How would you account for the increased citation
rate of Smart Materials & Structures?
Since its launch in 1992, the journal has enjoyed a leading position in the
field of smart materials, systems, and structures, with a steady flow of
articles. However, a few years ago we at IOP Publishing made several
changes to the way we managed the journal. We brought the management of
submitted articles in-house to use our sophisticated editorial management
system in line with our other successful journals. The administration of
the peer-review process is now conducted by the publisher. The
Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors are able to assess submissions,
choose referees, read reports, and make editorial decisions via an online
facility.
This had a significant effect on our publication times, which now average
four or five months from submission to online publication—much
quicker than most of our competitors and very much appreciated by our
authors. This significant improvement in the all-important publication time
has attracted leading researchers to publish their research.
"...all articles are completely free
to read online for the first month after
publication, maximizing their visibility and
ensuring that the whole community has
immediate access to them."
We have also embarked on several campaigns to market the journal and raise
the visibility of its papers, including an increased presence at
conferences and improved contact with authors and readers.
Was there a change in policy or editorial direction that
might account for this?
Two years ago, Dr. Ephrahim Garcia at Cornell University took on the role
of Editor-in-Chief. Under his guidance, we encouraged the Associate Editors
on the Editorial Board to play a much more active role in making editorial
decisions on articles in their area of expertise. The greater involvement
of the Board has been invaluable. The Associate Editors are an excellent
source of advice for this multidisciplinary journal, and we thank them for
their professionalism and integrity.
The knock-on effect of these recent improvements has been a year-on-year
growth in submissions. As a result of this, the journal doubled in
frequency in 2009 to 12 issues, while at the same time increasing its
rejection rate to almost 60%.
What historical factors have contributed to the success
of Smart Materials & Structures?
We can not forget the dedication and contribution of the previous
Editors-in-Chief, Professor V.K. Varadan and Professor R. Claus, who
launched the journal 17 years ago, and under whose leadership the journal
established itself in the community and maintained a recognized high
standard.
Have there been specific developments in the fields
served by Smart Materials & Structures that may have
contributed?
The journal’s contribution to the fields of energy harvesting
(conversion of ambient energy into useful electrical energy), structural
health monitoring (the damage detection and active monitoring of structural
integrity in the aerospace and civil engineering industries), shape memory
materials (which have numerous wide-ranging applications), and wireless
sensor networks has remained strong—and indeed it is research in
these areas that has been well cited.
What, in your view, is this journal’s main significance or
contribution in the field of Engineering?
The journal offers a platform to publish all areas of "smart" design,
including structures integrating sensors and actuators, control systems,
smart electronics, optics and electromagnetics, as well as smart materials,
like shape memory alloys, magnetorheological fluids, piezoelectric
materials, and electroactive polymers, such as ionic polymer-metal
composites, to name but a few.
We support our authors with fast publication times, a fair and rigorous
peer-review process, a user-friendly electronic submission and article
tracking service, free online color, and no page charges. Most
significantly, however, all articles are completely free to read online for
the first month after publication, maximizing their visibility and ensuring
that the whole community has immediate access to them.
How do you see your field(s) evolving in the next few
years?
This is an exciting time for this area of engineering. Researchers continue
to create new materials, methods of transduction, controls and systems, and
all manner of devices which react intelligently to their environment.
Emerging topics such as bio-inspired engineering, energy harvesting, and
structures encompassing new technologies, such as micro- and nanotechnology
will be the hot areas to watch.
What role do you see for your journal?
Our editorial activity is aimed at continuing to position ourselves at the
very state-of-the-art of smart materials, systems, and structures, and to
be the first place that our diverse community of researchers visits for the
most cutting-edge research in the field. Occasionally the journal will
publish topical special issues linked to high-quality conferences as well
as invited topical reviews in areas of particular interest and importance.
The multidisciplinary element of this journal is unique and we will
continue to embrace this perspective in the journal by welcoming papers on
material science, micro- and nanotechnology, and controls and systems
engineering.
Smart Materials and Structures Dr. Ephrahim Garcia,
Editor-in-Chief
Mrs. Natasha Leeper, Publisher
IOP Publishing, publishers