This issue marks the beginning of the 15th year of publication for Microscopy and Microanalysis (MAM), and it is my pleasure and honor to start my tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the journal with Volume 15, 2009. The idea for this scientific journal originated during Charles Lyman's term as president of the Microscopy Society of America in 1991, and in 1992 a peer-reviewed demonstration issue was published as vol. 22, no. 1 of the MSA Bulletin. After evaluating several publishing formats, a new peer-reviewed journal was launched in 1995 as the Journal of the Microscopy Society of America. When Springer-Verlag became the publisher in 1997, the title of the journal was changed to Microscopy and Microanalysis. In 2002, publication moved to Cambridge University Press (CUP) and in 2006 the CUP Managing Editor, Ed Barnas, and the MAM Editor-in-Chief, Charles Lyman, moved manuscript submission for the journal to the electronic submission site “Manuscript Central” operated by ScholarOne. At the end of 2008, Charles Lyman retired from the journal having served as MAM Editor for 12 years and Editor-in-Chief for 9 years.
Over the years MAM has evolved to become one of the leading international microscopy journals with an impact factor consistently ranking among the top of all microscopy/imaging related journals. The journal currently has the largest paid subscription of all microscopy journals, is the official journal of nine microscopy societies, and is published in affiliation with four other microscopy societies as indicated on the inside cover page. These outstanding accomplishments are due to the hard work of my predecessors, Founding Editor Jean-Paul Revel and the previous Editors-in-Chief Dale Johnson and Charles Lyman. My hope is that I can follow in their footsteps and continue the progress and success of Microscopy and Microanalysis.
In addition to the change in the Editor-in-Chief position, John Mansfield from the University of Michigan will be joining the Editors as a replacement for Charles Lyman in the area of microanalysis. John will be responsible for selecting reviewers and processing papers in this important area of instrumentation and research. In addition, Aaron Johnson of CUP has replaced Ed Barnas as the CUP Managing Editor for MAM. I would like to thank Charles and Ed for the endless hours they have spent in moving our journal forward and welcome John to his new position on the editorial staff.
The aim of Microscopy and Microanalysis will continue to be the publication of timely reviews and original research papers in all application areas that utilize microscopy and microanalysis techniques. These include imaging applications in the biological and biomedical sciences, the physical sciences, and the development of instrumentation for imaging. The journal also provides a forum for the publication of full and detailed manuscripts that describe new and innovative techniques that many discipline-oriented journals will not publish. Associated with acceptance of papers are early online publication and the opportunity to publish full color and supplemental video materials on the CUP website. As you consider your many publishing options, I hope your journal of choice will be Microscopy and Microanalysis, and I encourage all of you to submit your work via our online manuscript submission site (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mam).
I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead as the Editor-in-Chief of Microscopy and Microanalysis. If you have any suggestions or comments concerning how to improve the journal, I encourage you to send these to me or to other members of our editorial board.
