Abstract
It is a pleasure and an honour for me to be taking over as Editor-in-Chief of Measurement Science and Technology. MST is well known across research communities worldwide as a leading journal in which to publish new techniques and instrumentation. It has gained this enviable position largely because of the excellent guidance of its Editorial Board and dedicated staff at Institute of Physics Publishing over many years. I want to highlight in particular the contribution of the outgoing Editor Peter Hauptmann, and other Editors before him, in making the journal truly international. We thank Peter immensely for all his hard work in leading the journal, having exceptionally served two terms, each of five years.
I come into the post of Editor at a very interesting and challenging time for research. The global recession is leading to cuts in research funding in many countries, researchers and their outputs are coming under closer scrutiny than ever before, and more is being expected of them. Journals play a critical role in monitoring and maintaining research standards, but we should be careful not to assume that journal Impact Factor is the sole measure of research quality. Although expediency may sometimes demand it, Impact Factor, as practitioners know, is subject dependent. One of the great things about science and technology for me is its level playing field. The key point is still innovation no matter where the work is done or where it is published.
MST has a long pedigree of being the natural home of the highest quality papers from leading researchers wishing to report novel instrumentation and techniques. 2013 will mark the 90th anniversary of MST and we look forward to celebrating in style its sustained success. I recall with pride the first paper I published in Journal of Physics E: Scientific Instruments (as MST was previously titled) back in 1977. The paper reported the design and application of an early fluorescence lifetime spectrometer that I had constructed for my PhD in the Department of Physics at the University of Manchester.
Since that time I have witnessed many changes in instrumentation and techniques. I believe that I have been fortunate in not spending all of my time in a university. Having worked in or with industry throughout my career I have been able to see the trends from the perspective of both sectors. In my area of fluorescence spectroscopy I have seen the cost of systems fall in real terms, the performance rise, an increased need for user-friendly software and less emphasis on performance specification when customers decide which instrument to purchase. Such trends, no doubt replicated in other areas, reflect the migration of system instrumentation away from being the preserve of the specialist to much wider use and customization across the disciplines and skill-set. MST has embraced this change through its multidisciplinary remit in Special Features, Topical Reviews, Rapid Communications, Perspectives and regular Papers.
These days there is much more of a partnership between industry and academia in research and this is to be applauded in these challenging times. I want to encourage contributions to MST from industry as well as academia, as MST is the ideal place to showcase the latest innovation from inception to commercial exploitation.
Backed by one of the premier learned societies, the Institute of Physics, I have no doubt that MST will continue in its success and I look forward to helping to advance its high standing to even greater heights.