Japan-Switzerland collaboration on publishing an open-access journal, Science and Technology of Advanced Materials

On 27 January 2014, the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS, Japan) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa, Switzerland) have signed a 5-year collaborative agreement on co-publishing the open access journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (STAM, ISSN 1468-6996). Both NIMS and Empa are the leading materials science research institutes in their respective countries with histories spanning more than half a century.

STAM was founded in 2000, and in 2008, NIMS took over the management of its peer review and financial systems that resulted in a continuous rise of the impact factor from 1.267 in 2008 to 3.752 in 2012. Accepted articles are made available online within an open-access platform by the Institute of Physics Publishing, UK.

Since January 2014, Empa has joined NIMS in the editorial management of STAM. Professor Gian Luca Bona, the CEO of Empa, has agreed to act as a STAM Regional Editor, whereas Professor Harald Krug, a member of Empa’s Board of Directors, will become the new Co-Editor-in-Chief. Says Professor Gian Luca Bona, “It is our intention to attract high-impact contributions from Europe and the US to STAM and thus make the journal one of the world’s leading publications in materials science. What’s more, we plan to extend the scope of the journal to cover new technology areas such as the use of novel materials for medical applications; this, we think, will greatly enhance the visibility and the overall appeal of STAM.” Professor Ushioda, president of NIMS, welcomes Empa's participation and adds that “Empa will provide new opportunities for STAM to attract high-impact contributions from Europe and US, thus Empa's big step towards supporting STAM will make the journal more respectable and improve its global outreach. STAM is expected to cover traditional materials science fields with an accent on energy and environmental issues, but it is also expanding in new areas such as medical and bioengineering applications, where Empa has a significant expertise. I firmly believe that Empa's participation in publishing the open-access journal STAM will reinforce its position as a journal with a global audience.”

The NIMS-Empa agreement will provide additional momentum and opportunities for the journal's further development. In particular, it will increase the visibility of STAM in Europe and attract new authors and reviewers. Empa will also set up a STAM editorial office in Switzerland, which will act as the journal’s hub in Europe.

• Aims of the collaborative publishing
  NIMS and Empa join efforts in developing a flagship journal that provides high-quality information on recent developments in materials science within an open-access platform. The collaboration will strengthen the position of STAM in Europe and provide additional human and financial resources for the journal expansion.
• About NIMS
  NIMS is an independent administrative institution that was established to improve the level of materials science and technology in Japan; it is one of the largest and most internationalized research institutes in the country. Research at NIMS is focused on establishing techniques for designing, developing and characterizing novel materials, as well as on discovering new functions of traditional materials through innovative approaches. NIMS has a traditionally strong base in metals, ceramics, superconductors and wide-bandgap semiconductors, and is strengthening its expertise in organic and biological materials.
• About Empa
  As an interdisciplinary research institute of the ETH Domain, Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, conducts cutting-edge materials and technology research. Empa’s research activities focus on meeting the requirements of industry and the needs of society, and thus link application-oriented research to the practical implementation of new ideas. As a result, Empa is capable of providing its partners with customized services and solutions that not only enhance their innovative edge and competitiveness, but also help to improve the quality of life for the public at large. Through an efficient technology transfer, Empa is turning research results into marketable innovations.