Welcome, 2025

The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions. The start of a new year represents a good time to take stock of the past 12 months as well as look forward to 2025. There were two big developments that stand out for the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 2024, namely, a significant and persistent surge in submissions and the broad expansion of the board of Associate Editors. Each of the 12 months of 2024 registered a substantive increase in the volume of submitted manuscripts: for example, in January the number of submissions was substantially up, but fast forward to the end of the year and the wave continued, with a record-breaking increase in November and December. As you can imagine, this caused some internal strain to the system, as we at JACS sought to adjust. Nonetheless, we managed: as a case in point, the number of manuscripts that were sent out for review almost doubled, and we maintained our rapid turnover. With the help of ACS Publications, JACS was able to hire additional associate editors as the year progressed. Importantly, this enabled us not only to keep up with the increasing workload but also to broaden areas covered by JACS. In 2024, Prof. Panče Naumov (NYU Abu Dhabi) took on the role of Associate Editor. Additionally, we welcomed new appointments as Associate and Executive Editors that included Profs. Michelle Chang (Princeton University, USA), Eric Jacobsen (Harvard University, USA), Kanyi Pu (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), Tomislav Rovis (Columbia University, USA), Edward (Ted) Sargent (University of Toronto, Canada), John F. Hartwig (University of California Berkeley, USA), and Serena DeBeer (Max Planck Institute, Germany). As 2025 commences, the JACS Executive Editor board is expanding with the appointment of Prof. Omar Yaghi (University of California Berkeley, USA). But that’s not all! The Associate Editor and Topic Editor pool will see significant growth with the appointments of Profs. Katsuhiko Ariga (National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and The University of Tokyo, Japan), Jinwoo Cheon (Yonsei University, Center for Nanomedicine, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea), Robert Gilliard, Jr. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Anatole von Lilienfield (University of Toronto, Canada), and Linda Nazaar (University of Waterloo, Canada). Three new Associate Editors will be announced shortly, and you can expect additional appointments as the year unfolds. A breadth of experience and expertise is represented on the Editorial Board; just a few profiles are given here. Prof. Katsuhiko Ariga specializes in nanotechnology and self-assembly, working at the interface of organic and supramolecular chemistry with work focused on generation of molecular machines as mechanical sensors (https://www.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/gsfs/faculty/katsuhiko_ariga). Prof. Jinwoo Cheon works in the area of nanomedicines and focuses on the design and synthesis of inorganic-based materials that can function as nanoprobes and even actuators to control cell functions within deep tissue in living systems (https://cheongroup.yonsei.ac.kr/). Prof. Robert Gilliard, Jr., is known for pioneering work in the area of main group chemistry that has led to the discovery of new catalysts; his research program has also produced innovative boron-based luminescent and redox-active heterocycles with applications in optoelectronic devices that include stimuli-responsive and thermochromic materials along with sensors (https://gilliardlab.mit.edu/robert-gilliard-phd). Prof. Anatole von Lilienfeld integrates the use of machine learning, quantum and statistical mechanics, and high-performance computing to shed light on fundamental chemical principles, compound space, quantum machine learning, and chemical reactions (https://mse.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/professors/von-lilienfeld-anatole/). Prof. Linda Nazaar is a pioneer in solid-state electrochemistry and the development of novel materials and electrochemical energy storage devices; additionally, she couples the synthesis of innovative materials to investigating their physicochemical properties with a focus on ion and electron transport as the key to the next generation of smart materials, batteries, and energy systems (https://uwaterloo.ca/chemistry/profile/lfnazar). JACS was actively engaged in various outreach activities that aimed to connect with readers, reviewers, and authors─past, present, and future. In February 2024, JACS participated in the American Chemical Society Regional Conference for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), focused on Chemistry for Future Sustainable Societies, which took place at NYU Abu Dhabi and was hosted by JACS Associate Editor Prof. Panče Naumov. At the Spring ACS National Meeting in New Orleans (March 2024), JACS was part of a “meet the editors” session, which enabled exchange and discussions with the community. The JACS Innovation Summit in China (April 2024) was co-hosted by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and attracted more than 45,000 online views in parallel to >100 in-person attendees. JACS and JACS Au also participated in a General Meeting of the Korean Chemical Society in Suwon. In early July 2024, JACS celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) by hosting its first-ever virtual collection focused on researchers in India, highlighting significant contributions from across various interdisciplinary areas over the past 25 years. This Special Collection received special mention from Prof. C. N. R. Rao, Founder President of CRSI, during the inaugural ceremony of the 33rd CRSI National Symposium in Chemistry at IISc Bangalore. Additionally, as Editor-in-Chief, I delivered the CRSI-ACS Lecture, hosted at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd in Hyderabad, India. In late July 2024, JACS editors actively participated in an ACS Publications Symposium co-sponsored by the University of Vienna with Prof. Nuno Maulide as host; the combined efforts of ACS Catalysis, ACS Organic & Inorganic Au, Inorganic Chemistry, The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Organic Letters, Organometallics, and Organic Process Research & Development led to a highly successful in-person symposium focused on catalysis in organic synthesis, with 240 attendees and 95 poster presentations from 23 different countries. In September 2024, JACS participated in celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. An important technical development for our authors involves the increased visibility a number of our publications received as they were picked up by various press outlets. Various videos can be found at youtube.com/@AmerChemSocietyacs.org/headlinescience. As an example, a collaborative venture involving Cache DNA, Inc. (San Carlos, CA, USA) and Johnson’s Group at MIT (Cambridge, MA, USA) resulted in a publication entitled “Reversible Nucleic Acid Storage in Deconstructable Glassy Polymer Networks” (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c01925). The work reports a new technique to preserve DNA in a polymer matrix, appropriately termed T-REX, for Thermoset-REinforced Xeropreservation, drawing a link to the popular Jurassic Park movie series. The JACS work was featured in numerous write-ups, as reflected in its high altimetric score of 391, and prominently featured in an MSN story. JACS continued its highly successful “In Conversation” series with a featured interview with Prof. Vivian W. W. Yam of The University of Hong Kong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZFaRU1IKo). In the rather short period of time since its release, the video interview has harnessed in excess of 19,700 views. A more recent development is the expansion of the front-piece editorial section so that it can serve as a forum that highlights important developments in our community. For example, in June 2024, JACS featured a statement co-authored with the eminent Prof. C. N. R. Rao of the International Centre for Materials Science, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru, India, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Chemical Research Society in India (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c08246). JACS also featured two mini-editorials focused on safety by Anna L. Dunn and Debbie M. Decker and colleagues. The twin pieces (DOIs: 10.1021/jacs.4c04828 and 10.1021/jacs.4c04829) focused on how supervisors and laboratory co-workers can promote safety in the laboratory by consideration of principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect (DEIR). The authors hailed from a broad range of backgrounds: Anna L. Dunn (Process Research and Development, Merck and Co., Rahway, NJ, USA), Debbie M. Decker (retired, Department of Chemistry, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA), Kirk Hunter (retired, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, TX, USA), Ann Kimble-Hill (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University Purdue University Indiana, USA), Jennifer L. Maclachlan (PID Analyzers, LLC, Sandwich, MA, USA), Catherine Situma (Risk Management and Safety, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA), Dwayne Henry (Chemical and Biological Sciences, Montgomery College, Takoma Park, MD, USA), Daniel R. N. Jacques (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, State University of New York Brockport, Brockport, NY, USA), Patricia Redden (Department of Chemistry, Saint Peter’s University, Jersey City, NJ, USA), and Samuella B. Sigmann (retired, A. R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA). In August 2024, Prof. Emily A. Carter (Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA) published an editorial entitled “Our Role in Solving Global Challenges: An Opinion” (DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c07374), providing a personal perspective on how we scientists can make important contributions that repair and improve the world we live in. The appointment of a significant number of new editors that started in 2024 and continues through in 2025 allows JACS to adapt to the changing landscape of chemistry and to move in new directions, providing the community a vibrant forum for the dissemination of exciting, cutting-edge results in emerging areas. In addition to expanding the breadth of themes covered by JACS, the appointments widen representation in the Editorial Board to include engineers, physicists, and materials scientists alongside chemists. Consequently, JACS will remain at the forefront of disseminating first class science, true to the ACS Publications motto “Most trusted. Most cited. 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