Greetings from the new Editor-in-Chief

As I begin my tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (JPCM), I look upon this opportunity as both an honour and a real challenge. The journal is in great shape thanks to the work of my predecessors, Marshall Stoneham and David Ferry. The journal's solid reputation is based largely on the work these gentlemen have done over the past decade. The other main reason for the success of JPCM is the amazing staff in Bristol; keep up the good work, please. When discussing the journal with scientists from all corners of the globe, one thing is always mentioned—JPCM is a very reliable journal with well-written, high-quality papers, and a fast but rigorous peer-review process that provides fair, detailed and constructive referee reports for the benefit of authors. This is due almost entirely to our great authors and referees; we rely on them every day—thank you. As the new Editor-in-Chief I hope to continue to improve still further the journal's status in condensed matter science. As mentioned above, our reputation is excellent, but the reality is that we live in a world of bibliometrics and rankings. Over the past few years JPCM has been repositioned as a journal at the forefront of condensed matter physics, and the impact of the journal should increase further as a result of continued emphasis on commissioning in cutting-edge areas identified by the Editorial Board and the journal team. In addition to regular papers, JPCM has a number of other content streams that authors and readers can benefit from. Fast track communications (FTCs) offer exceptionally fast publication for work of the highest impact and urgency. By their select nature, FTCs benefit from personal treatment by the Editorial Board and the average receipt-to-first-decision time is just 11 days (the average receipt-to-publication time is just 45 days). Topical reviews in JPCM make the journal one of the most authoritative sources of review content for condensed matter physics. Different from a traditional review, these can highlight emerging areas in the field, alerting our readers to new opportunities. Topical reviews can also serve to highlight experimental tools that can assist researchers. Special issues are a compilation of invited papers on a selected topic from authors selected by guest editors and approved by the Editorial Board. This concentration of high-quality, original papers draws attention to all the papers in a special issue. These issues should not be considered as conference proceedings, and all papers go through our excellent review procedures and must comply with the usual strict criteria applied to regular papers in JPCM. Expanding these programs will be a high priority of mine. Other mechanisms that will draw attention to the journal and individual papers include the use of multimedia, our annual highlights compilation, our excellent web presence and the introduction of open-access articles. Authors can also benefit from extra promotion of their work via LabTalk, IOP Select and personalized 'recommended reader' campaigns. A challenge for JPCM is to ensure that it is at the forefront in terms of online tools and article presentation. The first step has been taken with the introduction of 'article evolution'—an enhanced HTML for all articles that will provide a new and interactive user experience for the benefit of our authors and readers (for further information, visit iopscience.iop.org/info/page/articleevolution). Many new features are available, such as being able to zoom in and out of images and export them to Powerpoint. MathJax technology has been incorporated, improving the rendering of mathematics, and a mobile view of abstract and article pages is also available. This format will be developed on an ongoing basis in response to the demands of the community. I therefore encourage you to contact me, or the journal team, with any feedback you may have regarding this new article format and how it can be improved. Finally, as mentioned above, a great deal of our success depends on our readers and authors. I hope that you continue to see JPCM as a great resource and that you consider the journal in your research on a daily basis.