The Road to Success

Abstract

Macromolecular Materials and Engineering has its eyes firmly on the road to success, making great progress in 2019. It received an impact factor of 3.038, the highest value in its 20-year history, and we expect another increase this year in 2020. Submissions climbed to nearly 900, ca. 15% more than in 2018, and the number of times published papers were downloaded by interested readers increased by a remarkable 55%. We also had some changes in 2019 with respect to open access publication. A landmark agreement was signed in January 2019 between Wiley and Projekt DEAL which provides Open Access publication and read access to most of Wiley's journals for a vast majority of German academic institutions. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, together with its sister journals in the Macromolecular family, is covered by this agreement. It allows corresponding authors based at participating German institutions to publish their articles in our journals under an Open Access license, with the costs covered by their institutions under this agreement. Learn more about the agreement with Projekt DEAL here and find out if your institution is already a part of this program here. The personal journey of Macromolecular Materials and Engineering intersects with the broader journey of polymer science. Polymers have revolutionized the way we live; our lives cannot nowadays be imagined without them, and this year marks 100 years since Hermann Staudinger first published the concept of polymerization in 1920. This anniversary is a particularly important milestone for the Macromolecular journals, because they all branched off from the journal founded by Hermann Staudinger himself in 1943, then titled Journal für Makromolekulare Chemie, soon becoming Makromolekulare Chemie, now known as Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering joined this family in 2000. We want to celebrate this 100-year anniversary with four virtual issues that look at past and present achievements in polymer science. Hosted by Angewandte Chemie, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Healthcare Materials, and Advanced Materials, the four issues will include the most important breakthroughs published in a large number of Wiley journals, with a focus on polymer chemistry, sustainability, healthcare, and technology. These virtual issues can be accessed at www.chemistryviews.org/polymer100, and will of course include contributions from Macromolecular Materials and Engineering. Beside the virtual issues, we will be sponsoring conferences to celebrate the anniversary, such as the Staudinger Symposium in Freiburg, organized by the German Chemical Society, and the Wiley Polymer Symposium, organized by Jilin University, China. We trust that our dear authors, readers, and reviewers of Macromolecular Materials and Engineering will join us in these celebration activities for the 100th birthday of polymer science, and we look forward to continuing our journey with you. Bo Weng Kirsten Severing