The document summarizes the new editor-in-chief's vision for Applied Physics Letters journal. It discusses that the journal has a long history of publishing important breakthroughs in applied physics. The new editor aims to expand the journal's global reach, ensure diversity in its editorial board and advisory board, help authors better communicate the significance of their work, create new avenues for emerging scientists to provide perspectives, and introduce new sections in emerging areas like quantum technologies and materials. The editor believes these efforts will strengthen the journal's impact and position it as the place to publish important letters in fields addressing modern challenges.

1. Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 010401 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5115767 115, 010401
© 2019 Author(s).
View from the Bridge
Cite as: Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 010401 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5115767
Submitted: 19 June 2019 . Accepted: 19 June 2019 . Published Online: 01 July 2019
Lesley F. Cohen
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2. View from the Bridge
Cite as: Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 010401 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5115767
Submitted: 19 June 2019 . Accepted: 19 June 2019 .
Published Online: 1 July 2019
Lesley F. Cohen
AFFILIATIONS
Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5115767
Applied Physics Letters has served the applied physics community
over many decades. It has a long and established history and remains
one of the most highly cited journals in the applied physics category.
For my own part, I published my first APL in 1998 and have contin-
ued to do so consistently throughout the intervening years. Indeed,
one could say that APL has served as an excellent platform, helping
me to establish my own academic career. For scientists who choose to
focus their efforts on resolution of real functional problems, it remains
the journal of choice. It is as much this track record, as well as my own
personal affection for the journal, that spurred me to accept the role as
the incoming Editor-in-Chief. It is an honor and privilege to do so and
to take on the mantle of responsibility, acting as the gatekeeper for the
journal over the coming five years.
I take over from Reuben Collins, who has been dedicated and
courageous in his efforts to ensure that the journal retains its status
within our community. He has built a fantastic team of editors around
him and together they have worked hard over the last five years to safe-
guard and enhance the journal’s reputation, improving editorial rigor,
introducing invited editorials, taking great care over ethical issues, and
having the satisfaction of seeing a sustained increase in impact factor.
The goal of the journal is to have longevity and strong metrics such as
the cited half-life, which for APL is 9 years, reflecting the fact that the
articles published have a long-lasting effect on the scholarly literature.
When key breakthroughs in applied physics are reported, wherever in
the world that is, it is quite usual to find that core steps to that break-
through have been recorded in Applied Physics Letters.
Moving forward, one must recognize that there are many chal-
lenges today for an educational not-for-profit journal that aims to
serve a wide international community. Journal reputation and longev-
ity are admirable qualities, but no longer sufficient in this increasingly
complex landscape. The scope of Applied Physics Letters is broad, and
this is a strength, but we must become more agile in this rapidly
changing environment and make sure that we are serving the new
communities of young scientists in ways they would expect, as well as
retain our loyalty to our long established family of authors. These
form important components of my future plans for the journal.
Applied Physics Letters will of course continue to report leading edge
scientific and technological breakthroughs across established and
emerging fields, in a consistent and timely manner, and it is my vision
that it will serve a wider global community of innovators communicat-
ing next-step solutions to today’s societal problems.
My first steps will be toward connecting with the editorial team,
taking on board their thoughts on how to move the journal forward,
and working closely with AIP Publishing to implement new directions.
The journal is fortunate to also have an extensive and academically
impressive advisory board and I aim to work closely with them,
actively engaging them in our future mission. Looking ahead, I will
want to ensure that both the editorial team and the advisory board
reflect our diverse scientific community in terms of race, gender, and
geography. I plan to review how best to help authors improve the qual-
ity and reach of their manuscripts so that their work achieves maxi-
mum impact. In order to advance this initiative, I see great value in
asking authors to reflect on the significance and impact of their work,
and communicate how their contribution moves the field forward
both in their cover letter and in their manuscript. I plan to create a
new communication pathway, inviting many more emerging scientific
leaders to provide their perspective on areas of scientific importance.
Indeed, it is my vision that through these perspectives, APL will pro-
vide the trajectory for the younger community of scientists to have
influence in shaping their field. For breakthrough leading edge results,
we will expand Fast Track—our vehicle to aid the submission-to-pub-
lication journal within 50 days—to ensure its papers are treated with
the same editorial rigor as for all our papers. Papers selected in these
ways will be flagged on our website and widely highlighted using our
wider media facilities. Finally, it is my intention to introduce new table
of contents sections to the journal, the most pressing areas being the
expanding areas of Quantum Technologies and Quantum Materials.
These efforts aim to strengthen and expand the impact of the journal,
broadcasting to the wider community that Applied Physics Letters is
the fitting place to publish leading edge breakthrough letters in emerg-
ing topical areas that reflect the needs and challenges of the modern
world.
Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 010401 (2019); doi: 10.1063/1.5115767 115, 010401-1
Published under license by AIP Publishing
Applied Physics Letters EDITORIAL scitation.org/journal/apl