A new journal, Energy & Environmental Science, will be launched in summer 2008 by RSC Publishing. The announcement was made at the recent MRS Fall meeting in Boston, US, attended by RSC staff.

'The challenges relating to energy and environmental science that face the world today are complex,' said Robert Parker, managing director of RSC Publishing. 'From alternative fuels to environmental impacts, climate change to energy conversion and storage - research in the chemical sciences underpins all the work that is so important to the future of our world. RSC Publishing recognises the significance of this area by launching Energy & Environmental Science.'

The journal will link all aspects of the chemical sciences by publishing research relating to energy conversion and storage, alternative fuel technologies, and environmental science. The monthly issues will contain topical reviews and original research as communications and full papers. Editor Philip Earis, announcing the appointment of Nathan Lewis of Caltech as editorial board chair, said: 'We're delighted to have such a prestigious scientist driving the journal forward.'

By recognising the complexity of issues and challenges relating to energy and environmental science, it is expected that the journal will provide a forum for work of an interdisciplinary nature across both the (bio)chemical sciences and chemical engineering disciplines.

Less than three years after the first ever publication in 2005 - Molecular BioSystems is now officially off and running as a solo publication.

Successes since launch include being indexed in MEDLINE, its first impact factor of 2.45,¹ rapid publication times of around 80 days from receipt to publication of papers, and extra online features such as enhanced HTML articles via RSC Prospect and 3D visualisation of complex molecules. 

From January 2008, Molecular BioSystems is available with a subscription or as part of RSC Journals Package A/A+.

Published by RSC Publishing in 2005, Elegant Solutions: Ten Beautiful Experiments in Chemistry has received widespread critical acclaim. Philip Ball has won several awards himself, including the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, awarded by the American Chemical Society in 2006. Philip is also a regular contributor to Chemistry World, with his column, "The Crucible".