MRS Communications, a new journal focused on rapid communications and high-quality, high-impact review articles across the broad materials spectrum, has been announced by the Materials Research Society (MRS). The journal will be published by MRS in partnership with Cambridge University Press.

Growth in the field of materials research over the past decade, shifting market demands, and the expanding reach of MRS—both in international and interdisciplinary scope—all provide a unique opportunity to establish this bold new publication. The journal will bring together researchers and professionals from the full range of materials fields including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and engineering to identify trends in research and play an influential role in future directions of the broad materials science community.

MRS Communications will be a full-color, online-only publication with accepted papers appearing immediately on Cambridge Journals Online (CJO) through FirstView. This affords authors an exceptionally rapid review process and time-to-publication, while also providing a swift reach to the global audience.

Short communications, ultra-short communications, commentaries, and correspondence will be accepted for publication. Authors will be encouraged to submit supplementary material and supporting multimedia files. The journal will also feature prospectives articles, which will be succinct, forward-looking reviews commissioned from “thought leaders” in the field. Key content presented by distinguished speakers at MRS meetings will also be captured.

MRS Communications is the first of many new publishing ventures expected to result from the recent partnership between MRS and Cambridge University Press. The introductory issue is scheduled for fall 2011 and will join the existing suite of industry-leading MRS publications—MRS Bulletin, Journal of Materials Research, the MRS Online Proceedings Library and Materials360^®.

“Through our valued partnership with Cambridge University Press, the launch of this journal marks another significant juncture in the new era of MRS publications,” said MRS President, Jim De Yoreo. “This will provide materials researchers worldwide with new opportunities to publish their results in a high-profile venue.”

Simon Ross, Global Journals Director at Cambridge, said, “The launch of MRS Communications embodies and demonstrates the speed at which our combined resources and capabilities has enabled us to identify and respond to the evolving needs of the materials research community. MRS Communications will be relevant and rapid and we’re confident the community will want to read it, share it, and submit to it.”

Watch MRS Bulletin and the MRS Web site in the coming months for developing news on MRS Communications and other MRS publications and services.