Editorial: Changes to the journal and appointment of a new Co-Editor

It has been two and a half years since this journal was launched in January 2007, and the number of submissions has grown steadily. In keeping with the continued growth of the journal as well as that of the microfluidics and nanofluidics community, the editorial team is constantly thinking of ways to both improve the quality of the journal and better serve the community. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I announce several new initiatives that will be introduced to Biomicrofluidics. First, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Leslie Yeo as the new Co-Editor of Biomicrofluidics. Dr. Yeo is considered as one of the young rising stars in the field and has a high profile among microfluidics researchers in the Pacific Rim region. His research group, the Micro∕Nanophysics Research Laboratory at Monash University, is arguably the top microfluidics research group in Australia, among the best in Asia–Pacific, and is currently the leading research group worldwide in surface acoustic wave microfluidics. Dr. Yeo is also no stranger to Biomicrofluidics, having served on the Editorial Board when the journal was launched beginning 2007 and as Associate Editor since January 2008. During this time, Dr. Yeo has tirelessly sought to promote the journal in many different ways; soliciting and handling submissions for several special issues, and introducing creative ways to enhance the visibility and quality of the journal. Second, the following three new sections are to be added to the existing Regular Articles section currently published by the journal in order for Biomicrofluidics to adapt to the rapidly evolving needs of the community. The Brief Communications section, with contributions limited to five published pages each (including figures and tables), consists of short reports of significant new research findings that constitute a complete body of work. Preliminary work or incomplete data sets, as well as publication of a series of short articles by the same research group on a particular topic, are therefore discouraged. The Perspectives and Review Articles sections consist of colloquia that serve to provide an in-depth overview or the anticipated future directions of a particular topic of importance or growth within the field. Papers in these sections are usually solicited from leading researchers in the subject area, although the editors welcome proposals from prospective authors. The Fabrication and Laboratory Methods section is intended to provide a forum for the publication of classical and novel recipes and improvements to fabrication and laboratory techniques associated with microfluidics and nanofluidics and also to those techniques that pertain to chemical and biological applications of lab-on-a-chip devices. Protocols are usually solicited from leading researchers in the field, although the editors welcome proposals from prospective authors. As with the rest of the journal articles, the protocols will carry full citation details. To kick start the section, we have commissioned a novel laboratory method protocol on the use of laser Doppler vibrometry for the spectroscopy of capillary wave vibration and a classical tried-and-tested procedure for the fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic chips. Articles in all sections will be rigorously peer reviewed in accordance with the usual high standards of AIP journals. We hope these changes will be beneficial to you, the researcher, and we welcome your comments as these and other initiatives continue to be rolled out. Please feel free to contact us at biomf@aip.org.