New paint and a new engine (2012)

As the first issue of 2013 for the Journal of Computational Chemistry, we are excited to showcase some important new features of the continuing evolution of the journal to meet the needs of the computational chemistry community. Most visually apparent is the updated layout for articles and a more customizable cover with a brand new logo, as well as an updated layout of the printed version of the journal, which we hope will improve readability. In addition, we have improved the design of JCC's website, now featuring graphical abstracts with a brief editorial description of the paper itself, and a new cover gallery to highlight our growing collection of graphically stunning cover images. There have also been many changes “under the hood,” that are directed at improving the experience of our authors and referees. Faster acceptance-to-publication times (now only 15 working days until articles appear online), updates to our submission system, and more focused author and referee guidelines are all aimed at speeding up the publication process, and in general allowing contributors and reviewers to concentrate on the science. Our papers are now frequently featured in the online magazines materialsviews.com and chemistryviews.org, to bring your research to more interdisciplinary audiences. There have also been some changes in the editorial structure of the journal. Prof. Shigeyoshi Sakaki has stepped down as editor, and we thank him for his significant contributions to the journal over the years and wish him all the best for the future. Prof. Masahiro Ehara, of the Institute for Molecular Science, joins Profs. Brooks, Frenking, and Schreiner as the newest editor of the Journal of Computational Chemistry. Prof.Ehara is known as one of the developers of the Symmetry Adapted Cluster-Configuration Interaction (SAC-CI) method in collaboration with his PhD advisor at the time, Prof. Nakatsuji, as well as for several other contributions to the field of computational chemistry. We are sure he is going to be a great addition to the editorial team. Additionally, Prof. Schreiner has expanded his responsibilities from Software News & Updates articles to taking on more regular content and Rapid Communications. The new articles featured in this first issue of 2013 highlight an exciting mix that showcases the breadth of scope of the Journal of Computational Chemistry, as well as the great authors who choose to publish with our journal. In the coming year, we will be focusing in on several exciting areas, including special issues focused on the use of chemical shifts in biomolecule structure refinement and DFT and dispersion interactions. Finally, the Journal of Computational Chemistry continues to serve our community by providing timely and important papers to the field of computational chemistry, as indicated by the increase of its 2011 impact factor from 4.050 to 4.583. JCC retains its position as a top journal in theoretical and computational chemistry, and in conjunction with a faster time to publication and redesign, the journal is poised to deliver the very best in organic, inorganic, physical, biological, and materials computational chemistry.