Highlights
NPG and Tokyo Institute of Technology launch materials website for Asia
NPG Nature Asia-Pacific, the Asia-Pacific wing of Nature Publishing Group (NPG), and a research group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology today announce a partnership to launch a new website, NPG Asia Materials. Highlighting some of the best materials research from the Asia-Pacific region. NPG Asia Materials (www.natureasia.com/asia-materials) is the precursor to a new Asian-based journal devoted to materials research.
NPG Asia Materials publishes research highlights each month, describing, in easy-to-understand terms, articles published in leading journals authored by researchers in the Asia-Pacific region. The website's scope includes materials design and synthesis, structure and properties, materials processing, as well as devices and applications.
An international Editorial Committee manages NPG Asia Materials, led by Editor-in-Chief Professor Hideo Takezoe of the Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (also known as Tokyo Tech). An Advisory Board of scientists and engineers, from the Asia-Pacific region, provides support through making recommendations of articles to highlight to the Editorial Committee. A team of experienced NPG-selected science writers produce the research highlights on these articles.
The website, hosted on NPG's Asia-Pacific website at www.natureasia.com, is the first phase of development for NPG Asia Materials. Peer-reviewed primary research and review articles will be added at a future stage to create a journal that will move on to NPG's main website at www.nature.com.
''We are delighted to be launching this website with the Tokyo Institute of Technology,'' says David Swinbanks, Publishing Director of Nature Publishing Group and CEO of NPG Nature Asia-Pacific. ''The Asia-Pacific region dominates the world's output of materials research and the quality of research is improving year on year. Our aim is to highlight some of the best published research from the Asia-Pacific as we build towards launching a new journal. Tokyo Institute of Technology, with its strengths in a broad range of materials research and related applied sciences and engineering, is an ideal partner in this endeavour.''
''This journal is supported by the Global Center of Excellence (G-COE) of materials science at Tokyo Tech,'' says Hideo Takezoe, leader of G-COE and Editor-in-Chief of NPG Asia Materials. ''The main purpose of our G-COE project is to establish a core of education and research in the Asia-Pacific region. This publication is one key step towards meeting this goal.''
NPG Asia Materials builds on NPG's strengths both in the region and in materials research, where NPG already publishes Nature Materials, the highest impact journal in the field (as ranked by Thomson Scientific ISI).
NPG Asia Materials represents another significant step forward in NPG's strategy to highlight and publish the best research in the Asia-Pacific. NPG established NPG Nature Asia-Pacific in January 2006 out of existing NPG offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Melbourne. Nature Nanotechnology was launched in October 2006 with an editor in the Tokyo office.
In January 2007, Nature Photonics was launched with its core editorial team based in Tokyo, a first for any Nature title. In February 2007, NPG launched the website Nature China, which highlights research from mainland China and Hong Kong published in leading journals. This was followed in December 2007 by A-IMBN Research, a website produced jointly with the Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network (A-IMBN) to highlight outstanding research in molecular biology and biotechnology research in the Asia-Pacific region.
-ENDS-
About NPG and NPG Nature Asia-Pacific
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd, dedicated to serving the academic, professional scientific and medical communities. NPG's flagship title, Nature, was first published in 1869. Other publications include Nature research journals, Nature Reviews, Nature Clinical Practice and a range of prestigious academic journals including society-owned publications. NPG also provides news content through Nature News. Scientific career information and free job postings are offered on Naturejobs.
NPG Nature Asia-Pacific is the Asia-Pacific wing of NPG, set up to serve the growing needs of the scientific and medical communities in the region, and has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Delhi and Melbourne. For more information, please visit www.natureasia.com.
NPG is a global company with headquarters in London and offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, Madrid, Munich, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Delhi, Mexico City and Basingstoke. For more information, please go to www.nature.com.
About The Tokyo Institute of Technology
Established in 1881, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, now also called Tokyo Tech, is internationally recognised as the largest science-and-technology based university in Japan.
The institute's highly creative education programmes have produced much sought after graduates from its three undergraduate faculties and six graduate schools, four research laboratories and numerous research/education centres.
The university's emphasis on both fundamental and applied research has played a pivotal role in Japan's scientific and technological progress. The university has been the birthplace of important scientific breakthroughs including the discovery of ferrites, pioneering work in semiconductor lasers and optical communications, and research on conductive polymers by Dr. Hideki Shirakawa, the 2000 Nobel laureate in Chemistry.
Contact details for NPG Asia Materials:
For NPG Nature Asia-Pacific
David Swinbanks
Publishing Director,Nature Publishing Group (NPG)
CEO, NPG Nature Asia-Pacific
Tokyo, Japan
T: +81 3 3267 8764
Related press releases:
Nature Publishing Group expands STM Publishing in Asia-Pacific region (9 January 2006)
Nature Publishing Group announces the launch of Nature Nanotechnology (4 October 2006)
Nature Publishing Group announces the launch of Nature Photonics (22 December 2006)
NPG launches a new web publication | Nature China (14 February 2007)
Nature Publishing Group and A-IMBN launch A-IMBN Research (3 December 2007)