Scientific publisher Nature Publishing Group (NPG), UK, has announced a publishing partnership with the Society of Polymer Science, Japan (SPSJ) to co-publish the Polymer Journal from January 2010. Under the deal, the journal will undergo development during 2009 including a redesign to create a new-look cover, new website and new article types for the re-launch.
A monthly publication, Polymer Journal covers the whole range of polymer science: polymer syntheses and reactions, polymer structures, physical properties of polymers, functional polymers, biopolymers, and polymer engineering. The journal is seen to fit well with NPG's physical sciences portfolio. Important papers related to polymer science are regularly published in NPG's flagship journal Nature, as well as in a number of other Nature-branded journals including Nature Materials, Nature Physics and Nature Nanotechnology. The partnership is also projected to fit well with the forthcoming Nature Chemistry, scheduled for launch in April 2009.
SPSJ expects to leverage NPG's strengths in the areas of editorial expertise, technologies, formats and production to provide premium information for scientific researchers in the public and private sectors, government agencies and educators. SPSJ retains its original editorial rights including copyright and editorial board appointment.
Articles from Polymer Journal will be available for free on nature.com during the second half of 2009 to introduce the polymer community worldwide to the journal. This will be followed by a full site licence and subscription publishing model from January 2010.
