A new phase at NPG Asia Materials

This marks a further transformation of a publication, which was founded in 2008 upon the initiative of the Tokyo Institute of Technology and in close cooperation with NPG Nature Asia-Pacific in Tokyo.The initial aim was to increase the awareness of materials research being carried out in the Asia-Pacific region, which now contributes a substantial share of the global research output in the materials sciences.The journal began by publishing research highlights of papers coming from the region, and these were joined by review articles in 2009.During its short period of existence, the project succeeded in drawing attention to the quality and variety of materials science research in the Asia-Pacific, and in creating a sense of community among many of the scientists and engineers based in the region.The new phase brings about a few changes.It will no longer be a region-orientated journal but will publish the best articles from around the world and across all disciplines of materials science.It will continue to increase its wide audience through quality publications and being hosted on http://www.nature.comas a member of the family of NPGs academic journals.It is also an online-only, fully open access journal making the content freely available to all researchers worldwide and ensuring maximum dissemination of the research output.Among the main benefits to authors are higher citation rates and the availability of publishing articles through a Creative Com-