Power to the future

You cannot pick-up a popular scientific periodical these days, such as Materials Today or the New Scientist, without finding some news on energy related research. The editorial team on Materials Today are seeing a significant surge in interest and high quality research papers appearing on energy related topics. Whether it be new materials in the generation of energy, storage, improved performance or policy, energy is definitely here to stay, as the worlds energy needs continue to increase and our conventional energy sources become even further strained.

To further facilitate research and discovery in the field Deborah Logan our Publishing Director in Materials Science is launching a new journal in 2012 with Prof Zhong Lin Wang from the Georgia Institute of Technology on Nano Energy. You can actually hear more from Professor Wang and the journal by listening to the podcast between Professor Wang and Dr Stewart Bland, Assistant Editor on Materials Today.www.materialstoday.com/podcasts. You can also find our podcasts through your iTunes account, search for materials today. You can find out more information about Nano Energy by visitingwww.materialstoday.com/view/21675/nano-energy/

Professor Zhong will launch Nano Energy at the Fall MRS meeting so please come along to meet him. We will host a meet the Editor-in-Chief event at our stand on Tuesday 29th December from 3pm where you can come along and chat with professor Zhong and enjoy some cheese and wine. The same evening we'll have a more formal reception to launch the journal at the Sheraton hotel from 6.30–8.30pm. To attend just pick up an invitation from our stand during the day.

Turning to this month's issue our lead authors Jerry D. Murphy and Thanasit Thamsiriroj look for a single solution in the replacement of petroleum products with renewable transport fuels. Their lively paper entitled “what will fuel transport systems of the future” makes fascinating reading.

Our second paper by Aaron D. LaLonde et al. looks at thermoelectric power generation. The growth in interest in this amazing material has been phenomenal and the authors look at its application in waste heat recovery.

Meilin Liu et al. bring us up to date with new advances and tools in solid oxide fuel cells.

Whilst Sergei Kalinin et al. look at the optimization of energy storage and conversion materials by understanding better their ionic and electrochemical functionality. Kalinin et al. use electrochemical strain microscopy in the studies of Li-ion cathode and anode materials.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Materials Today and if you are travelling to the Fall MRS meeting in Boston do drop by our stand and say hello, we look forward to welcoming you!