Nature Materials

Nature Materials
Title	Nature Materials
Discipline	Materials science
Abbreviation	Nat. Mater.
Editor	Victoria Bateman
Publisher	Nature Portfolio
Country	United Kingdom
History	2002–present
Frequency	Monthly
Impact	88.7 (2023)

Nature Materials is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering advances in materials science, with an emphasis on high-impact experimental and theoretical work bridging physics, chemistry, and engineering. Launched in the early 21st century, the journal quickly became influential among researchers affiliated with institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, and Max Planck Society. The publication is produced by Springer Nature and is part of a portfolio that includes titles like Nature (journal), Nature Physics, and Nature Chemistry.

History

The journal was established in 2002 amid a period when research from laboratories at Bell Labs, IBM Research, and Stanford University was driving rapid progress in nanotechnology and biomaterials. Early editorial leadership included figures who had previously contributed to editorial boards at Nature (journal) and Science (journal), and the launch was contemporaneous with the expansion of specialty titles such as Nature Nanotechnology and Nature Biotechnology. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s the journal published papers from research groups at Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, and Fudan University, reflecting the globalization of materials research associated with initiatives like the Human Genome Project-era investments in interdisciplinary science. Editorial transitions aligned with shifting priorities such as sustainability agendas championed by organizations like the United Nations Environment Programme and funding patterns from agencies including the National Science Foundation and European Research Council.

Scope and focus

The journal emphasizes cross-disciplinary work that connects advances at institutions like Argonne National Laboratory, Riken, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to applications in sectors represented by companies such as Toyota, Samsung, and Intel Corporation. Topics commonly addressed include nanostructured materials from groups at Columbia University and Peking University; two-dimensional materials inspired by discoveries from University of Manchester; biomaterials linked to research at Johns Hopkins University and Karolinska Institutet; energy materials studied at Imperial College London and Tsinghua University; and electronic materials related to work at Bell Labs and Nokia Research Center. The scope bridges methodologies developed in laboratories associated with CERN-scale instrumentation, synchrotron facilities like Diamond Light Source and Advanced Photon Source, and computational platforms such as those funded by DARPA and operated by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

Editorial and publication process

Manuscripts are handled by an editorial team with connections to editorial offices in London and reviewers drawn from academia and national laboratories including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Peer review engages scientists from universities like ETH Zurich, University of Tokyo, and Seoul National University, and follows standards similar to those at journals such as Science (journal) and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The journal offers formats including Letters and Reviews, and coordinates with databases maintained by organizations like CrossRef and indexing services operated by Clarivate. Publication decisions have attracted scrutiny from research policy analysts at institutions like RAND Corporation and watchdogs such as Committee on Publication Ethics.

Impact and reception

The journal's high citation metrics place it among elite scientific outlets alongside Nature (journal), Cell (journal), and Science (journal), and it has influenced research agendas at universities including MIT, Oxford University, and Yale University. Policy-makers and industrial R&D leaders at firms like General Electric and Siemens monitor its publications to inform roadmaps such as those published by International Energy Agency and standards bodies like IEEE. Criticism has come from scholars examining publication pressure at institutions represented by the Wellcome Trust and debates over open access policies advocated by groups like Plan S and funders including the European Commission.

Notable papers and contributions

Articles published in the journal have reported breakthroughs related to graphene research that built on work from University of Manchester laureates, perovskite solar-cell advances connected to researchers at Yonsei University and University of Oxford, and polymer discoveries with ties to groups at University of Massachusetts Amherst and ETH Zurich. The journal has hosted influential reviews synthesizing work relevant to the Materials Genome Initiative and reports that have been cited by technology transfer offices at institutions such as Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley. Highly cited studies include demonstrations of topological insulators related to work at Princeton University and quantum materials tied to experiments at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Indexing and access

The journal is indexed in major services managed by organizations like Clarivate, Scopus (Elsevier), and PubMed (NCBI), and its content appears in institutional repositories at universities including Columbia University and University of Michigan. Access is available via subscription through publishers like Springer Nature and through licensing agreements used by consortia such as CARL and JISC. Open-access options and hybrid models reflect broader debates involving funders like the Wellcome Trust and mandates from governmental bodies such as the National Institutes of Health.

Category:Scientific journals Category:Materials science journals