We are pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater as the new Editor-in-Chief of Molbank (ISSN: 1422-8599).

Name: Prof. Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater
Affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, 55 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269-3060, USA
Interests: methodology for organic synthesis; green chemistry; photocatalysis; electrochemistry; computational chemistry; reaction monitoring; chemical education

Prof. Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater studied in the United Kingdom and gained his first academic position at King’s College London. In 2003, he moved to the United States, becoming an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut, where he is now a Full Professor. His research interests focus on cleaner, greener methods of making molecules. Moreover, he is committed to training the chemists of tomorrow by providing them with exposure to state-of-the-art chemical transformations, equipment, and educational tools. He has authored over 200 research articles, the majority of which are co-authored with undergraduate students.

Indeed, we are confident that his vision and leadership will steer Molbank towards new heights of success.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views on the unique nature of the journal:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Editor-in-Chief?
Molbank is a unique journal in that it allows chemists to report the preparation of compounds that might otherwise have not seen the light of day. The reports are short, focused, and interesting. When looking at the impact and number of published papers per year, Molbank compares well to other leading open access journals in organic chemistry. Having published in the journal and become more involved as a reviewer and then as an Associate Editor, I have enjoyed my experience. Taking on the role of Editor-in-Chief opens an exciting avenue for me and also allows me to give back to the scientific community of which I am a part.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
Given the unique nature of Molbank, I think it holds a very special position in the realm of chemistry journals. I want to build on this by increasing both submissions and visibility. I also plan to bring a number of new Associate Editors onto the team, each of whom will bring a unique skillset. With the advent of new characterization tools, as well as new preparative methods, publishing articles that intersect with these and other state-of-the-art approaches will be something of interest. This includes the application of mechanochemistry, electrochemistry, photochemistry, and flow-processing as tools.

3. Do you think that the “One-Compound-Per-Paper” short-note type of Molbank journal can attract the attention of more scholars, and how do we promote our advantages?
The "One-Compound-Per-Paper" model is essentially unique to Molbank. It is something that is of interest to organic chemists both in terms of submitting to the journal and also reading it. In essence, “lost compounds” or molecules made by a new route can be reported. I know that I have adopted some of these compounds and routes into my chemistry research, and they have sparked my interest in exploring new chemical space. I believe this is the same for other practitioners. By publicizing the journal both online through search engines and chemical databases, and at conferences, the advantages can be brought to the fore.

We welcome Prof. Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater as Editor-in-Chief of Molbank and look forward to achieving many milestones under his leadership.