Energy and sustainability: A historical moment for the nation and the world

Abstract

Last month, we were elated to learn that the climate and energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act will speed greenhouse gas mitigation and put the US on track to deliver the intended target for 2035. The bill includes $369 billion in climate and energy provisions that will transform how the nation gets its energy and shape the country’s climate and industrial policy for decades. It is indeed a historical moment. MRS Energy & Sustainability was launched as a reviews-only journal in 2014. The Materials Research Society (MRS) has a long track record of recognizing the scientific, technological, and sociological complexity relating to energy, the environment, and sustainability. The birth of the journal 8 years ago was motivated by the Society’s vision as a global organization of materials researchers that promotes communication for the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and technology to improve the quality of life. Naturally, energy and sustainability are at the core of our quality of life. Since I became the Editor-in-Chief of the journal in 2018, my goal has been to broaden its scope by introducing more original research and focused topics to the journal’s coverage. (Original research represents 39% of published content since 2020). Despite the lack of in-person meetings in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, I am delighted to see the enthusiastic engagement from the materials science community at large. Remarkably, we have increased numbers of downloads all over the world and submissions are steadily increasing. The journal has subscriptions on all six habitable continents, and the variety of content has made it a destination for the most cutting-edge research in the field. In 2021, MRS entered a new publishing alliance with Springer-Nature, one of the world’s powerhouses for scientific publications. At this critical moment of energy transition in the world, MRS Energy & Sustainability will continue to serve the MRS community and society at large by publishing the convergent research among science, technology, economics, and policy. The journal published some of its most highly cited papers addressing recycling, critical materials supply chain, life cycle analysis for renewables, materials circularity, etc., long before those issues caught the public’s attention. Our readers include a broad spectrum of scientists, academics, policy makers, and industry professionals, all interested in the interdisciplinary nature of the science, technology, and policy aspects of energy and sustainability. Looking ahead when EDITORIAL