Richard S. Eisenberg, Tracy Harris Professor of Chemistry at the University of Rochester, has been named editor of Inorganic Chemistry, the most often cited journal in its field. As editor, Eisenberg will oversee the more than 1,000 papers published each year in the biweekly journal.
The American Chemical Society selected Eisenberg from a group of respected scientists in the field for his research in chemistry, which spans 30 years and more than 190 publications. Eisenberg's initial term as editor runs for five years, beginning January 2001.
"It's a great honor to be asked to lead the premier journal in my field," says Eisenberg. "I'm also excited about the challenges that Inorganic Chemistry and other scientific journals face in the next decade as we move online to Web-based versions. I look forward to strengthening Inorganic Chemistry's position as the top cited journal in its field."
Some of Eisenberg's work that has earned him this honor involves inorganic photochemistry, chemistry that underlies light-to-chemical energy conversion, and organometallic chemistry related to catalytic reactions done by the chemical industry. Despite the new editorial responsibilities, Eisenberg will continue to teach introductory chemistry with an "energy and environment" theme he co-developed with colleague James Farrar, professor of chemistry, as an alternative curriculum for general chemistry. His current pet project is a course newsgroup to encourage students to exchange ideas about chemistry and post essay answers to Web-related inquiries on energy production and utilization.
"Both teaching and science rely on communication," he says. "The results can be very gratifying. As editor, I can help make the process work even better."
Eisenberg joined the University in 1973 and served as chair of the chemistry department from 1991 to 1994. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University in 1967.