Pure and Applied Chemistry

The past 25 years have witnessed some quite extraordinary advances in the development and synthetic application of organometallic reagents and catalysts. This is reflected in the history of the conference series Organometallic Chemistry Directed Towards Organic Synthesis (OMCOS), which has established itself as a popular and enduring international forum for presentation and discussion of mainstream developments and opportunities in this field.

The series was inaugurated in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA in 1981. Proceedings of the plenary program of that event were published in Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC) 53(12), 1981, and the topic has since become a regular feature in the Journal, with the distinction of having recorded some of the seminal advances of the period. Indeed, as the OMCOS series has grown in support and stature over the years, it has played a leading role in a trend toward more in-depth coverage of the scientific proceedings of selected IUPAC-sponsored conferences. There is encouraging evidence that this practice has the benefit of extending publication opportunities to the rising younger generation of scientists, thereby broadening and enriching the more traditional coverage of plenary proceedings, and adding value to the published record.

It is perhaps unsurprising that OMCOS has emerged as one of the leading series in the calendar of regular, IUPAC-sponsored conferences. How do we know that? Obviously, the committed participation of a succession of enthusiastic organizers and contributors, and consistently high attendance figures over the years, support this contention. More convincingly, the series generates what is regularly the most highly cited feature of PAC. For example, data collected on 30 April 2005 reveal that the OMCOS-9 collection with 239 citations averaging 14.9 citations per paper, and the OMCOS-10 collection with 408 citations averaging 21.5 citations per paper, head the citation rates for the Journal in those years. Early indications are that OMCOS-11 and OMCOS-12 head the comparable ratings of regular features for 2002 and 2004, respectively, although these more recent data are obviously in flux and still provisional.

Publication policy is responsive to these indicators of successful conference series, in the confident expectation that they will continue to serve the Journal readership with topical and sought-after content. These expectations have been handsomely fulfilled by OMCOS-13, held in Geneva, Switzerland on 17-21 July 2005, and this Special Topic issue is devoted to exclusive coverage of the event. No less than 37 papers drawn from invitations to all invited presenters on the main lecture program and a selection of meritorious contributed works feature, and constitute a salute to the centrality of this theme in modern organic synthesis. It is also a tribute to the exceptional efforts of the organizers and authors, whose energy and cooperation have ensured an expeditious passage to publication of this representative record of an outstanding event.

James R. Bull

Scientific Editor