New Editor-in-Chief for ChemElectroChem and Batteries & Supercaps

Chemistry Europe and Wiley-VCH have named Dr. Rosalba A. Rincón Editor-in-Chief of ChemElectroChem and Batteries & Supercaps. She succeeds Dr. Kate Lawrence, effective November 1, 2023. The appointment was confirmed by the Chemistry Europe Council prior to the annual meeting of Chemistry Europe and Wiley-VCH in Antwerp, Belgium, in October.

Rosalba Rincón studied chemical engineering at Universidad Simón Bolívar in Venezuela, and obtained her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA, under the supervision of Plamen Atanassov, in 2010. She then moved to Germany to hold postdoctoral positions both in academia and industry, working with Wolfgang Schuhmann at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and later at BASF SE, Ludwigshafen. She joined Wiley-VCH in 2016 and was an editor at ChemSusChem before joining Batteries & Supercaps and ChemElectroChem in 2018. From June 2021 she served Chemistry – A European Journal as deputy editor.

ChemistryViews talked to Rosalba about her promotion.

What fascinates you about the topic of the journals?

Electrochemistry has become increasingly important in a broad range of technological applications, from fuel cells and batteries to biosensors, including the production of materials and energy sources like hydrogen. ChemElectroChem covers all aspects of electrochemistry research, from fundamental to applied research, making it also very multidisciplinary.

In view of creating a more sustainable society, energy storage research has really gained momentum, which is why launching Batteries & Supercaps in 2017, born as a sister journal to ChemElectroChem, was really a great call. Li-ion batteries are ubiquitous and can be found in portable electronics and electric vehicles and, moreover, gigafactories are already a reality, but the field is constantly evolving as new battery technologies with cheaper and more sustainable materials are being developed. So I am always excited to see what the next breakthrough will be!

What do you particularly like about Chemistry Europe?

From the publisher’s perspective, our relationship with the European chemical societies is something very unique. I recently participated in the Chemistry Europe Annual Meeting and got to meet most of the representatives of the societies. There were many lively discussions about the development of our journals and how we can best serve the communities represented by the societies. It was great to witness the spirit of collaboration among them!

What fascinates you about your new position?

To me, becoming Editor-in-Chief of ChemElectroChem feels almost like a full-circle moment. When the journal opened for submissions in 2013, I was a postdoc at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum under the supervision of Wolfgang Schuhmann. He was appointed and continues to serve as one of the three Board Chairs of the journal. I remember him walking through the lab with a colorful flyer telling us all to consider submitting our next paper to this brand-new electrochemistry journal!

What is in store for the near future for ChemElectroChem and Batteries & Supercaps?

ChemElectroChem just converted from a hybrid to a fully open access journal at the beginning of 2023. Since June, the journal has been recognized by the Directory of Open Access Journals, which is considered the golden standard for open access journals. Wiley’s open access transformational agreements will continue to be fundamental for the growth of the journal! Last but not least, ChemElectroChem turns 10 in 2024 and we are looking forward to celebrating this milestone, so stay tuned!

Batteries & Supercaps on the other hand just celebrated its 5th anniversary this year and we commemorated the occasion with a collection of contributions from our Editorial Board. The journal is quickly developing a good reputation within the energy storage community and I expect it to grow in all geographical areas in the coming years.

Because of the overlap in topics between ChemElectroChem and Batteries & Supercaps, there are a lot of opportunities for collaboration as well. In 2021, we published a very successful joint special collection dedicated to research beyond Li-ion batteries and held a virtual event on the same topic, highlighting authors from the collection.

Do you have a message for your predecessors?

I want to give a huge thanks to Kate Lawrence, who served as Editor-in-Chief for ChemElectroChem since 2018, for all her efforts in making ChemElectroChem the go-to electrochemistry journal for many scientists. We worked together for three years and I learned a lot from her, especially about our editorial workflows.

Greta Heydenrych served as Editor-in-Chief of Batteries & Supercaps until 2022 and I worked with her in developing the journal until I became deputy editor of Chemistry – A European Journal in 2021. I also thank her for the trust she put in me back then.

Anything else you would like to share with the readers of ChemistryViews?

I am really looking forward to working more closely with the members of our Editorial Advisory and Early Career Advisory Boards to further support the development of the journals, but I would also like to hear feedback from our authors and readers!

Selected Editorials