Connecting discovery and impact – the Cambridge Materials vision

With the proliferation of new scientific Journals appearing over the past decade, researcher scepticism for new Journal launches may be forgiven. So why is another series of journals in the materials space needed? 

Senior Publisher David Hopwood presents the case for ‘Cambridge Materials’.

Before launching the Cambridge Materials journal portfolio (a series of 4 jJournals focusing on Water, Energy, Health and Circularity) we thought long and hard - and consulted many researchers in the materials field and beyond.

Traditional scientific journals often separate disciplines and science from its real-world context. Research is still frequently organised in silos; think physics, chemistry, materials science, energy, health, sustainability. And research can also be disconnected from the social, environmental, and policy frameworks where it ultimately has impact.

But the challenges we face today are interconnected and interdisciplinary. They require coordination across the full innovation pipeline from fundamental discovery through to applied research and engineering, into industrial development, policy frameworks, and ultimately real-world deployment.

Take the water sector as one example. We are living through a global water crisis; droughts and floods are intensifying; synthetic chemicals are found in water supplies around the world. These are problems that are happening now and require urgent collaborative solutions but researchers working in these problems have had to publish their work across multiple journals in chemistry, materials science, environmental engineering and other fields. Cambridge Materials: Water aims to fill that gap, bringing together the key scientists, policymakers, industrialists and regulators that need to align to make real progress.

In many ways, the ideal journal should not just be a place where scientists publish high-impact research. It is a platform where that research is accessible and meaningful to policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGO), social scientists, and to those working in industry. Where that scientific impact supports, underpins and guides decision making, shaping policy, and prioritising implementation. 

The Cambridge Materials journal series has been created with that in mind: to connect materials innovation with its environmental, societal, and policy impact. And help bring discovery closer to deployment.

Our series brings together four journals focused on some of the defining challenges of our time:

• Cambridge Materials: Energy
• Cambridge Materials: Water
• Cambridge Materials: Circularity
• Cambridge Materials: Health

Many of today’s important breakthroughs in these sectors happen at the interfaces, between physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and materials science. I attended a Polymer Science conference recently and was struck by the breadth of polymer research presented that extended beyond traditional synthesis and characterisation and directly addressed major societal and technological issues, including sustainability, circularity of materials, decarbonisation, advanced healthcare, energy storage and the development of adaptive and bio-inspired systems. 

Impact, Credibility, and Collaboration.

At Cambridge University Press, we see Cambridge Materials not simply as a series of journals, but as part of a broader research ecosystem built around three core pillars: Impact, Credibility, and Collaboration.

First, Impact.

The series is strongly aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and with the principle that research should ultimately translate into societal benefit.

We are particularly interested in solutions-oriented publishing - science that addresses real-world challenges in areas such as sustainable energy, clean water, healthcare technologies, circular materials systems, and decarbonisation.

Each paper published expresses a clear articulation of why the research matters, including an Impact Statement that highlights its relevance to global challenges. We also place strong emphasis on connecting research with policy and practice, helping outstanding science move beyond the laboratory toward real-world implementation. In fact, one of our first thematic collections will focus specifically on Policy Support and Development

Second, Credibility.

The series is published by Cambridge University Press, the world’s oldest university press (and a not-for-profit academic publisher) linked to one of the world’s most trusted research institutions. As an organization we are also striving for change in academic publishing.

We feel this is important, researchers increasingly value publishing environments that are respected, rigorous, transparent, and community-focused. And not simply designed to publish “more”.

Across the series, we emphasise:

• strong international editorial boards;
• ethical and transparent governance;

• author experience and high-quality peer review, including rapid, constructive editorial handling, with a target of under 30 days to first decision, as well as support in promoting research once published.
• open research practices: we support open data and open peer review, because we believe openness strengthens trust, reproducibility, and research visibility.
• we are also recruiting for an Early Career Editorial Board that sits across the series. Giving less experienced but emerging researchers the opportunity to raise their profiles across different disciplines. The journals are fully Gold open access: Authors can publish via institutional agreements with Cambridge University Press where available, but importantly where these are not in place, we are currently waiving Article Publishing Charges until the end of 2027.

And finally, Collaboration.

One of the real strengths of this series is that the four journals operate as an interconnected platform rather than as isolated titles.

Many of the global challenges we face are best addressed beyond disciplinary silos, so we are developing cross-journal thematic collections that bring communities together around emerging scientific and broader topics like Policy Support and development; Photocatalysis; and AI-assisted materials discovery.

We actively encourage interdisciplinary work and collaboration across academia, industry, policy, and NGOs. Our aim is to provide a trusted, open, and collaborative publishing home for research that not only advances materials science but also contributes tangible solutions to global challenges. Because when those connections are in place and when researchers, industry partners, and policymakers are working from a shared evidence base, we can significantly accelerate innovation and enable real progress against society’s most pressing challenges.