The ACS journal <i>Macromolecules</i> began publishing in 1968, and is now in its 50th year. From the outset it was intended to report the best fundamental research in polymer science, covering a broad topical range from synthesis to characterization, from solutions to bulk, from surfaces to thin films, from structure to properties, from biological macromolecules to synthetic materials, and from computer simulation to theory. It has always maintained a strictly independent editorial team, with Editors and Associate Editors who are active researchers and leaders in the field, and strived for rapid and rigorous peer review. It has grown in size from 115 original articles in Volume 1, to about ten times that number in Volume 50. It has consistently led the field in the number of citations, and now exceeds 100,000 per year. This talk will reflect on a selected subset of scientific areas in which tremendous progress has been made, from a historical perspective. A common theme that pervades these topics is the exciting interplay among synthesis, new characterization tools, and advances in theoretical and computational methods. Also included will be discussion of most published authors and most influential papers. Some of the major developments in scientific publishing, and particularly the ways they continue to evolve and influence our field, will be identified.

50 Years of macromolecules: A perspective

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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