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A history of the journal...

Surface Engineering has published 146 issues since its launch in 1985. It was the first peer-reviewed, international journal solely devoted to surface engineering: the integrated design of substrate and surface to produce a level of performance that neither component is capable of alone. The approach – an advance over design philosophies that viewed surface treatments as ‘add-ons’ once the component itself had been manufactured – paved the way for significant advances in component performance and lifetimes. The enabling technology of surface engineering now underpins many industry sectors, from aerospace to biomedical, whose products depend critically on functional or engineering surfaces.

The journal was launched in 1985 by then Institute of Metals (now the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining) in conjunction with the Wolfson Institute for Surface Engineering (WISE) at the University of Birmingham, UK. The launch was timely in that surface engineering was a rapidly developing discipline where the approaches, technologies and capabilities were still in many cases lacking in definition. The founding editor, Professor Tom Bell, Hanson Professor of Metallurgy at Birmingham, was a pioneer of this new vision, and his enthusiasm and intuitions were strongly reflected in the journal.

An important aim of the journal, in addition to reporting leading research, was to bridge the gap between research organisations, universities and industry. By covering both theoretical and practical aspects of surface engineering, i.e. the design, processing and performance of materials and components, the journal was intended to appeal to design and manufacturing engineers, as well as materials scientists, and to both academics and those working in  industry, with case studies of technology transfer and industrial application an important component of the mix. The initial focus on ‘modern engineering coating systems and surfacing techniques for metallic based materials’ has now evolved to cover both ‘engineering’ and ‘functional’ surfaces, and a wide range of substrates: ceramic, semiconductor, polymeric and composite as well as metallic. A trend has also developed for duplex and more complex processing routes combining complementary surface engineering technologies to deliver higher performance.

Surface Engineering has undergone a number of developments in recent years. An online submission and peer review system was introduced in 2005, which allowed authors to submit more easily and track the progress of their manuscripts. The journal increased in frequency from six to eight issues in 2009 and again to ten issues in 2011, offering readers ever more content. All articles are now published online via fast-track within 6 – 8 weeks of acceptance before being included in an issue. The next development will be publication of the full back archive of the journal online in 2012.  Watch this space!

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