In the September 2004 editorial, I reported that ${\mathrm{JM}}^3$ had been accepted for coverage in the following Thomson Scientific databases beginning with Volume 2, Issue 1 (January 2003): Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Materials Science Citation Index (MSCI), Current Contents/Physical, Chemical, and Earth Sciences (CC/PC&ES), and Current Contents/Engineering, Computing, and Technology (CC/EC&T).

I also reported that the first impact factor for ${\mathrm{JM}}^3$ would be available in the summer of 2006. The impact factor is a measure of the frequency with which the average article in a journal has been cited in a particular year. The annual impact factor of a journal is calculated by dividing the number of current year citations to the source items published in that journal during the previous two years. The rating is most useful when compared to other journals in the same field. Thomson Scientific publishes the impact factors of all the journals covered in the SCIE each year as part of their Journal Citation Reports.

We do have an impact factor now: 1.389. This means that we rank 48th out of 208 journals in the subject category of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 14th out of 27 in Nanoscience, 49th out of 178 in Multidisciplinary Materials Science, and 20th out of 55 in Optics, which is quite respectable.

I would like to thank the members of the editorial board, the reviewers, and the supporting staff at SPIE for making this happen. Most of all, I salute the authors who sent us papers on their high-quality work. Without them, ${\mathrm{JM}}^3$ would be meaningless. Let’s continue to build ${\mathrm{JM}}^3$ into an even better journal in our field, even more widely cited, widely distributed, and widely read. We definitely want to continue diligently referencing relevant work.

Happy reading!