Dear Readers, Welcome to the first issue of Advanced Engineering Materials in 2015. Times are changing and so does the field of engineering materials. However, one trend remains the same-we receive more and more submissions each year. Over the last three years the number of submissions has increased by 75%. Such an enormous growth in submissions means thatweare forced tobecome even more selective,sothe rejectionrateisincreasing accordingly. At the sametimeweaim at providing decisions as fast as possible and have reduced the average time it takes to receive an initial decision to below 30 days Since January 2014 AEM is published online only. One year later we can say that this change is seen very positive throughout the community. Especially the fact that color reproduction of figures is now free has been welcomed by our authors. Advanced Engineering Materials publishes manuscripts from a variety of fields, such as metal foams, bulk metallic glasses, advanced ceramics, alloys, metals, and polymers for a diversity of possible applications. Our authors discuss novel design concepts and new ways to analyze materials properties, including both experimental and modeling approaches. This broad range of topics is also reflected in the list of the most accessed articles in 2014 given in Table 1. Finally, it is my pleasure to welcome the following high-ranking scientists to the advisory board:

A new approach for the design of alloy systems with multiprincipal elements is presented in this research. The Al x CoCrCuFeNi alloys with different aluminum contents (i.e., x values in molar ratio, x ϭ 0 to 3.0) were synthesized using a well-developed arc-melting and casting method. These alloys possessed simple fcc/bcc structures, and their phase diagram was predicted by microstructure characterization and differential thermal analyses. With little aluminum addition, the alloys were composed of a simple fcc solid-solution structure. As the aluminum content reached x ϭ 0.8, a bcc structure appeared and constructed with mixed fcc and bcc eutectic phases. Spinodal decomposition occurred further on when the aluminum contents were higher than x ϭ 1.0, leading to the formation of modulated plate structures. A single ordered bcc structure was obtained for aluminum contents larger than x ϭ 2.8. The effects of high mixing entropy and sluggish cooperative diffusion enhance the formation of simple solid-solution phases and submicronic structures with nanoprecipitates in the alloys with multiprincipal elements rather than intermetallic compounds.

The Al x CoCrCuFeNi alloys with multiprincipal elements (x ϭ the aluminum content in molar ratio, from 0 to 3.0) were synthesized using a well-developed arc-melting and casting method, and their mechanical properties were investigated. These alloys exhibited promising mechanical properties, including excellent elevated-temperature strength and good wear resistance. With the addition of aluminum from x ϭ 0 to 3.0, the hardness of the alloys increased from HV 133 to 655, mainly attributed to the increased portion of strong bcc phase to ductile fcc phase, both of which were strengthened by the solid solution of aluminum atoms and the precipitation of nanophases. The alloys exhibited superior high-temperature strengths up to 800 °C, among which the Al 0.5 CoCrCuFeNi alloy, especially, had enhanced plasticity and a large strain-hardening capacity. Moreover, the wear resistance of these alloys was similar to that of ferrous alloys at the same hardness level, while the alloys with lower hardness exhibited relatively higher resistance because of their large strain-hardening capacity.

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