Looking back on 90 years of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry

Abstract

Looking back on 90 years of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry In honour of the milestone of the 90th anniversary, we take this opportunity to reflect on the history of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry. The journal originates from the first Canadian interdisciplinary scientific journal, published by the National Research Council of Canada, which filled a national gap in scientific reporting. In 1929, the foreword to the first issue, written by Dr. H.M. Tory (President of National Research Council), outlined the need for a publication venue for Canadian scientists. Specifically, he wrote "In the last few years scientific papers resulting from the activities of the universities, the National Research Council and other research agencies in Canada, have become so numerous as to cause difficulty in securing prompt publication. This is largely due to the fact that there has been in Canada no national periodical devoted to research…It has therefore been decided to publish, under the auspices of the National Research Council, a Canadian Journal of Research". 1 The first issue, edited by Drs. J.W.T Spinks (University of Saskatchewan) and H.G. Thode (McMaster University), contained five articles, all originating from Canadian universities. The inaugural chemistry paper published in the journal was co-authored by T. Thorvaldson and N.S. Grace (University of Saskatchewan), which described a new crystalline form of hydrated calcium aluminate. 2 In total, five issues were published in the first volume, and the series rapidly reached volume 13 by 1935. Due to the flurry of papers, the journal had to be split into two monthly sections in 1936, one containing chemistry and physics, the other botany and zoology. The initial paper published in Section B: Chemical Sciences was co-authored by E. Filby and O. Maass (McGill University) and described the sorption of water vapor on cellulosic materials. 3 In less than a decade, the journal saw such success that these four disciplines became separate bimonthly sections in 1944, and new sections focusing on medical sciences and technology were also added. By 1951, the influx of publications required each section to become an independent journal. As a result, the title Canadian Journal of Research was retired, and the Canadian Journal of Chemistry was founded. The first article appearing in the Canadian Journal of Chemistry (edited by Dr. J.W.T. Spinks) was authored by H.I. Schiff and E.W.R. Steacie (National Research Council), which outlined the chemistry of reactions between H and D atoms and cyclic and paraffin hydrocarbons. 4 The Canadian Journal of Chemistry quickly became a publication venue for many top Canadian chemists, with outstanding research articles covering key subdisciplines of chemistry, including organic, physical, inorganic, spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, analytical, and theoretical/computational chemistry. The number of contributions from interdisciplinary subfields such as organometallic, bioorganic, bioinorganic, and materials chemistry also grew over the years, ...

Excited State Resonance Raman of Flavin Mononucleotide: Comparison of Theory and Experiment

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