Introducing CQG’s new Editor-in-Chief

I am very honored to assume the position of Editor-in-Chief of Classical and Quantum Gravity, following ten very successful years by Clifford Will.

Gabriela González, CQG’s new Editor-in-Chief, is a professor at Louisiana State University and a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration

During Cliff’s term, there were very exciting developments in the field, including precision cosmology, new astrophysics and discoveries of gravitational waves – and the journal was there to provide insight and quality articles. The journal has now 15 “renowned” papers with more than 500 citations (according to inspirehep.net), with half of those in the last 10 years, in topics ranging from “Holographic methods for condensed matter physics”, “Loop Quantum Cosmology”, to details of the LIGO and Virgo gravitational detectors and their discoveries. It is this diversity of topics which has made the journal a pillar of the community, thanks to the efforts of the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Board, and the excellent IOP editorial team (Adam Day, 2009-2017 and Holly Young until 2019). This is quantified in the journal impact factor, which is very competitive, as well as in the fast turn-around for reviewing and publishing.

There have been many changes in the last decade which have all helped this success: the introduction of focus sections (not just issues), brief review articles, reviewer awards, an open access policy, and an advisory panel, among others. Following the times, Classical and Quantum Gravity has a presence in social media, especially through this CQG+ blog, started by Adam Day.  The journal has also acquired a physical presence in many conferences in the field to keep in touch with latest developments, and sponsors two important awards for young scientists, the IOP Gravitational Physics Group Thesis prize and the ISGRG Bergmann–Wheeler Thesis Prize. The journal prides itself on having very diverse article authors, with diversity understood in the broadest sense: geography, gender, age, and expertise area among others.

I am very humbled to occupy a position that six eminent scientists held before (H. Nicolai, G. Gibbons, K. Stelle, M. MacCallum, R. Wald and C. Will), and will help the journal continue to grow and succeed in a rapidly evolving field. It is my goal to maintain the highest standards for the journal, as we broaden the range of articles – “gravity” is at the core of exciting theory and experiment with expanding frontiers at cosmologically large and small quantum scales.

Professor Gabriela González