Welcome to JCT CoatingsTech.

Throughout the course of its 80-year lifetime, the JOURNAL OF COATINGS TECHNOLOGY (and its predecessors) was published to be many things to many people: first and foremost, a coatings research journal; secondarily but of no less importance, an FSCT member publication, and finally, an industry newsmagazine. The JCT became arguably the premier technical journal in the industry, featuring articles by world-renowned researchers on the latest development in coatings science and technology. However, as the state of the industry changed, the readership of the JCT changed as well. In recent years, both anecdotally and in surveys, we perceived that in addition to the research articles there was a growing need for information that could be applied to the day-to-day work of our members and subscribers. In 2003, the FSCT addressed this need by making major changes to the JCT, which is now published in two sections.

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Beginning this month our readers will continue to receive the very latest reports in coatings science in a new, quarterly publication, the JCT RESEARCH. With JCT RESEARCH, the FSCT continues to pursue its goal of providing the industry's technical personnel with timely publication of high level, peer-reviewed research articles. Devoted solely to coatings and allied technologies, JCT RESEARCH is published without advertising or industry news stories, focusing on the original research that will determine the future of the coatings industry.

In response to the growing call for information along more practical lines, the FSCT has added the new JCT COATINGSTECH. Published 11 times a year, JCT COATINGSTECH will feature knowledge-building articles on topics reflecting the many facets of the coatings industry. The articles while still reviewed for technical content--and, therefore, still adhering to the high reputation for which the FSCT is known--will give our readers both a "bird's eye" view of the coatings markets and a "hands-on" approach to delivering useful information on practical topics.

Here in its inaugural issue, JCT COATINGSTECH publishes articles on an array of subjects that will catch your interest.

* Mike Diebold, of DuPont, explores how Ti[O.sub.2] is being used in a changing coatings market, in his Technical Focus Lecture from ICE 2003.

* Cynthia Challener, JCT COATINGSTECH Contributing Writer, details the latest innovations in resin technology, an overview of the leading resin suppliers, and a breakdown of the current U.S. resin market.

* Harry Way, of Netzsch, provides a look at one of the industry "hot" topics: nanoparticles.

* Scott Hanton, of Air Products, reviews how two mass spectrometry techniques, MALDI and ESI, are being used to analyze coatings.

Plus, a review of FSCT's very successful ICE 2003, recently held in Philadelphia, industry updates, and much more.

We invite you to take a look at JCT COATINGSTECH (if you are an FSCT member, it is included in your membership) and let us know what you think. We look forward to hearing from you.

--ROBERT F. ZIEGLER

Publisher

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