In October 2005, Nature Publishing Group expanded its coverage of the physical sciences by launching Nature Physics. Prior to that, Nature Materials sat alone alongside the biological titles, collectively known as the Nature Research Journals. Since then we have welcomed Nature Photonics, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Geoscience, Nature Chemistry and Nature Climate Change to the mix — with Nature Plants set to launch in early 2015.

Andrea Taroni joins the Nature Physics team from Nature Materials, where he has handled much of the journal's condensed-matter physics coverage for the past two years, with a special focus on magnetism and spintronics. Having begun his editorial career at Nature Communications in 2011, following postdoctoral work on magnetic systems, Andrea brings renewed drive to the team. His leadership promises to build on the legacy Alison Wright leaves behind, as she takes on a new role as Executive Editor of Nature Research Journals in the physical sciences.

Alison's departure will be felt by all involved in Nature Physics, but perhaps most keenly by those familiar with her passion for particle physics — and her flair for the written word. After working on the Nature News & Views team, Alison took up the challenge of leading the editorial team of Nature Physics at the time of its launch, and has spent close to a decade navigating the journal through the rise of graphene, cold atomic gases and complex networks — as well as the search for an infamous boson.

The original team of four editors became five in November 2008 due to a steep rise in submission levels. And we are happy to report that submissions have continued to rise, more than doubling since 2005, so we have again increased the number of editors as of February 2014.

Now the team is up to full strength and we hope that the level of service that we provide will be better than ever. Indeed, as a company we are redoubling focus on our authors; Alison's new position reflects this drive. Together with her counterpart in the biological sciences, Kalyani Narasimhan, she will be looking at improving the author experience, which includes making sure that editors have sufficient resources to do their jobs efficiently and thoroughly.

We at Nature Physics welcome the change, looking forward to the new energy that Andrea's appointment brings, while bidding a reluctant farewell to our former Chief.