As the leader of PNAS--the official journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS)--for over 10 years, Cozzarelli spearheaded dynamic initiatives, vastly improving the quality and reach of the journal. He opened research article submissions to the global scientific community by allowing authors to submit papers without sponsorship of a NAS member. A proponent of open-access publishing, Cozzarelli instituted changes giving researchers and the general public free and easy access to PNAS papers online, and challenged others to follow suit.
An editorial by colleague and former NAS President Bruce Alberts accompanies the retrospective article. Cozzarelli "managed to maintain his position as a pioneer in the highly competitive DNA field, while spending half of his time as the editor-in-chief of the Academy's scientific journal," says Alberts.
The retrospective, "In Memoriam: PNAS Editor-in-Chief Nicholas R. Cozzarelli (1938-2006)," and accompanying editorial, "The Nick Cozzarelli I Knew," will appear in the April 18 print issue of PNAS.
The retrospective and editorial are freely available online at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0602531103v1 and http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0602591103v1
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences