The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has launched the International Flooring Science Resource Center Web site to serve as the home for the new peer-reviewed publication entitled, "International E-Journal of Flooring Sciences."

The project, available on the Internet at www.flooringsciences.org, is the result of CRI's vision to create the definitive destination for industry professionals, scientists and researchers from around the globe in search of the latest, most-reliable technical information about floor coverings and related products.

"Journals are the means by which professionals communicate within a specialty area,'' states Dr. Michael Berry, senior research professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and editor of the new E-Journal. "For more than 200 years, the traditional 'peer reviewed bound hard copy journal' was the only means of exchanging information within communities consisting of relatively narrow, specialized technicians.

"Typically," he added, "these types of industry publications have not been distributed quickly or uniformly. However in today's fast-moving and interconnected business environments, these kinds of limitations are simply unacceptable. Science-based information is essential to making informed and critical decisions in rapidly expanding international markets.

"The Internet now provides a means for easy submission and rapid review, revision, and publication of science and other technical matter," continued Berry, the former director of indoor air quality research for the Environmental Protection Agency. "A multi-disciplinary reviewed periodical will prove to be a valuable tool for flooring industry representatives and consumers as it consolidates a quantity of up-to-the minute science and addresses current issues in one, user-friendly repository."

The Center accepts for consideration and potential publication a range of science or technical papers, reports, and articles that are properly formatted and suitable for scientific peer review as indicated in the Publications Submissions guideline accessible at www.flooringsciences.org/submissions.

The primary purpose of the Resources Center and the publications contained within is educational, with the sole purpose of contributing to a growing body of industry science. Specific subject areas are far ranging and include: ergonomics and human response; environmental attributes; product formulation and chemistry; cleaning sciences; and product and materials recovery, recycling, and reuse.

The premier edition of the International E-Journal of Flooring Sciences can be found at www.flooringsciences.org/e-journal /0407.