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Editorial 2014
rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org
Editorial Cite this article: Dave Garner. 2014 Editorial 2014. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 372: 20130357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2013.0357
2013 was another successful year for Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A with the information published in the 24 Theme Issues spanning the whole spectrum of the physical sciences. One-third of the issues published in 2013 resulted from the Royal Society’s Discussion and Theo Murphy Meetings, and these Theme Issues continue to be major contributors to the strength and significance of the journal. Particular highlights include: — ‘Mathematics applied to the climate system’ [1] which objectively reviews the pressing challenges of producing reliable climate predictions and addresses how to obtain a proper assessment of their uncertainties. — ‘New windows on transients across the universe’ [2] clearly demonstrates the power of time-domain astronomy; this allows astronomers to monitor the sky at high cadence, both across the electromagnetic spectrum and using neutrinos and gravitational waves. — ‘Can solar power deliver?’ [3] highlights the daunting challenges to be addressed before solar power can be used as a major and global energy source. The majority of the Theme Issues arise from proposals submitted by researchers who wish to benefit from this journal’s flexible and interdisciplinary nature to highlight new research and perspectives within their field, or to expand on the outcomes of a conference organized independently of the Royal Society. Examples published during 2013 include: — ‘Water security, risk and society’ [4] provides a comprehensive, detailed and objective consideration of key aspects water security and supply which The World Economic Forum has identified as a defining challenge for society, scientists, politicians and planners in the twenty-first century. — ‘A celebration of mechanics from nano to macro’ [5] highlights the major contributions of J. M. T. Thompson, a past Editor of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, to theoretical and applied mechanics.
2013 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on June 21, 2016
— The Royal Society strongly believes in openness and visibility of research, as documented in the Royal Society report ‘Science as an open enterprise’ [7]. Therefore, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A has introduced a policy that encourages authors to make available the data and research materials supporting the results presented in their articles. — The Royal Society has recently signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment [8]. This important declaration challenges the role played by impact factors, as the main means of evaluating the quality and significance of a scientific publication, and promotes the assessment of research on its own merits rather than on the basis of the journal in which it is published. Therefore, in the future, the Royal Society will present the impact factors of its publications within the context of a variety of journal-based metrics. — As signalled in my Editorial last year, Royal Society journals have adopted a ‘continuous publication model’. Thus, rather than using page numbers to cite an article, a unique identifier is used, as manifest in the references cited in this article. Journals such as PLoS ONE already use this citation format and we hope that our readers will accept and use this new notation without difficulty. — From 2014, both Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B will increase the number of issues published from 24 to 26 per annum, allowing both journals to publish a few more of the scientifically significant proposals that we receive. The year 2015 marks the 350th anniversary of the first publication of Philosophical Transactions (1665) and The Royal Society, together with Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and Phil. Trans. Soc. B, are working on an exciting programme of events and publications to mark this important occasion. In addition to celebrating the major scientific developments previously reported in Phil. Trans., these activities will also look forward to the challenges facing science, scientists and society. Therefore, in 2014, the staff in the Editorial Office will have the additional responsibilities of planning the 2015 celebratory activities and publishing the extra two issues of the journal. In addition, they will produce some new guidelines for authors and attend a range of international conferences to increase the awareness among scientists worldwide of the journal’s existence, its unique nature and relevance. In respect of my activities as Editor, I wish to acknowledge the encouragement, advice and expertise received from a large number of individuals. I wish to thank each Guest Editor (or Editors) for their leadership, diligence and judgement which has resulted in a set of high-quality Theme Issues, each of which provides a novel and timely resource for experts in the field and interested readers from other communities. The Editorial Board possesses scholarship and experience that covers the whole range of the physical sciences and its membership clearly manifests the international reach of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. The Members of the Editorial Board are a constant source of expertise, energy and ideas, and their contributions are vital in all aspects involved in the reviewing of each prospective Theme Issue. Therefore, I would like to thank each of the Board Members that retired at the end of 2013 for their many constructive contributions and to welcome each of the new Members who have joined us this year.
.........................................................
We welcome proposals on topics within the physical sciences that are of current, or prospective, significance and relevance. Therefore, if you have an idea for a subject that would benefit from the unique publishing style of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A please contact us. Looking to the future, I wish to highlight four recent and important developments in respect of the Royal Society’s publishing policy:
2
rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 372: 20130357
— ‘Molecular nanostructure and nanotechnology’ [6] exemplifies and documents the significant progress made in our understanding of the formation and nature of molecular assemblies and the consequent construction of functional nanostructures. As one of the Guest Editors of this Theme Issue was the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Chunli Bai, the introductory chapter was also presented in Mandarin.
Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on June 21, 2016
References 1. Williams PD, Cullen MJP, Davey MK, Huthnance JM. 2013 Mathematics applied to the climate system. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20120518. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2012.0518) 2. O’Brien PT, Smartt SJ. 2013 Interpreting signals from astrophysical transient experiments. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20120498. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2012.0498) 3. Edwards PP, Friend RH, Amendolia SR, Li C. 2013 Preface. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130130. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0130) 4. Hall J, Grey D, Garrick D, Dadson S, Hope R. 2013 Preface. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130262. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0262) 5. Elishakoff I. 2013 A celebration of mechanics: from nano to macro. The J. Michael T. Thompson Festschrift issue. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130121. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0121) 6. Bai C, Wang C. 2013 Molecular nanostructure and nanotechnology. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130263. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0263) 7. Science as an Open Enterprise. 2012 The Royal Society. See http://royalsociety.org/policy/ projects/science-public-enterprise/report/ (accessed 7 October 2013). 8. San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). See http://am.ascb.org/dora/ (accessed 14 October 2013).
.........................................................
Dave Garner Editor
3
rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 372: 20130357
I would like to record a personal thank you to several members of the Royal Society Publishing Staff. These include Matthew Eland and Kelly Hutchinson of the Royal Society production team, and Debbie Vaughan and Felicity Davie of the Marketing Department for their professionalism and support they have provided throughout the year and notable assistance to particular activities. I gratefully acknowledge the major contributions of Suzanne Abbott who was the journal’s Commissioning Editor until June this year. During her 6-year tenure, Suzanne was central to the daily operations of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and provided me, previous Editors, past and present Board Members and a whole host of Guest Editors with constructive advice, balanced judgement and professional expertise. I wish Suzanne continued success in her future career. I thank Helen Eaton for her energies, enthusiasm, managerial skills and commitment that enabled her to meet the demands of being Commissioning Editor for both Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B during the interregnum from Suzanne’s departure to the appointment of our new Commissioning Editor, Bailey Fallon. Bailey joined us on 23 September and I look forward to working with him in ensuring another successful year for Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A in 2014.
Editorial 2014
rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org
Editorial Cite this article: Dave Garner. 2014 Editorial 2014. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 372: 20130357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2013.0357
2013 was another successful year for Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A with the information published in the 24 Theme Issues spanning the whole spectrum of the physical sciences. One-third of the issues published in 2013 resulted from the Royal Society’s Discussion and Theo Murphy Meetings, and these Theme Issues continue to be major contributors to the strength and significance of the journal. Particular highlights include: — ‘Mathematics applied to the climate system’ [1] which objectively reviews the pressing challenges of producing reliable climate predictions and addresses how to obtain a proper assessment of their uncertainties. — ‘New windows on transients across the universe’ [2] clearly demonstrates the power of time-domain astronomy; this allows astronomers to monitor the sky at high cadence, both across the electromagnetic spectrum and using neutrinos and gravitational waves. — ‘Can solar power deliver?’ [3] highlights the daunting challenges to be addressed before solar power can be used as a major and global energy source. The majority of the Theme Issues arise from proposals submitted by researchers who wish to benefit from this journal’s flexible and interdisciplinary nature to highlight new research and perspectives within their field, or to expand on the outcomes of a conference organized independently of the Royal Society. Examples published during 2013 include: — ‘Water security, risk and society’ [4] provides a comprehensive, detailed and objective consideration of key aspects water security and supply which The World Economic Forum has identified as a defining challenge for society, scientists, politicians and planners in the twenty-first century. — ‘A celebration of mechanics from nano to macro’ [5] highlights the major contributions of J. M. T. Thompson, a past Editor of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, to theoretical and applied mechanics.
2013 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.
Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on June 21, 2016
— The Royal Society strongly believes in openness and visibility of research, as documented in the Royal Society report ‘Science as an open enterprise’ [7]. Therefore, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A has introduced a policy that encourages authors to make available the data and research materials supporting the results presented in their articles. — The Royal Society has recently signed the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment [8]. This important declaration challenges the role played by impact factors, as the main means of evaluating the quality and significance of a scientific publication, and promotes the assessment of research on its own merits rather than on the basis of the journal in which it is published. Therefore, in the future, the Royal Society will present the impact factors of its publications within the context of a variety of journal-based metrics. — As signalled in my Editorial last year, Royal Society journals have adopted a ‘continuous publication model’. Thus, rather than using page numbers to cite an article, a unique identifier is used, as manifest in the references cited in this article. Journals such as PLoS ONE already use this citation format and we hope that our readers will accept and use this new notation without difficulty. — From 2014, both Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B will increase the number of issues published from 24 to 26 per annum, allowing both journals to publish a few more of the scientifically significant proposals that we receive. The year 2015 marks the 350th anniversary of the first publication of Philosophical Transactions (1665) and The Royal Society, together with Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and Phil. Trans. Soc. B, are working on an exciting programme of events and publications to mark this important occasion. In addition to celebrating the major scientific developments previously reported in Phil. Trans., these activities will also look forward to the challenges facing science, scientists and society. Therefore, in 2014, the staff in the Editorial Office will have the additional responsibilities of planning the 2015 celebratory activities and publishing the extra two issues of the journal. In addition, they will produce some new guidelines for authors and attend a range of international conferences to increase the awareness among scientists worldwide of the journal’s existence, its unique nature and relevance. In respect of my activities as Editor, I wish to acknowledge the encouragement, advice and expertise received from a large number of individuals. I wish to thank each Guest Editor (or Editors) for their leadership, diligence and judgement which has resulted in a set of high-quality Theme Issues, each of which provides a novel and timely resource for experts in the field and interested readers from other communities. The Editorial Board possesses scholarship and experience that covers the whole range of the physical sciences and its membership clearly manifests the international reach of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. The Members of the Editorial Board are a constant source of expertise, energy and ideas, and their contributions are vital in all aspects involved in the reviewing of each prospective Theme Issue. Therefore, I would like to thank each of the Board Members that retired at the end of 2013 for their many constructive contributions and to welcome each of the new Members who have joined us this year.
.........................................................
We welcome proposals on topics within the physical sciences that are of current, or prospective, significance and relevance. Therefore, if you have an idea for a subject that would benefit from the unique publishing style of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A please contact us. Looking to the future, I wish to highlight four recent and important developments in respect of the Royal Society’s publishing policy:
2
rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 372: 20130357
— ‘Molecular nanostructure and nanotechnology’ [6] exemplifies and documents the significant progress made in our understanding of the formation and nature of molecular assemblies and the consequent construction of functional nanostructures. As one of the Guest Editors of this Theme Issue was the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Chunli Bai, the introductory chapter was also presented in Mandarin.
Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on June 21, 2016
References 1. Williams PD, Cullen MJP, Davey MK, Huthnance JM. 2013 Mathematics applied to the climate system. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20120518. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2012.0518) 2. O’Brien PT, Smartt SJ. 2013 Interpreting signals from astrophysical transient experiments. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20120498. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2012.0498) 3. Edwards PP, Friend RH, Amendolia SR, Li C. 2013 Preface. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130130. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0130) 4. Hall J, Grey D, Garrick D, Dadson S, Hope R. 2013 Preface. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130262. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0262) 5. Elishakoff I. 2013 A celebration of mechanics: from nano to macro. The J. Michael T. Thompson Festschrift issue. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130121. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0121) 6. Bai C, Wang C. 2013 Molecular nanostructure and nanotechnology. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 371, 20130263. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2013.0263) 7. Science as an Open Enterprise. 2012 The Royal Society. See http://royalsociety.org/policy/ projects/science-public-enterprise/report/ (accessed 7 October 2013). 8. San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). See http://am.ascb.org/dora/ (accessed 14 October 2013).
.........................................................
Dave Garner Editor
3
rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 372: 20130357
I would like to record a personal thank you to several members of the Royal Society Publishing Staff. These include Matthew Eland and Kelly Hutchinson of the Royal Society production team, and Debbie Vaughan and Felicity Davie of the Marketing Department for their professionalism and support they have provided throughout the year and notable assistance to particular activities. I gratefully acknowledge the major contributions of Suzanne Abbott who was the journal’s Commissioning Editor until June this year. During her 6-year tenure, Suzanne was central to the daily operations of Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and provided me, previous Editors, past and present Board Members and a whole host of Guest Editors with constructive advice, balanced judgement and professional expertise. I wish Suzanne continued success in her future career. I thank Helen Eaton for her energies, enthusiasm, managerial skills and commitment that enabled her to meet the demands of being Commissioning Editor for both Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A and Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B during the interregnum from Suzanne’s departure to the appointment of our new Commissioning Editor, Bailey Fallon. Bailey joined us on 23 September and I look forward to working with him in ensuring another successful year for Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A in 2014.
