To celebrate the 360th anniversary of the start of the Philosophical Transactions, we have invited Guest Editor Professor SA Sherif to tell us what publishing with the journal means to them.
I have been a professor of mechanical engineering for more than four decades. In addition to teaching courses in thermal/fluid and energy sciences, I conduct research in those areas with my teams of graduate students and strive to publish research results in the best technical journals. For a multitude of reasons, I have always held Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society at the very top of my list of archival journals. In fact, one of my dreams has always been to publish at least one paper there before I retire from academia.
One of things that fascinated me about Philosophical Transactions is its long history and its association with many legendary scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton who published 17 of his papers there. Newton is credited for inventing Newtonian Mechanics with the introduction of his three laws of motion along with the law of universal gravitation. Another legend is the Dutch scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek who in 1677 published the first detailed description of protists and bacteria living in a range of environments. A third legend is Benjamin Franklin who published 19 of his papers in Philosophical Transactions including results of an experiment on the calming effects of oil on water which has had a lasting impact on the fields of surface chemistry and physics. Also, one of his most significant experiments of all times was his "Philadelphia Experiment" which was published in Philosophical Transactions in 1753.
But the long journal history and the legendary scientists associated with that history are not the only reasons that made me fall in love with Philosophical Transactions. Apart from the presence of the word “Royal” in the title, I have always felt that the Journal has something “Royal” about it. It may be that papers published there are by invitation, or it may have just acquired this “royal” essence due to other reasons that I am yet to discover. Regardless of the reason, I am happy to be a part of its history. Having spent most of my academic career researching frost and ice physics along with heat and mass transfer, it was natural for me to propose a theme issue on heat and transfer in frost and ice. I am excited that this theme issue will appear in print sometime this year, thus fulfilling my dream about being affiliated with Philosophical Transactions.
Visit our anniversary page for more content celebrating 360 years of publishing.
