ACS on Campus in India - 2013

The Journal of Physical Chemistry A/B/C, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, and Langmuir, and ACS staff visited several campuses and research institutes in India.This tour served as a follow-up of the 2012 visit of 15 editors and members of the ACS team to various scientific institutions.During the period of November 24-29, 2013, we visited IIT Kharagpur, CLRI Chennai, IIT Madras, IISER Trivandrum, and NIIST Trivandrum.The interactions with students and faculty allowed us to discuss publication-related issues, provide clarification on the editorial process, and strengthen the scientific ties with ACS Publications.During the past 10 years, India has seen a phenomenal growth in scientific infrastructure at research institutions and the creation of five new institutes of higher education (Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research, commonly referred to as IISER) to educate and train students in physical and biological sciences.Today, the experimental facilities at many of the Indian research institutions rival those of leading laboratories around the world.The infusion of research funding and the availability of modern experimental facilities have rejuvenated scientific programs in chemical and materials sciences.The number of scientific publications from India is on the rise, and India is ranked among the top 10 countries contributing to several ACS journals.For instance, 5.4% of papers published in 2012 in JPC A/B/C have corresponding author affiliations from India.An increase of 17% in the number of papers published in JPC A/B/C during the last 5 years (4.3% in 2008 and 5.4% in 2012; Source: Web of Science) is a testimonial to the increased contribution of Indian science to advancing research.A similar increase is also apparent in other ACS journals.The "ACS on Campus" meetings were attended by nearly 1000 students and faculty members from IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, and IISER and NIIST Trivandrum.Events included presentations by editors and local scientists followed by interactive discussions.The Q&A sessions helped us clarify some of the concerns regarding submission requirements and the editorial process.It also helped us to highlight the problems that many authors encounter during the publication process.A popular question centered on the reasons behind the rejection of papers after editorial review.The editors emphasized that they are practicing scientists and that they evaluate the manuscripts before sending them for external review.Editors assess papers for journal scope, composition, presentation, and analysis of scientifically accurate results and whether the topic appeals to the journal readership.Papers that do not meet the submission criteria and/or journal scope are returned to the authors after editorial review.