Since 1902, ECS has been at the forefront of publishing electrochemical and solid state science and technology research. For the past 115 years, the Society has been publishing high quality, peer-reviewed journals that contain the work of renowned scientists, engineers, investors, and Nobel laureates. Now, ECS is providing researchers a new avenue to offer insights into emerging or established fields: Perspective articles.
“The Perspective article was established to facilitate new research and research directions by bringing new interpretations or thoughts of experts on a specific topic within the fields of interest of the ECS community,” says Robert Savinell, editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (JES).
Perspective articles differ from traditional research articles published in ECS journals. Instead of focusing on presenting new findings and data, Perspective articles aim to tap into the expertise of researchers, giving them a platform to present thoughts on their respective field and offer new insight or trends. The new article type will allow authors to reach a broader audience and spark discussion in the scientific community.
ECS recently published its first Perspective article in JES, “Localized Corrosion: Passive Film Breakdown vs Pit Growth,” where corrosion experts Gerald Frankel, Tianshu Li, and John Scully discuss the modern debates in localized corrosion and share their outlook on the field.
“The purpose of the Perspective article is to offer an authoritative view on a specific technical area,” Savinell says. “The new article type can also work to generate new ideas and research and advance the fields related to electrochemistry and solid state science.”
Researchers looking to share ideas on new paths or visions related to their field are welcome to submit a Perspective article to either JES or the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (JSS). Every Perspective article undergoes ECS’s rigorous peer review process, with the technical editor taking the article type into account, allowing for a different set of review criteria than that used on research-based articles.
Additionally, Perspective articles provide a way for authors who publish in ECS’s member magazine, Interface, to more get directly involved with the ECS journals. Upon writing an article for Interface, each set of authors will be invited to contribute a Perspective article to either JES or JSS based on their submission.
According to Savinell, those looking to learn about new avenues of research, innovative potential applications, and a broader outlook on a specific topic would benefit from reading Perspective articles.
“Young researchers and people just coming into the field would also benefit from these articles,” Savinell says. “They can learn about some of the significant problems in the field and possible new approaches to those problems, allowing them to explore a little further.”
Above all, ECS hopes the new Perspective articles will help grow the fields of electrochemical and solid state science and technology, opening dialogue in scientific community and encouraging researchers to discuss and pursue new, innovative techniques.
“ECS is a clearing house for all electrochemical research,” Savinell says. “We publish papers, we have meetings, and the whole idea is to disseminate knowledge. One of the main roles that we can have, besides publishing standard articles that report research results, is to actually stimulate and grow the field.”
