From studying chemistry to publishing chemistry

Science in Action Seminar Series at Skyline College, May 11, 2021

Matteo (@physicsteo on Twitter) studied Chemistry at the University of Milan (Italy) and University of Valencia (Spain) before obtaining his Ph.D. in the Quantum Chemistry group of the Physics Department at Stockholm University (Sweden). After 3 years’ experience as a researcher in Berlin (Germany), working on computer simulations of novel catalytic materials, he left the lab bench (which was actually a computer) to join the US-based STEM publisher Wiley in 2010. Matteo held several editorial roles in various scholarly journals in chemistry and material sciences prior to becoming the publisher of the material sciences and physics group at Wiley, overseeing the operations of the US-based journals in those areas.

Transcript

1. From studying chemistry to
   publishing chemistry
   Dr Matteo Cavalleri, Publisher @physicsteo
   Science in Action, e-Skyline College, May 11, 2021
   

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2. From studying chemistry…
   B.S., M.S. in Chemistry (1999)
   PhD in Chemical Physics (2005)
   PostDoc 2005-2008
   Editor & publisher
   

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3. …to publishing chemistry
   Peer-Review Editor (2008-2010), Berlin
   Associate Editor (2010-2012), NYC
   Editor-in-Chief (2012-2020), NYC
   Publisher (Present)
   

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4. Where I work
   1807 mid 1800s Today
   Charles Wiley opened a print shop in
   New York City, publishing literary fiction
   and non-fiction.
   John Wiley & Sons began focusing on
   science, technical, and engineering
   publishing.
   Seven generations later, Wiley is one of
   the oldest independent publishing
   companies.
   1700+ journals, 400+ Open Access journals, 7.5M articles
   500+ societies, 2M members
   #WorkFromHome
   

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5. Science, from the lab to the world
   

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6. • Scientific publishing is generally agreed to have begun in 1660s
   • Openly sharing scientific ideas slowly becomes the standard
   • Publication of Journal des Sçavans and Philosophical Transactions of the
   Royal Society, 1665
   • Boyle’s Skeptical Chemists, 1661, transition from alchemy to modern
   chemistry, and chemistry publishing
   • Letters with drawings and illustrations, not unlike present-time articles
   • 1950s, 1960s marked by explosive growth of science and scientific publishing
   • As science professionalizes, so does academic publishing.
   • Commercial publishers now dominate the industry
   • ”Publish or perish”
   • Most hiring and funding decisions are made based on publication record
   of researchers
   The journey so far
   

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7. Scholarly journals today
   Dissemination
   Spreading the word
   through publishing
   platforms
   But also indexing and
   generally organizing
   knowledge
   Registration
   Precedence of discovery is
   established based on
   article submission date to
   a journal
   Archival
   Safeguarding and
   preserving knowledge
   Publishers play an
   important role preserving
   the scientific record
   Certification
   Peer-review is still the
   gold standard for
   certifying articles
   This is not the same as
   quality-control!
   Peer-review management, Curation, Infrastructure, Ethics, & much, much more. Here’s a list of 96 things publishers do: https://bit.ly/2UW3rKX
   The “Publish or Perish” culture responsible for an environment where (some)
   scientific journals are de facto gatekeepers of science
   

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8. Author normally required to transfer the copyright to the journal Publisher:
   Allows the Publisher to protect the author's rights
   Allows the Publisher to coordinate permissions for reprints or other use
   Reuse of article is possible by licensing often arranged via the Copyright Clearance Center
   SUBSCRIPTION JOURNALS
   OPEN ACCESS JOURNALS
   The articles are freely accessible online without cost to readers
   Users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, these articles; author retains copyright
   Encourages sharing and reuse via various license types:
   Scholarly journals today
   

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9. How “certification” REALLY work?
   “Peer review is the critical assessment of
   manuscripts submitted to journals by
   experts who are not part of the editorial
   staff”-International Committee of Medical Journals Editors
   

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10. How did we get here?
    “We (Mr. Rosen and I) had sent you our manuscript for publication and had not authorised
    you to show it to specialists before it is printed. I see no reason to address the – in any case
    erroneous – comments of your anonymous expert.”
    1665: Publication of Journal des Sçavans and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
    1930s-1940s: Peer-review emerges, not very popular at first
    1960s: Peer-review becomes the institutional standard (Nature, 1967)
    Today: Enjoy overwhelming support despite issues*, alternatives emerge
    * Slow and costly, systemic biases, still misses fraudulent papers
    

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11. Most Common Peer-Review Types
    SINGLE BLIND: Reviewers
    know authors’ identities.
    DOUBLE BLIND:
    Authors’ identities are
    also hidden to
    reviewers
    OPEN:
    All identities are known.
    Credit: Andrew Bissette, @andrewbissette
    Supported but in need of innovation: Slow and costly, systemic biases, still misses fraudulent papers
    

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12. Author
    submits
    article
    Rejected
    Article
    assessed by
    editor
    Sent to
    reviewers
    Author
    submits
    revised paper
    Revision
    required
    Further
    review
    needed?
    Reviews
    assessed by
    editor
    Rejected
    Accepted
    Publication
    Production
    Journey inside a journal
    

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13. The editorial office
    EXTERNAL EDITORS
    IN-HOUSE EDITORS
    Former scientists, have PhDs,
    often PostDoc experience
    Work full time on journal – can
    dedicate more time and
    resources on new
    developments
    General view
    Active scientists, have own
    research group, teaching
    duties…
    Expert (often at the top) in
    specific field
    BOTH: peer-review, decision making, dealing with appeals,
    commissioning, conference participation and lab visits, writing news
    stories,…
    

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14. The article journey: Accept, reject, or revise?
    -REJECTION
    - Without external referee reports (Editor)
    - Based on reports
    -REVISION
    - Reconsideration or resubmission
    possible after major revisions
    -ACCEPTANCE
    - Without changes (rare)
    - With minor changes
    The decision is the Editor’s job…the reviewer ‘s recommendation is not a vote -- it’s advice!
    

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15. This is NOT how it works
    

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16. M.S. in Chemistry (1999)
    PhD in Chemical Physics (2005)
    PostDoc 2005-2008
    From studying chemistry…
    

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17. One editor’s origin story
    

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18. Journal Editor: A day in the life*
    OUTREACH
    DAY-TO-DAY MANAGEMENT OF A JOURNAL
    • Read manuscript submitted to the journal
    • Identify and assign manuscript to reviewers (or sub-Editors)
    • Make editorial decisions
    • Solicit manuscripts and special issues
    • Deal and resolve (hopefully!) ethical issues regarding submissions/published papers
    • Collaborate with editorial, production, marketing team
    • Work closely with authors, reviewers, other editors
    • Beta testing new publishing technologies
    • Help authors to disseminate their work further
    • Attend international conferences
    • Workshops, lab/institution visits
    *Work days are pretty reasonable, actually
    

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19. Publisher*: A day in the life
    LAUNCH/ACQUISITION OF NEW PRODUCTS
    • New journals
    • Journal relaunches
    • Awards, conferences, workshops
    • Webinars, online courses
    STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF JOURNALS
    • Hire, train, and manage editors and editorial assistants (
    • Roll out new publishing initiatives and processes
    • Planning, budgeting, and reporting (Editors don’t deal with finance!)
    • Develop common strategies and goals for portfolio/groups of journals
    • Bring the perspective of the researchers to the company
    • Collaborate closely with editors, marketers, other colleagues
    *”WILEY Publisher”. Titles are not standard in the industry
    !"#$%&)
    

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20. Other roles: Not just for PhDs
    MANAGING EDITOR/JOURNAL PUBLISHING EDITOR
    • Scientific background (sometimes, but not always)
    • Support academic EiC, liaison with production and marketing team
    • Can be involved in making desk rejections
    DEVELOPMENTAL/ACQUISITION EDITOR
    • Scientific backgrounds (often)
    • Commission articles and special issues
    • Responsible for acquisition/launch/improvement of scholarly products
    • Common role in book publishing
    COPY EDITOR
    • Scientific background (often at MS/BS level, not PhD)
    • Responsible for proof-reading manuscripts
    • Mostly present in ”apex” titles, major brands
    

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21. What’s hot & what’s not
    …AND WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT
    • Journal/process development can be slow and frustrating
    • Angry authors are difficult to deal with
    • Fraud/Ethical violations are not uncommon and very exasperating!
    • Sometimes I miss coding, hacking hardware (being a “lab-rat”)
    WHAT I LOVE…
    • It’s a career at the “center of science”
    • Entrusted the knowledge of entire disciplines
    • Bird’s-eye view over science, see best results 1st!
    • Contact with the scientific community
    • Add & participate to the scientific debate and progress
    • Plenty of (international) travel*
    • Real possibility of professional growth
    *pre-COVID, at least
    

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22. What is a good editor made of?
    … BUT YOU WON’T LOVE IT IF YOU …
    • love being in the lab and doing research
    • enjoy being the world expert in a specific subject
    • don’t like changing topics several times a day
    • hated writing your thesis
    IT MAY BE THE JOB FOR YOU IF YOU …
    • are passionate for science communication
    • recognize the importance of publishing in the scientific process
    • are curious about a broad range of topics & disciplines
    • know the art of diplomacy and have people skills
    • have analytical and decision-making skills
    • are creative, with an eye for detail (and the “next big thing”)
    ENGLISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE
    • Publishing not restricted to native speakers anymore
    • BUT, you need to be fluent in communicating science with it
    

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23. Dr Matteo Cavalleri @physicsteo linkedin.com/teowaits
    mcavalleri@wiley.com
    

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