APS Set to Launch Applied Physics Journal

Following approval by the Executive Board in June, APS is gearing up to launch a new journal of applied physics. Physical Review Applied is slated to debut early in 2014, and will feature high quality applied research articles from all areas of physics. "

APS built its reputation on pure physics and it's important for us to reach out to the applied physics community and say that there is a home for applied physics here," said Gene Sprouse, APS Editor in Chief.

The Society conducted surveys of a cross section of its membership, which showed a strong desire for an APS-run applied physics journal. The Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics in particular showed great interest in such a journal. In addition, the Society's editors found that the new journal would likely benefit from about a thousand papers a year that are now submitted to APS journals but have to be rejected because they are outside the current scope of research covered by the Physical Review.

"We're constantly looking at how we should be growing our journals and it was clear that applied physics was a burgeoning area," said Kate Kirby, APS's Executive Officer. "I hope it becomes the journal in which to publish high quality applied physics papers."

In the last ten years, applied areas of physics research have seen tremendous growth. Both the number of articles in applied physics, and the number of journals devoted specifically to it have been growing substantially, particularly in condensed matter and materials. "The journal is going to be very broad in scope," Sprouse said, adding that all fields with an applied component are encouraged to publish in the new journal.

The push for Physical Review Applied stems also from the APS strategic plan, which calls for more effort to reach out to, and to serve, applied and industrial physicists.

"It aligns very well with the aims of the strategic plan," Kirby said. "To have a journal of applied physics research within the Physical Review family is an important statement that applied physics and industrial physics is valuable research that advances physics frontiers."

"There's a broad goal of the strategic plan that we should have a place in our journals for all of our members to publish," Sprouse said.

APS has constituted a search committee to find an editor for the journal. Following the selection of the editor, the committee will begin recruiting associate editors. If all goes according to plan, researchers will start submitting papers in the fall, and the journal will publish its first issue sometime early next year.