Abstract
Practica is a new, open access spectroscopy journal from the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS). SAS's flagship journal, Applied Spectroscopy, is now in its 77th yearly volume, and all those volumes are available online. Having published one journal for all those years, starting a second journal is clearly a major, and also exciting, step for the Society.
SAS and the editors of Applied Spectroscopy, in conjunction with our publishing partner, SAGE Publications Inc., have been following the move toward “Open Access” scientific publishing for the past few years. Open Access journals are funded by article processing charges (APCs), paid by the author (i.e., their institution or employer). In some countries, SAGE has negotiated overall agreements that cover APCs. Applied Spectroscopy currently accepts Open Access papers, and in addition, Focal Point Reviews are free to view.
The full Aims and Scope for Practica can be found here, and the Submission Guidelines here.
Practica is published quarterly, with the first issue scheduled for June 2023. The journal is available on the SAGE website, where papers can be freely accessed via HTML (online), and via PDF downloads. In addition, SAS will distribute a digital “e-book” version of the journal. Because Practica is Open Access, the digital version will be distributed widely, above and beyond SAS's membership.
The Society for Applied Spectroscopy
The SAS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the dissemination of information related to spectroscopy. In business for over 60 years, the Society is committed to education and to providing quality benefits to members worldwide. The objective of this Society is to advance and disseminate knowledge and information concerning the art and science of spectroscopy and other allied sciences. We are pleased to be the proprietor of the internationally recognized, peer reviewed journal Applied Spectroscopy and now Applied Spectroscopy Practica.
Our SAS governing body consists of a member-elected Executive Committee and Governing Board. Both meet regularly to ensure the Society is functioning at the highest level possible, providing our members with the most for their membership dollars.
Supporting our Executive Committee and Governing Board are a host of working committees and sections that implement the ideas and projects that will help our members become better scientists. Any member is eligible to serve on the Governing Board and committees, and we welcome any and all volunteers.
SAS’s annual meeting is held in conjunction with the SciX Meeting presented by the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies each autumn. We host numerous events and symposia at SciX, and your SAS membership gets you a discount to attend. In addition to SciX, SAS supports several other meetings including the Pittsburgh Conference, where we also host a number of events for our members. Please visit us on the exhibit floor at these meetings.
The Society has a long and rich history as the premier spectroscopic information source for scientists.
Applied Spectroscopy
Applied Spectroscopy® is one of the world's leading spectroscopy journals, publishing high-quality articles, both fundamental and applied, covering all aspects of spectroscopy. Established in 1951, the journal is owned by the SAS and is published monthly. The journal is dedicated to fulfilling the mission of the Society to “…advance and disseminate knowledge and information concerning the art and science of spectroscopy and other allied sciences.” All manuscripts are rigorously peer reviewed.
The journal publishes high-impact reviews, original research papers, special issues on specific topics, and technical notes. In keeping with the society mandate, review papers are made freely available to download. This means that these articles are accessible at the time of publication to scientists, students, and the general public worldwide.
From Andrew Whitley, SAS President 2022
In 2023, SAS is launching a second journal, Applied Spectroscopy Practica. The contract for Practica was signed at the end of August 2022 after a long planning phase and a careful financial review. Many thanks to everyone involved in making Practica a reality including and especially Richard Crocombe (SAS President, 2019), the original October 2020 ad hoc second journal working group of Rina Dukor, Mike Blades, Sergei Kazarian, Kristin MacDonald, Peter Larkin, Rina Dukor, Adam Hopkins, Bill Cunningham, Bonnie Saylor, Peter Griffiths, and Bruce Chase, and since then the Publications Committee and our Applied Spectroscopy editorial team, and of course SAGE. I encourage you and your peers to submit suitable papers to Practica. With a successful launch, Practica will play a major role in the advancement and education of practical spectroscopy across all industries, regions, and demographics.
From Peter Larkin, SAS President 2023
Applied Spectroscopy Practica represents something old and something new for SAS. The publication of Practica returns us to our roots of industrial-based spectroscopy applications: The core philosophy for Practica is aligned with many of the earlier publications that Applied Spectroscopy was based on. This journal meets the needs of a new generation of spectroscopists to provide a resource of practical-based spectroscopy applications that are typically employed in industrial, government, and academic laboratories. We have, however, embraced the new and growing Open Access model for journal publication. Since the papers will be available to all free of charge, we anticipate this will expand the footprint of SAS to more general users who will benefit from exposure to our members’ spectroscopy expertise. I think in many ways our new publication, Applied Spectroscopy Practica, combines the best of both worlds and will help generate new growth in SAS in the future.