By Alysse Schultheis
Editor-in-Chief
Once students graduate from Sewanee, their connection to the Mountain and the people never ends, and Drs. Elise Kikis and Alyssa Summers approached the creation of the Journal of Sewanee Science with this important quality in mind. Modeled from of the well-known journal Science, Sewanee’s new journal will be part journal, part newsletter, highlighting all of the exciting and innovative work students are doing. This offers a wonderful opportunity for students to practice scientific writing, gain experience in the scientific publishing process, and show their peers and the Sewanee community their work. The journal will include a wide range of sciences, including biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, forestry, geology, and environmental studies, and with two issues a year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring.
The Journal of Sewanee Science will be published once each semester online, as well as in print if funding allows. The journal will be free for the entire Sewanee community and through open access online, with copyright protection provided to each writer. Each issue will include many different features, offering a wide selection of formats for students to submit their work in. There will be formal research articles, where students can present senior theses or other works not quite ready for a professional journal. These articles will be peer reviewed by alumni, allowing for graduates to offer suggestions to current students and help them create a final article of high quality.
Aside from research articles, the journal will also include news and pioneering views, which will highlight recent papers that present major breakthroughs or paradigm shifts in different fields. Students can also submit review articles, where they provide systemic and substantial coverage of subject matter relating to a field or subfield in the sciences. Individuals can also submit technical advances that have recently developed and change the way questions are approached in a field.
Sewanee possesses a very extensive alumni network that provides many students with summer internships, but sometimes they do not get to share their hard work in an official format. The Journal of Sewanee Science will help close this gap by providing a place for students to submit accounts of their research experiences with Sewanee faculty, alumni, or other institutions during the academic year or summer.
In order to make the journal a collaboration between both students and alumni, each issue will also include alumni tales, where graduates can submit accounts of life beyond the Mountain, as well as essays on topics current students might find interesting and helpful. This could include, but is not limited to, topics like applying to graduate school, life as a graduate student, applying for science-related jobs, or strategies for making integral career decisions. Essays can also include highlights about current research alumni are engaged in. This element of the journal encourages alumni to keep in contact with Sewanee and fosters the unique connection students develop during their time on the Domain.
The submission deadline for the Journal of Sewanee Science’s inaugural issue is November 2, but do not worry if you miss the deadline because your work will simply be reviewed for the next issue in the Spring. Submit all materials to the editorial board (Kikis and Summers) by email at josscience@sewanee.edu. For more information, see the journal website at http://www.sewanee.edu/joss.com. The anticipated publication date for the first issue is November 20, so be on the lookout for this wonderful addition to Sewanee’s scientific community.