November 2024 marks 20 years since Journal of the Royal Society Interface was launched to provide a home for innovative cross-disciplinary research at the boundary of the life and physical sciences. The Senior Publishing Editor, Dr Tim Holt, reflects on its importance in the scientific publishing landscape.
1) What led to the launch of the journal?
In the early 2000s, it became apparent that distinctive scientific challenges and opportunities existed at the interface between the biology and the physical science. Consequently, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and cross–disciplinary research was flourishing on a global scale as the methodologies of chemistry, computer science, materials science, mathematics and physics, were utilised to provide insight into the biological and medical sciences. Equally, a greater understanding of the biological template had considerable potential to facilitate advances in the physical sciences.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface was launched in May 2004 in response to the challenge of the scientific community in publishing cross-disciplinary research.
2) How has the journal and field evolved over the past 20 years?
The journal’s progress has reflected changes in the cross-disciplinary sciences in the last two decades, for example the emergence novel topics such as synthetic biology. Other circumstances have also affected its development, such as the explosion in infectious disease dynamics article submissions during the COVID-19 epidemic.
In 2006 J. R. Soc. Interface began to fill another gap in the publishing field with the introduction of themed supplements covering specific subjects in the cross-disciplinary sciences. This eventually led to the launch of an independent themed journal, Interface Focus.
3) What’s your role and how has it changed over time?
Although many aspects of the role have remained constant – commissioning content, overseeing the review process and promoting the journal - it has also evolved to reflect changes in the publishing environment, particularly the emergence of new technologies such as AI.
4) Have there been any particular opportunities and challenges over the past 20 years?
When the journal was launched there were very few other publications with such a broad remit covering the cross–disciplinary sciences. The greatest challenge was to inform the scientific community of its existence and the unique opportunities it offered.
5) What do you hope is next for the journal?
My hope is that the journal continues to grow, publish ever better science and maintain its place as a home for all cross–disciplinary research.
Image: Tree frog (Litoria caerulea). Credit: iStock.com / jamcgraw.
