Proceedings of the Royal Society is the parent title of two
scientific journalIn academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
s published by the
Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence...
, whereas its initial journal, Philosophical Transactions, is now devoted to special thematic issues.
Originally a single journal, "Proceedings" was split into two separate journals in 1905;
- Series A, which publishes research related to mathematical, physical and engineering sciences
- Series B, which publishes research related to biology
Biology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
The two journals are currently the Royal Society's main research journals.
Many celebrated names in science have published their research in
Proc.
Proceedings of the Royal Society is the parent title of two
scientific journalIn academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
s published by the
Royal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence...
, whereas its initial journal, Philosophical Transactions, is now devoted to special thematic issues.
Originally a single journal, "Proceedings" was split into two separate journals in 1905;
- Series A, which publishes research related to mathematical, physical and engineering sciences
- Series B, which publishes research related to biology
Biology is the natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy...
The two journals are currently the Royal Society's main research journals.
Many celebrated names in science have published their research in
Proc. R. Soc., including
DiracPaul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS was a British theoretical physicist. Dirac made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics...
,
HeisenbergWerner Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
,
MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish theoretical physicist and mathematician. His most significant achievement was the development of the classical electromagnetic theory, synthesizing all previous unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and even optics into a...
,
RutherfordErnest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, FRS was a New Zealand chemist and physicist who became known as the father of nuclear physics....
and
SchrödingerErwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was an Austrian theoretical physicist who achieved fame for his contributions to quantum mechanics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1933...
.
History
The Royal Society was founded in 1660 to promote the new or experimental philosophy of that time, embodying the principles envisaged by Sir
Francis BaconFrancis Bacon,1st Viscount St Alban KC , son of Nicholas Bacon by his second wife Anne Bacon, was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, and author. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
.
Henry OldenburgHenry Oldenburg was a German theologian known as a diplomat and a natural philosopher. He was one of the foremost intelligencers of Europe of the seventeenth century, with a network of correspondents to rival those of Fabri de Peiresc, Marin Mersenne and Ismaël Boulliau...
was appointed as the first (joint) secretary to the Society and he was also the first editor of the Society's journal
Philosophical Transactions.
The Proceedings started out in 1800 as the
Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. The Royal Society published four volumes, from 1800 to 1843. Volumes 5 and 6, which appeared from 1843 to 1854, were called
Abstracts of the Papers Communicated to the Royal Society of London. Starting with volume 7, in 1854, the Proceedings first appeared under the name
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Publication of the proceedings in this form continued to volume 75 in 1905. Starting with volume 76, the Proceedings were split into
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Containing Papers of a Mathematical and Physical Character and
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character. The Proceedings have since undergone further name changes. Currently, the two series are called
Proceedings of the Royal Society A — Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences and
Proceedings of the Royal Society B — Biological Sciences.
Proceedings of the Royal Society A
Proceedings A has an illustrious history of publishing pioneering and influential research articles across the range of the physical and mathematical sciences. These have included Maxwell's electromagnetic theory, the Braggs' first account of X-ray crystallography, Dirac's relativistic theory of the electron, and Watson and Crick's detailed description of the structure of DNA.
Proc. R. Soc. A publishes refereed research articles in the mathematical, physical and engineering sciences. The emphasis is on high-quality, original, fundamental articles of interest to a wide range of scientists, in emerging and interdisciplinary areas as well as established disciplines. The journal is covered by the following index system: Applied Mechanics Reviews ,Bibliography and Index of Geology (Also known as GeoRef), British and Irish Archaeological Bibliography, Chemical Abstracts, Chemistry Citation Index, Composites Alert, Compumath Citation Index, Current Contents, Engineered, Materials Abstracts, Engineering Index Monthly, Excerpta Medica, Fluidex, Forest Products Abstracts , Geographical Abstracts, Human Geography , Geological Abstracts , Geomechanics Abstracts , Index to Scientific Reviews , INSPEC (The Institution of Electrical Engineers) (1968- ), Mass Spectrometry Bulletin , Mathematical Reviews , Metals Abstracts , Metals Abstracts Index , Mineralogical Abstracts , Nonferrous Metals Alert , Oceanographic Literature Review , Petroleum Abstracts , Polymers, Ceramics , Research Alert (Philadelphia) , Science Citation Index , Steels Alert , World Aluminum Abstracts.
The current Editor of the journal is Sir
Michael BerryMichael Victor Berry , is a mathematical physicist at the University of Bristol.He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1982 and knighted in 1996. From 2006 he has been Editor of the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society.He is famous among other things for the Berry phase, a...
FRS.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
This series covers research related to biological sciences. Topics covered in particular include
ecologyEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
, behavioural ecology and
evolutionary biologyEvolutionary biology is a sub-field of biology concerned with the origin of species from a common descent and descent of species, as well as their change, multiplication and diversity over time. Someone who studies evolutionary biology is known as an evolutionary biologist...
; significant numbers of papers in
epidemiologyEpidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine...
,
human biologyHuman biology is an interdisciplinary academic field of biology, biological anthropology, nutrition and medicine which focuses on humans; it is closely related to primate biology, and a number of other fields...
,
neuroscienceNeuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Such studies span the structure, function, evolutionary history, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, informatics, computational neuroscience and pathology of the nervous system.The International Brain Research...
, palaeontology and
biomechanicsBiomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to living organisms. This includes bioengineering, the research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms and the application of engineering principles to and from biological systems...
have also appeared in the journal. The criteria for selection are scientific excellence, originality and potential interest to a wide spectrum of biologists.
Proceedings B publishes predominately research articles but also publishes both commissioned and non-commissioned reviews, comments, replies and commentaries.
The current Editor of this section of the journal is Professor
Michael HassellMichael P. Hassell CBE, FRS is a British biologist, noted for his work in population ecology, especially in insects. He is a professor at the Imperial College London....
FRS. The international editorial board dictating the direction of the journal, includes Professors and Doctors from major institutions such as The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
,
Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing Normal University , colloqiually known as 北师大 Běishīdà), is a university located in Beijing, People's Republic of China.- History :...
, Imperial College London,
Natural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
London and
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
.
In 2005,
Biology LettersBiology Letters is a journal covering a wide spectrum of the biological sciences published both in print and online. Launched from Proceedings of the Royal Society B in 2005, it publishes papers regularly online. Originally publishing each quarter, from 2007 it publishes 6 issues a year...
, (originally a supplement to Proceedings B), was launched as an independent journal to wide acclaim.
Open Access
Although current issues of these journals require a subscription, issues after are available free at the journal's website, subject to a one year embargo for Proceedings B and an a two year embargo for Proceedings A, thus making these
delayed open access journalDelayed open access journals are traditional subscription-based journals that provide open access or free access after an embargo period from the initial publication date. A subscription or an article purchase would be required to read the materials before this embargo period ends. These journals...
s
See also
- Journal of the Royal Society Interface
Journal of the Royal Society Interface is an international journal publishing reviews, research articles and short reports from the interface between the physical sciences, including mathematics, and the life sciences. It provides a high-quality forum to publish rapidly and interact across this...
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, or Phil. Trans., is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society.Begun in 1665, it is the oldest scientific journal printed in the English-speaking world and the second oldest in the world, after the French Journal des sçavans...
- The Royal Society
- Biology Letters
Biology Letters is a journal covering a wide spectrum of the biological sciences published both in print and online. Launched from Proceedings of the Royal Society B in 2005, it publishes papers regularly online. Originally publishing each quarter, from 2007 it publishes 6 issues a year...
External links
Current journals
Archive journals
(1800-1843) (1854-1905) (1905-1934) (1905-1934) (1934-1990)