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Editorial: new Editor-in-Chief
and the 360th anniversary of
PhilosophicalTransactions
C. Richard A. Catlow1,2
1Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London
WC1HOAJ , UK
2School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Park Place, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
It is a pleasure to be writing my first editorial
as Editor-in-Chief of the journal, taking over from
Professor John Dainton, whose excellent stewardship
has contributed greatly to the journal’s recent success.
My own scientific fields of computational, materials and
catalytic chemistry have featured strongly in the journal,
and I am proud to have published in it regularly since
my first Philosophical Transactions A paper in 1991 on the
chemical nature of fission products in uranium dioxide
nuclear fuels [1]. I have also been a Guest Editor of
several of the journal’s theme issues, most recently on
‘Green Carbon for the Chemical Industry of the Future’
[2]. Guest editing a Philosophical Transactions A theme
issue is always a rewarding experience.
It is an auspicious year to be starting my term as
Editor-in-Chief, as in 2025, we are celebrating the 360th
anniversary of the first issue of Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society—a landmark in the history of science
and of scientific publishing [3]. In its extraordinarily
rich and diverse history, the journal has communica-
ted some of the most outstanding scientific discoveries.
Examples from the early years in what we now call
the ‘physical sciences’ include Isaac Newton’s theory
of light and colours in 1671 [4], and Thomas Bayes’
‘doctrine of chances’ in 1760 [5]. Our journal was also
the first to publish the astronomical discoveries of
Caroline Herschel in 1787 [6], the first time the scientific
work of a woman was fully credited in any scientific
publication throughout the world (stay tuned through-
out 2025 as the Royal Society will also be celebrating
the 80th anniversary of the first female scientists to
be elected to the Fellowship). Later periods saw the
publication of James Clerk Maxwell’s full ‘dynamical
theory of the electromagnetic field’ in 1865 [7].
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and
source are credited.
royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsta
Editorial
Cite this article: Catlow CRA. 2025 Editorial:
new Editor-in-Chief and the 360th anniversary
of Philosophical Transactions. Phil. Trans. R. Soc.
A 383: 20240557.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2024.0557
Received: 2 December 2024
Accepted: 2 December 2024
Subject Areas:
computational chemistry
Keywords:
maths, engineering, physics, chemistry,
computer science, Earth science
Author for correspondence:
C. Richard A. Catlow
e-mail: philtransa@royalsociety.org
After the Philosophical Transactions was divided into two strands in 1887, the Philosophical
Transactions A received an increasing number of submissions of articles in the physical sciences,
including Dyson, Eddington and Davidson’s ‘Determination of the deflection of light by the
sun’s gravitational field, from observations made at the total eclipse of 29 May 1919’ and Dame
Kathleen Lonsdale’s ‘Divergent-Beam X-Ray Photography of Crystals’ published in 1947 [8,9].
The journal has indeed played a key role in the development of scientific knowledge as
stated by the President of the Royal Society in 1832: ‘[The] Transactions contain records of almost
every important discovery in natural philosophy; of almost every experimental inquiry which has been
most remarkable for its difficulty, delicacy, or importance; and of almost every original speculation which
has most contributed to the advancement of science.’ [10]
The distinguished past of Philosophical Transactions is matched by its dynamic presence at
the forefront of current science, as illustrated by several recent issues of the journal: ‘Deliver-
ing Fusion Energy – The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)’[11]; ‘The effective-
ness of non-pharmaceutical interventions on the COVID-19 pandemic: the evidence’[12]; and
‘Cognitive artificial intelligence’ [13].
To what does the journal owe its longevity and success? First, to its core values of scientific
integrity; of which, peer review is a key promoter and protector. As is well known, peer review
is under great pressure, owing to a number of factors including reviewer fatigue and growing
general pressures on the scientific community. Interesting new approaches are being explored,
including ‘open peer review’, but it will remain a key component of high-quality scientific
publishing. As I repeatedly say to (especially younger) colleagues, we should view peer review
not as an adversarial process but as a means for improving and protecting the quality of our
published work and the scientific record.
A second key feature of the journal has been its flexibility and adaptability. While retaining
its core values, it has changed as science and scientific communication has changed. It is flexible
in the type of articles it publishes, accepting original research and reviews, or blends of the two.
We welcome proposals for issues from all members of the scientific community, and indeed we
would be very pleased to receive more proposals for journal issues from early-career scientists.
We also hope that the proposals we receive will reflect the very broad scope of the journal
which encompasses all areas of physical science, engineering and mathematics. To find out
more about submitting a proposal to the journal, visit https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsta/
submit-proposal.
Scientific publishing is under both pressure and scrutiny. Journal proliferation and the
growth of predatory publishing practices are clear threats to scientific integrity, as is the
crude and uncritical use of publication metrics as proxies for quality. Royal Society Publish-
ing in general, and Philosophical Transactions in particular, will continue to stand for integrity,
inclusiveness and rigour in scientific publishing [14].
Declaration of AI use. We have not used AI-assisted technologies in creating this article.
Acknowledgements. With thanks to Louisiane Ferlier in the Royal Society’s Centre for History of Science for her
excellent contributions on the history of the journal for this article. More can be explored in our ‘Science in
the Making’ project: https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/.
References
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Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 335, 609–634. (doi:10.1098/rsta.1991.0062)
2. Sheldon RA, Hutchings G, Catlow CRA, Davidson M, Rosseinsky M, Williams C. 2024
Green carbon and the chemical industry of the future. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 382. (doi:10.
1098/rsta.2023.0259)
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royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsta Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 383: 20240557
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Soc. B. 380. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2024.0492)
4. Newton I. 1672 A letter of Mr. Isaac Newton, Professor of the Mathematicks in the
University of Cambridge; containing his new theory about light and colors: sent by the
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. A history of scientific journals.
See https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/philosophicaltransactions/submissions-in-life-sciences-
vs-physical-sciences-1927-1989/.
10. Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex. 1832 Anniversary Meeting, Nov. 30th. Proc. R.
Soc. Lond. 3140–3155. (doi:10.1098/rspl.1830.0084)
11. Chapman I, Cowley S, Wilson H (eds). 2024 Delivering Fusion Energy – The Spherical
Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP). Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 382.https://
royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rsta/2024/382/2280
12. Walport M (ed). 2023 The effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions on the
COVID-19 pandemic: the evidence. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 381.https://royalsocietypublishing.
org/toc/rsta/2023/381/2257
13. BundyA, Chater N, Muggleton S (eds). 2023 Cognitive artificial intelligence. Phil. Trans. R.
Soc. A 381.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rsta/2023/381/2251
14. Dixon R, Dainton J. 2024 Guest-editing under the spotlight. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A. 382,
38220230374. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2023.0374)
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