Saad E. Hebboul
The American Physical Society, Ridge, NY
EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE AT
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
http://prl.aps.org
OUTLINE
PRL EDITORIAL JOB
PRL INNER WORKINGS
EDITORIAL ENVIRONMENT
EDITORIAL CAREER
EDITORIAL OFFICES, RIDGE NEW YORK
PRL EDITORIAL OFFICE OF Saad Hebboul
MANUSCRIPT TASK WORK FOR Saad Hebboul
MANUSCRIPT TASK WORK FOR Saad Hebboul
TASK ≡ INDIVISIBLE “ QUANTUM ” UNIT OF
EDITORIAL WORK ( ~ 1 Task / Manuscript )
MANUSCRIPT TASK WORK FOR Saad Hebboul
REAL-TIME LISTS OF TASKS FOR FULL-TIME EDITOR :
LOAD = 800 - 1000 MANUSCRIPTS / YEAR
TASK ≡ INDIVISIBLE “ QUANTUM ” UNIT OF
EDITORIAL WORK ( ~ 1 Task / Manuscript )
MANUSCRIPT TASK WORK FOR Saad Hebboul
REAL-TIME LISTS OF TASKS FOR FULL-TIME EDITOR :
LOAD = 800 - 1000 MANUSCRIPTS / YEAR
TASK ≡ INDIVISIBLE “ QUANTUM ” UNIT OF
EDITORIAL WORK ( ~ 1 Task / Manuscript )
GLOBAL
CATEGORIES OF
TASKS FOR EACH
PRL EDITOR
DETAILED
CATEGORIES OF
TASKS FOR EACH
PRL EDITOR
MANUSCRIPT TASK WORK FOR Saad Hebboul
REAL-TIME LISTS OF TASKS FOR FULL-TIME EDITOR :
LOAD = 800 - 1000 MANUSCRIPTS / YEAR
TASK ≡ INDIVISIBLE “ QUANTUM ” UNIT OF
EDITORIAL WORK ( ~ 1 Task / Manuscript )
GLOBAL
CATEGORIES OF
TASKS FOR EACH
PRL EDITOR
DETAILED
CATEGORIES OF
TASKS FOR EACH
PRL EDITOR
SUGGESTIONS / PHYSICS SELECTIONS
GLOBAL TASK CATEGORIES FOR PRL EDITORS
Total number of tasks
for editor to act on
No Report from referee
/ Back From Referee
No Report from referee
/ Out To Referee
Manuscripts that are
too long to review Back-up tasks from
editors who are out
Daily tasks done by
editor ( 20 – 40 / Day )
DETAILED TASK CATEGORIES FOR PRL EDITORS
> 13 days old tasks for
ALL PRL Editors
Miscellaneous types
of office internal tasks
New manuscripts that
are ready for editor
All reports from
Referees & Boards
Back From Author
Resubmissions
> 9 days old tasks for
ONE PRL Editor
New manuscripts that
just arrived in office
No Report / Transfer
Report / Joint Report
Not all reports from
Referees & Boards
Correspondence from
Authors & Referees
OUTLINE
PRL EDITORIAL JOB
PRL INNER WORKINGS
EDITORIAL ENVIRONMENT
EDITORIAL CAREER
EVOLUTIONARY TREE OF SCIENCE
TIME
FIE
LD
S
OF
S
CIE
NC
E
PRL GOALS & CRITERIA
TIME
FIE
LD
S
OF
S
CIE
NC
E
HIGHLIGHT MAJOR PROGRESS IN ALL FIELDS
PRL GOALS & CRITERIA
TIME
FIE
LD
S
OF
S
CIE
NC
E
ACHIEVE CROSS-FIELD FERTILIZATION
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
0.0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
RE
CE
IPT
S
( 1
03 )
/
YE
AR
YEAR
RECEIPTS
1958 -- 2011 TOTAL
REST
EUROPE
USA
1980 1990 2000 20100
1
2
3
4
5
PU
BL
ISH
ED
L
ET
TE
RS
(
10
3 )
/
YE
AR
YEAR
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
AC
CE
PT
AN
CE
R
AT
E
PUBLISHED LETTERS
1982 -- 2011
ACCEPTANCE RATE
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
0
5
10
15
20
25
ED
ITO
RS
YEAR
0.0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
RE
CE
IPT
S
( 1
03 )
/
YE
AR
EDITORS
1958 -- 2011
RECEIPTS
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
0
5
10
15
20
25
ED
ITO
RS
YEAR
0.0
2.5
5.0
7.5
10.0
12.5
RE
CE
IPT
S
( 1
03 )
/
YE
AR
SAME EDITORS / INCREASING RECEIPTS
10 30 50 70 90
EDITOR A EDITOR B
PACS NUMBERS
FIELD ASSIGNMENTS FOR PRL EDITORS
MAIN PACS # identifies the EDITOR for your MANUSCRIPT
PRL REFEREE SELECTION : ( Step 1 of 2 ) M
AN
US
CR
IPT
REFERENCES
KEY WORDS
PACS NUMBERS
COVER LETTER
DATABASE ( > 55,000 )
WORKING
LIST OF
REFEREES
( < 100 )
PRL REFEREE SELECTION : ( Step 2 of 2 )
WORKING
LIST OF
REFEREES
( < 100 )
AVAILABILITY ?
REFEREES
2 - 3
EXPERTISE ?
REF. RECORD ?
PUB. RECORD ?
COLLABORATIONS ?
YES
NO
YES
YES
YES
YES
NO
NO
NO
NO
These include manuscripts that are :
PRL REJECTION WITHOUT REVIEW
PRL Editors reject about 10 % - 20 % of
new manuscripts without external review .
POOR
INCOMPLETE
SPECIALIZED
MARGINAL
…
PRESENTATION vs. RESEARCH
TITLE
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
RESULT
FIGURES
TABLES
EQUATIONS
ANALYSIS
DISCUSSION
INTERNAL COUPLING
PRESENTATION RESEARCH
INTERNAL COUPLING
OUTLINE
PRL EDITORIAL JOB
PRL INNER WORKINGS
EDITORIAL ENVIRONMENT
EDITORIAL CAREER
Ling Miao ( PRX )
Valerie Miller,
PRODUCTION/PRA
Jessica Thomas,
PHYSICS
Jack Sandweiss,
CHAIRMAN
John Ripka,
PRODUCTION
Carla Lombardi,
PRODUCTION
Jane Throwe
Yonko Millev Saad Hebboul
PRL EDITORS : PART 1 of 3
Abhishek Agarwal
Sami Mitra Jerry Malenfant
George Basbas Reiny Schuhmann Robert Garisto Donavan Hall
PRL EDITORS : PART 2 of 3
Sonja Grondalski Manolis Antonoyiannakis
Daniel Ucko Deniz van Heijnsbergen
PRL EDITORS : PART 3 of 3
Frank Narducci Brant Johnson
Karsten Kruse Stanley Brown
Debbie Brodbar, RMP
Sami Mitra, PRL
Margaret Malloy, PRA&E
APS MARCH 2012 MEETING, BOSTON, MA
Robert Garisto, PRL Matt Eager, PRB Sharon Lensky, JIS
DirkJan Bukman, PRE
Rashmi Ray, PRD
RIDGE HOLIDAY LUNCHEON, 12/15/11
RIDGE HOLIDAY LUNCHEON, 12/15/11
Reiny Schuhmann, PRL
Robert Garisto, PRL
Matt Eager, PRB
Sharon Lensky, JIS
Arthur Smith, JIS
Rashmi Ray, PRD
Tony Begley, PRB
RIDGE EDITORIAL HUMOR, 03/27/12
Saad Hebboul, PRL
George Basbas, PRL
EDITORIAL HUMOR
The referee writes in his report :
“ This manuscript is terse,
so my report will also be terse.”
EDITORIAL HUMOR
The referee writes under “ JOINT REPORT “ :
“ None. I wrote this report all by myself.
My mother would be proud.”
EDITORIAL HUMOR
The authors do not like the report of referee A :
“ The report of referee A reads like
a message from an asylum.”
EDITORIAL HUMOR
The authors resubmit many months later :
“ We finally succeeded in removing the obscured
abracadabra from our manuscript so that the
referees can understand our work better.”
OUTLINE
PRL EDITORIAL JOB
PRL INNER WORKINGS
EDITORIAL ENVIRONMENT
EDITORIAL CAREER
Editorial
EDITORIAL CAREER AS A SEPARATE WORLD
Many
Different
Journals
Many
Different
Skills
Funding Academic Editorial Patenting Industrial Financial
WORLDS
SPECTRUM OF DIFFERENT CAREER WORLDS
Funding Academic Editorial Patenting Industrial Financial
WORLDS
SPECTRUM OF DIFFERENT CAREER WORLDS
NO SUPERIOR / INFERIOR CAREER WORLDS
SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND FOR PRL EDITORS
SC
IEN
TIF
IC B
AC
KG
RO
UN
D
SCIENTIFIC FIELDS
ACADEMIC
EDITORIAL
PhD GRADUATE
SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND FOR PRL EDITORS
SC
IEN
TIF
IC B
AC
KG
RO
UN
D
SCIENTIFIC FIELDS
ACADEMIC
EDITORIAL
PhD GRADUATE
PhD GRADUATE
+
POSTDOCTORAL
ADDITIONAL SKILLS FOR PRL EDITORS
WRITTEN & ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
APPRECIATION OF RESEARCH DONE BY OTHERS
INTUITION FOR QUALITY OF RESEARCH
ACCEPTANCE OF ALL SCIENTIFIC FIELDS
INTEREST IN HELPING AUTHORS & REFEREES
COMFORTABLE IN SOCIAL SETTINGS
ABILITY TO TAKE CRITICISM
ENHANCING RESUMES FOR EDITORIAL JOBS
INCLUDE TWO TO FIVE WELL SPACED “BULLET” ITEMS :
INCLUDE A LINK TO YOUR YOUTUBE - STYLE VIDEO < 5 min
Reviewed 3 manuscripts for PRL, 4 for PRB, and 2 for Nature
Co-authored 2 Letters in PRL, 3 Articles in PRB, and 1 Article in Nature
INCLUDE YOUR PHOTO IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER
INCLUDE PLENTY OF EMPTY SPACE AROUND EACH ITEM
INAPPROPRIATE PHOTOS FOR RESUMES
Fashionable Posture
Distracting Background
Wedding Like
Obstructing Hat
APPROPRIATE PHOTOS FOR RESUMES
NO Distracting Backgrounds
NO Face Obstructions
SUMMARY
PRL EDITORIAL JOB :
PRL INNER WORKINGS :
EDITORIAL ENVIRONMENT :
EDITORIAL CAREER :
Editors work on manuscripts in various real-time queues.
Each full-time editor handles dozens of manuscripts / day.
Referee selection is a two-step process using key words, references, etc.
Editors attend various domestic & international conferences.
Relaxed academic atmosphere without students & No campus.
Editorial world exists between Academic & Patent worlds.
Candidates qualify by gaining broad scientific background + specialty.
Review major progress in all fields & Induce cross-field fertilization.
Rejection without external review for 10% - 20% of new manuscripts.
Resumes can be enhanced by self-portrait photos & links to videos.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
AUTHORS
REFEREES
READERS
LANCE COOPER
MAIN MATERIAL SOURCES
PRL :
CLIP ART :
GOOGLE IMAGES :
http://astech.library.cornell.edu/ast/phys/
additional/History-of-Physics.cfm
http://nobelprize.org
http://www.clipart.com
prl.aps.org
CELESTIA :
www.clipart.com
www.google.com/imghp
www.celestiamotherlode.net