We have started Philippine Science Letters (PSL). PSL is a peer-reviewed, online journal that showcases science done in the Philippines and science done by Filipinos elsewhere. It will publish articles (regular research articles, short communications, and letters to the editor) on studies in the Natural, Physical, Mathematical and Social Sciences, including those related to Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Health and Environmental issues, and Technology. Solicited reviews will also be featured.
Being online, publication in PSL will be rapid and essentially there will be no restriction on the number of pages. Further, there will be no page charges, nor charges for color figures. PSL will also have feature articles on prominent Filipino scientists and their work.
More than two dozen expert Filipino scientists, roughly half from the Philippines and half from abroad, have already agreed to serve on the Editorial Board of PSL.
PSL is different from other journals. First, being online, it is available to everyone with access to the Internet. Second, it is free — to readers as well as to contributors. Third, publication in PSL is rapid — articles will be uploaded soon after acceptance. Fourth, in line with its aim of showcasing Philippine science, PSL will feature articles on Filipino scientists. Fifth, PSL will include brief summaries of newsworthy science articles from other publications for the benefit of readers who do not have access to other publications, as well as the proceedings of local scientific meetings for the benefit of readers who are unable to attend those meetings.
It is our hope that through PSL we will contribute to instilling pride in our countrymen, especially our youth, in our science and our scientists.
PSL will aim to become an ISI (Institute for Scientific Information)-tracked journal to give the work of Filipino scientists greater exposure to the rest of the world. The more articles we contribute to PSL, the faster it will become an ISI journal.
For instructions to contributors, write us or visit the PSL website at www.philsciletters.org.
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Gisela P. Padilla-Concepcion is a professor at the Marine Science Institute, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman. Eduardo A. Padlan is an adjunct professor at the same institute. They can be reached at gpconcepcion@yahoo.com and eapadlanmail-psl@yahoo.com, respectively.