American Scientist

Two years ago, in my first note as editor, I invited you to join me as we embarked together on the adventures ahead. I promised to extend American Scientist’s reputation as a purveyor of meaningful science into the digital world. Thanks to the hard work of a great team, we’ve made tremendous progress toward that goal. We hope you’ve enjoyed the print and digital changes we’ve made along the way.

From the addition of Infographic to the launch of AmSci Blogs, the evolution of the magazine and website has been bold and consistent. This year’s March–April issue featured the first installment of Hypothesis, a column in which researchers can ask you—one of the most scientifically knowledgeable, observant readerships out there—to test their ideas. Throughout the year, we’ve also increased our emphasis on the policy implications of our articles.

In a bittersweet turn of events, we bid farewell to columnist Roald Hoffman and former editor and columnist Brian Hayes, who have moved on to other endeavors after 25 years of brilliant work in the pages of American Scientist. Both of them set the standard for our explorations of chemistry, computer science, and mathematics. To continue that tradition and to broaden the perspectives among our columnists, we’ve added trailblazers Ainissa Ramirez and Natasha Banerjee to our Technologue and Computing Science columns, respectively.

Online, we’ve steadily published fascinating blog posts that complement the news cycle. We’ve increased the frequency of our podcasts and multimedia productions, including live video conversations with Sigma Xi’s distinguished lecturers. And we’ve been highly active on social media, where our efforts have included making major contributions to campaigns about issues critical to our mission, such as #WomenInScience, which tackles the challenges facing women in the workforce, and #IAmAScientistBecause, which explores the many reasons people have chosen to become scientists and engineers.

We’ve done it all without losing a step. American Scientist has been perennially recognized for the quality of its content and design. In June, on behalf of our team, I was thrilled to accept three awards at the 36th Annual EXCEL Awards Gala. The gala is put on by Association Media and Publishing, which has the largest and most prestigious award program for nonprofit association media, publishing, marketing, and communications.

As the new year approaches, we will keep the momentum going. We’ll soon be unveiling a new design for AmericanScientist.org. Considering that our current website was launched in 2008, we’ve been due for an upgrade for several years. Our team has been painstakingly creating and refining a design that both stimulates and informs visitors. The new platform will feature a sleek look, with a focus on stunning visuals and embedded animations and videos. Sigma Xi members will be pleased to find seamless navigation between password- protected portions of American Scientist Online and the Society’s website.

As the new year approaches, we will keep the momentum going. We’ll soon be unveiling a new design for AmericanScientist.org. Considering that our current website was launched in 2008, we’ve been due for an upgrade for several years. Our team has been painstakingly creating and refining a design that both stimulates and informs visitors. The new platform will feature a sleek look, with a focus on stunning visuals and embedded animations and videos. Sigma Xi members will be pleased to find seamless navigation between password- protected portions of American Scientist Online and the Society’s website.

The good news goes beyond American Scientist. In August, Sigma Xi launched the Research Communications Initiative (RCI) to offer communications services to researchers. Some of the content produced through RCI partnerships will be published in a special section of American Scientist.

We can’t wait to share these developments with you. In the meantime, we encourage you to let us know what you think about the changes we’ve made and the direction we’re headed. —Jamie L. Vernon (@JLVernonPhD)