Editorial Content

The Magazine

American Scientist is written and edited for scientists, engineers and other enthusiasts of science who are curious about developments in a wide range of disciplines. American Scientist is published six times per year (January, March, May, July, September and November) by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. (For more information about American Scientist and Sigma Xi, see the free online video Making a Difference.)

Feature Articles

Each issue features five major articles chosen from a broad variety of science topics. All articles are written by scientists in concert with American Scientist editors and are profusely illustrated with color photographs, fine art, diagrams and graphs.

Departments

. . . Macroscope

Personal views on the nature of their pursuits by scientists looking beyond and beneath the routine

. . . Computing Science

Essays on the interface of science and computing by Brian Hayes, science writer and former editor of American Scientist

. . . Engineering

Perspectives on the engineering profession by Henry Petroski, a Duke University civil engineer and historian and author of Small Things Considered

. . . Marginalia

Reflections on topics at the margins of scientific research

. . . Science Observer

Observations of notable but unusual developments on the landscape of science

. . . Sightings

Visual communications in science presented by MIT photographer Felice Frankel

Scientist’s Bookshelf

Reviews of 20 to 30 new books and electronic media on a wide variety of topics

On the Web

Along with the content from the magazine, American Scientist Online will build on the magazine’s content with several new features:

Newsletters/Columns

Science in the News Weekly, a weekly digest of science news stories appearing in mainstream media. It is produced every Tuesday morning in conjunction with Sigma Xi’s “Public Understanding of Science” program and is e-mailed to subscribers and placed on the site.

Scientists' Bookshelf Monthly, a communique that includes interviews with authors, bedtime reading of well-known scientists and some of the best reviews our editors have read elsewhere. The newsletter content is both e-mailed to subscribers and placed on the site.

Expanded Scientists' Bookshelf

The magazine’s Scientists’ Bookshelf section is expanded to include links to other reviews of books reviewed in the magazine, first chapters of selected books and a list of new books received.

Editorial Calendar

Because of the nature of our magazine, American Scientist does not produce an editorial calendar. To produce fresh and varied coverage of scientific research, our editors work with authors to produce articles that reflect recent developments.

We do, however, produce an Editorial Profile for each issue that will appear on this site two months in advance of the issue date. Our Editorial Profile schedule is as follows:

Issue	Profile Available by
January-February	November 1
March-April	January 1
May-June	March 1
July-August	May 1
September-October	July 1
November-December	September 1