Editorial Positions with Journals Strengthen NREL Connections

Sept. 18, 2018 | Contact media relations

To maintain high-caliber publications, scientific journals recruit field-specific experts to ensure content remains at the forefront of innovation. As an international leader in transportation research, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a hotspot for highly published, highly cited researchers who know their way around a journal.

Recently, two researchers from NREL's Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center, Robert McCormick and Sreekant Narumanchi, received editorial appointments from leading journals in their fields.

A man examines a biodiesel sample in NREL's Fuel Chemistry Laboratory.

As the platform leader for NREL's advanced biofuels and combustion research, Robert McCormick's research focus on end-use issues and fuel-engine interactions with alternative fuels gives him a unique perspective as a member of the editorial board for Progress in Energy and Combustion Science. Photo by Pat Corkery, NREL

McCormick, an NREL senior research fellow, was recruited to the editorial board of Progress in Energy and Combustion Science (PECS). The Elsevier journal publishes in-depth review articles covering all aspects of energy, combustion, and fuel science. McCormick is joining an international team of nearly 40 renowned researchers that run the gamut of expertise in energy and combustion science.

"The editorial board includes an impressive lineup of experts in all aspects of combustion science," McCormick said. "I think I bring a different but complementary perspective because of the fuel chemistry focus that NREL has and the link that we have to fuel production R&D."

A widely regarded expert in advanced biofuels and combustion science, McCormick is a natural fit for the journal. In fact, a paper he co-authored for PECS in 1998, Combustion of fat and vegetable oil derived fuels in diesel engines, remains his most highly cited publication with more than 2,000 citations. McCormick is also no stranger to the process of shepherding papers through journals' editorial processes, he serves as an associate editor of the SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants.

Joining the PECS editorial board positions McCormick to participate in discussions about the latest scientific advancements in all aspects of the field and share NREL's thoughts on future research needs.

"Working with journals is good for NREL," McCormick said. "It gives us the opportunity to work with a broader range of people. We can determine where our capabilities are reciprocal and consider developing new collaborations."

Man in blue shirt and goggles works on a scientific apparatus in a laboratory.

Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) Team Leader Sreekant Narumanchi of the Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center (THSC) has been appointed as a three-year Associate Editor for ASME's Journal of Electronic Packaging (JEP). Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL

Advanced Power Electronics & Electric Machines (APEEM) Team Leader Sreekant Narumanchi has been involved with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for over 15 years, sharing his passion and commitment to the field of science and engineering of thermal management and heat transfer in electronics.

Narumanchi has just been named Associate Editor of ASME's Journal of Electronic Packaging (JEP). This three-year appointment begins in 2018 and extends through 2021. "The ASME JEP is an important journal in various aspects of electronic packaging," Narumanchi said. "I have been brought in as an Associate Editor with a mandate to increase the number of review and research articles in various multiphysics aspects of electronics and power electronics for electric-drive vehicle as well as various energy efficiency and renewable energy applications. I believe this is good exposure for NREL, the APEEM Team, and me."

Narumanchi is part of a team that has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters since 2004. He recently served as a Guest Editor for Part 1 and Part 2 of a Special Selection on InterPACK 2017 in the Journal of Electronic Packaging. "Over the past three years, I have also been active in the organization of the ASME InterPACK Conference—a flagship international conference in electronic and photonic packaging of ASME's Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD). As Guest Editor of a Special Section in JEP, I oversaw the reviews of select high-quality papers from the 2017 InterPACK Conference which were eventually published in the JEP Special Section," Narumanchi said.

Narumanchi also won ASME's 2018 K-16/Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD) Clock Award and has been named General Chair for the ASME InterPACK Conference in 2019.

Tags: Transportation