Meet the 4open Editors-in-Chief: Prof. Elias Brinks

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Published on 01 August 2017

In this blog series, you can discover more about the Editors-in-Chief of 4open. This week we’re talking to Professor Elias Brinks, who leads the editorial board for Physics, and works with his fellow Editors-in Chief on the broader development of the journal.

I am an astrophysicist, working in the general field of extragalactic astronomy. I’m fascinated by the structure and dynamics of galaxies in the nearby Universe (in contrast to similar such studies extending to the furthest reaches of the observable universe). I obtained my PhD at Leiden University in The Netherlands, held research fellowships in Germany and the UK, followed by jobs in the USA and Mexico. I currently hold a full professorship at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, at one of the larger astronomy centres in the country, and am Associate Dean for Research at the university’s School of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics. In addition to my role with 4open, I am joint editor-in-chief for the journal Astrophysics and Space Science.

What excites you about working on this new journal?

From the beginning, I think it was the sheer challenge for all involved, including my colleague editors-in-chief, to make this new journal from EDP Sciences a success! The project is an ambitious one, but it is timely in this era of open publishing. Scientists are generally enthusiastic about the principles underlying open publishing and, I hope, will see the value of an open access multidisciplinary journal covering the Life Sciences, Biology, and the areas of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics.

How do you see the journal developing over the next five years?

A journal such as this will only have a chance to succeed if it aims for excellence. It will be the task of the editorial board to ensure the best papers are attracted and published. While it may be difficult for papers reporting on interdisciplinary science to be published in subject specific journals, such papers are eminently suited for 4open. I could see the journal developing in that direction, in addition to becoming recognised as a high profile, multidisciplinary journal.

What advice would you give to researchers thinking of submitting to 4open?

If you have an exciting result, if it deserves to be noted beyond your discipline, and if you are keen for your work to be instantly open access and available, send your manuscript to 4open!

Thanks Elias, for sharing your thoughts with us. We very much hope that that your expectations for the journal are realised.

If you have any specific questions for Elias about the editorial process, you can email him directly: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Next in the blog series we speak with Professor Theodore Simos.