We are delighted to announce that a publication of Journal of Physical Science, Ultrasound-assisted Extraction of Oil from Calophyllum inophyllum Seeds: Statistical Optimisation using Box-Behnken Design, has been announced winner of Best Article for Science, Technology and Medicine category in the 2016 Anugerah Penerbitan Ilimiah Malaysia MAPIM-KPT (Malaysia’s Scholarly Publications MAPIM-KPT Awards 2016).

The article, written by three researchers—Faiznur Fuad, Khairiah Abd. Karim and Mashitah Mat Don—edged out 27 other short listed articles published by various journals in Malaysia for the category.

The award ceremony was organised at the Duyong & Marina Resort, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, and was officiated by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Idris Jusoh.

The Journal of Physical Science and the publisher, Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia congratulate the authors on their awards. The award is a recognition to researchers who have shown great initiative in publishing high-impact research, and to the journal as a platform for high-quality publications.

The Journal of Physical Science is pleased to announce our latest publication, JPS Vol. 28, No. 1. Articles for this issue can be downloaded via this link.

This is the year’s second issue after the previous special issue published on last February.

We congratulate all our authors on their contribution.

We are pleased to inform our readers that the Journal of Physical Science will be publishing a special issue (Vol. 28, Supp. 1), a post-conference publication in conjunction with the 4th Conference on Future Biorefineries 2016 held on 12–15 March 2016 in Langkawi, Malaysia. The conference gathered researchers whose works are focusing on the technology developments for utilisation and conversion of lignocellulosic biomass in the lignocellulosic biorefinery.

The Vol. 28, Supp. 1 issue is guest edited by Dr. Low Siew Chun of School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Dr. Shuhaida Harun of Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. It will feature 19 peer-reviewed articles contributed by a sum of 62 researchers and scholars across various institutions. The production of this special issue is in progress as of this writing, while the abstracts of the accepted articles are now accessible via this link.

Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia as the publisher of Journal of Physical Science is excited to collaborate with the committee of the 4th Conference on Future Biorefineries 2016 and the Long Term Research Grant Scheme project groups on this publication. We look forward to reaching our readers again with the complete publication in due time.

New year. New day. The Journal of Physical Science and the publisher, Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM Press) would like to wish our readers many happy new year. May 2017 bring more prosperity to everyone.

Here are some key activities and happenings throughout the year 2016 for Journal of Physical Science:

New Team Line-up

The year 2016 began with the appointment of new Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Abdul Latif Ahmad from School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia. A prolific researcher and academic, Prof. Dr. Abdul Latif is recipient of numerous awards and accolades, both locally and internationally. Among the many awards he has received thus far include being named as one of the recipients of The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds in 2014, Merdeka Awards (2014), Korean’s World Inventor Award (2013 and 2014), and The Malaysia’s Rising Star 2015. Along with Prof. Dr. Abdul Latif, the journal has also been strengthened with the additions of new editorial board members.

Publications

As part of the growth plan, beginning 2016, Journal of Physical Science also began publishing three issues per year, as opposed to two issues in the previous years. Altogether, the journal published a total of 28 articles in the year 2016.

CREAM Awards

In 2016, Journal of Physical Science was announced as the recipient of the Ministry of Higher Education’s Current Research in Malaysia (CREAM) Awards. Introduced in 2015, CREAM Awards are given to identified scholarly journals published in the country showcasing promising growth, as part of the incentive to encourage continued excellence in research and publications.

We thank our readers and reviewers for the continued support to the journal. Our hope is that 2017 will be the year Journal of Physical Science continues to flourish and achieve more big things, and our readers remain actively engaged with us.

We are pleased to inform our readers that the latest issue of Journal of Physical Science, Vol. 27, No. 3, the third and final issue of 2016, is now published and available for download.

The latest issue consists of 10 articles as following:

1. Combustion Kinetics of Shankodi-Jangwa Coal, by Bemgba Bevan Nyakuma, Aliyu Jauro, Olagoke Oladokun, Tuan Amran Tuan Abdullah and Habibu Uthman
2. Influence of KMnO₄ Substitution on the Structural and Transport Properties of Tl₂Ba₂Ca(Cu_1-xR_x)₂O_δ+6 System, by Belqees Hassan, Ali Alnakhlani, Abdulhafiz Muhammad and Muhammad Ali Al-Hajji
3. Transmission of Natural Radiation from Soil to Maize Plants and Radiological Hazards Resulting from Consumption in Upper Egypt, by Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Mostafa, Mohamed Amin Mahmoud Uosif, Reda Elsaman and Elsayed Moustafa
4. Intercalation of Schiff Base Ligands with Copper (ІІ) and Nickel (ІІ) Cation-exchange Montmorillonite (MMT) Nanoclay, by Wan Ahmad Kamil Mahmood, Ali Hossein Kianfar, Mohammad Hossein Azarian, Nurul Fatin Farhana Ismail and Sakinah Md Tia
5. Thermogravimetric and Kinetic Analyses of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) Pellets Using the Distributed Activation Energy Model, by Bemgba Bevan Nyakuma, Arshad Ahmad, Anwar Johari and Tuan Amran Tuan Abdullah
6. Effect of 460 and 532 nm Laser Light on the Erythrocyte Deformability of Anaemic Blood Samples, by  Nursakinah Suardi, Mohamad Suhaimi Jaafar, Mohd Zulkifli Mustafa, Abdul Rahim Hussein and Zalila Ali
7. Investigation of Gamma Radiation Shielding Properties of Some Zinc Tellurite Glasses, by Shams Issa, Mohamad Sayyed and Murat Kurudirek
8. Properties of Recycled Polypropylene/Chloroprene Rubber Blends: The Effects of Dynamic Vulcanisation, by Chan Ming Yeng, Salmah Husseinsyah and Nurul Azra Bakaruddin
9. Conducting Polypyrrole/Graphene Nanocomposites as Potential Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Materials in the K_u-band, by Prerna Ramnath Modak, Deoram Vithoba Nandanwar and Subhash Baburao Kondawar
10. Fabrication of Cellulose Aerogel from Sugarcane Bagasse as Drug Delivery Carriers, by Suk-Fun Chin, Fiona Beragai Jimmy and Suh-Cem Pang

Note that beginning 2016, Journal of Physical Science publishes three issues per year, as opposed to two issue in the previous years.

On behalf of Editor-in-Chief and the publisher, Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM Press), we congratulate all authors on their contribution.

We are pleased to announce that the Journal of Physical Science has been selected as recipient for Ministry of Higher Education’s Current Research in Malaysia (CREAM) Awards.

CREAM is an incentive by Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education to encourage continued excellence in research and publications, and maintaining visibility in major databases, given to a selected number of academic journals in the country.

Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM Press) and the editorial team are honoured with this recognition. This is certainly a new milestone which will further spur the team’s commitment in creating impact in scholarly publications.