“Chaos, Solitons & Fractals” Resumes Publication

The Elsevier mathematics journal, Chaos, Solitons & Fractals has resumed publishing, although its future remains unclear.

The journal halted publication after its editor-in-chief, Mohammed El Naschie, became embroiled in a controversy over publishing his own work.  The last issue alone  (December, 2008) contained 5 of his articles.

The journal has 916 articles in press — a backlog representing about 18 months of papers waiting to be published.

The latest issue, now six weeks overdue, was released yesterday and contains no articles from the former-editor-in-chief, although it does include the following publisher’s note:

The Founding Editor for Chaos, Solitons and Fractals Dr El Naschie has retired as Editor-in-Chief. The publisher will work with the editorial board and other advisors to identify a new editor. This is likely to also lead to revision of the aims and scope of the journal, as well as the editorial policies and submission arrangements. Prospective authors can keep informed of the progress on this through the journal’s homepage. [emphasis mine]

This middle sentence, although terse, may signal that the controversy over this one journal may not be over.