As an Associate Publisher at ACS Publications, Sai Konda helps guide strategy, collaboration, and innovation across a diverse portfolio of journals while supporting the trust and quality that researchers depend on.
In our “Profiles in Publishing” series, we’re featuring dedicated staff members from around the globe who work to ensure that ACS Publications delivers on our promise of “the most trusted, most cited, and most read” journals in the chemical and related sciences.
Behind every successful journal portfolio is a network of editors, publishing professionals, and cross-functional teams working together to support quality, innovation, and growth. As an Associate Publisher in Global Editorial Strategy, Sai Konda helps bring those efforts together by guiding strategy across a diverse portfolio of journals, partnering with colleagues across ACS, and helping ensure that editorial excellence and publishing integrity remain at the center of the work.
In this interview, Sai shares how his scientific background led him into publishing, what it takes to manage journal strategy in a fast-moving industry, and why trust, collaboration, and continuous learning are central to his work.
Read the Interview with Sai Konda
What’s your role at ACS Publications and what path led you to it?
I am an Associate Publisher in Global Editorial Strategy responsible for the strategic development and management of twelve journals in the nanoscience, biomedical, energy, and computational chemistry portfolios. Over the course of my tenure at the ACS, I have contributed to the growth and advancement of more than twenty journals across broad disciplines, including physical chemistry and applied materials science.
As part of my core responsibilities, I collaborate closely on cross‑functional initiatives and play an active role in the development and launch of new publishing tools and products. I also engage with the scientific community through outreach activities at universities and through participation in domestic and international conferences.
After completing my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry in India, I moved to the United States, driven by a strong interest in doctoral research and a desire to learn from different cultures. My academic journey continued with a second master’s degree in physical chemistry, followed by a Ph.D. in computational chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin and postdoctoral research in computational catalysis at the University of Delaware.
Having experienced scholarly publishing firsthand both as an author and a reviewer during my academic training, I was drawn to the opportunity to remain closely connected to science while contributing to the dissemination of impactful research. Following graduate school, I began my publishing career as a Managing Editor of the physical chemistry journals at ACS Publications. Over the course of a decade at the ACS, I advanced to my current position, supporting the global scientific community through strategic publishing initiatives while advocating for science literacy and STEM education.
What team do you work with and how does your collective work contribute to the excellence of ACS Publications journals?
The Associate Publisher role operates at the nexus of a broad and highly collaborative network of internal and external stakeholders. I work closely with a dedicated team of Managing Editors who oversee the day-to-day operations of the portfolio-specific journals. Each team member is a PhD-trained professional whose expertise aligns with the scope of the journals, enabling informed decision-making and an understanding of the research communities that we serve.
Beyond my core team, I collaborate with Publishers and Associate Publishers across the editorial business unit to to lead editorial strategy, optimize operational workflows, guide budget planning, and advance new product proposals. I also work closely with Sales, Marketing, and Technology teams across ACS on cross‑functional initiatives aimed at strengthening efficiency, innovation, and impact across the publishing lifecycle.
Central to our work is a strong collaboration with the global network of Editors and Advisory Board members — leading scientists who partner with us to shape and implement editorial strategies that uphold the quality, integrity, and impact of our journals. Together, my team and I serve as an integrated hub, facilitating collaborative engagement with editors, authors, reviewers, and journal operations teams across the organization to advance scientific knowledge and empower the global research community.
What does a day in your work life look like?
The publishing industry is a dynamic and fast‑evolving ecosystem shaped by the continued growth of global research output and ongoing advances in technology, policy, and innovation. As a result, the role requires adaptability, effective multitasking, and an agile mindset to address a wide range of challenges.
Rather than focusing on a single day, my work is best understood across a typical week, guided by three core pillars: communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.
A significant portion of my role involves communicating with both internal and external stakeholders on topics ranging from journal strategy and content development to advising on pre- and post-publication ethical issues and author queries. This work also involves delivering written and verbal presentations to editorial boards, ACS governance committees, society partners, and the broader research community.
Building strong relationships with Editors, Editorial Board members, and colleagues across ACS is essential to delivering a high‑quality experience for authors, reviewers, and readers, while also supporting the strategic growth of the journal portfolio. This work is grounded in effective staff management and close collaboration with managers and organizational leaders to align priorities, foster shared accountability, and advance the mission of ACS Publications.
The most rewarding aspect of my work is applying a creative, data‑informed approach to developing and executing journal strategies. This involves tracking key performance metrics, monitoring financial performance, assessing trends within the research communities we serve, and aligning portfolio goals with the broader strategic priorities of ACS Publications as we pursue our mission as part of a scientific society.
In your role, how do you drive integrity and trust in ACS journals?
Trust is foundational to scientific progress. Advances in science and technology inform policy decisions and societal outcomes, and these benefits can only be realized when the public has confidence in the research record.
In recent years, that trust has come under increasing pressure due to misinformation, unethical research practices, data manipulation, and the growing misuse of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. At ACS Publications, safeguarding trust is a core publishing value as reflected in our commitment to being “Most Trusted. Most Cited. Most Read.”
Central to this effort is the role of our Editors, who are experienced scientists and active researchers in their fields. Editors play a critical role in identifying potential ethical concerns and selecting appropriate expert reviewers to provide independent, rigorous assessment of submitted manuscripts.
In response to evolving integrity challenges, Editors rely on a combination of peer review, integrity screening tools, and expert scientific judgment to evaluate submissions. My team works closely with Editors to ensure they are well-trained and supported in interpreting these checks, enabling fair, informed, and consistent editorial decision‑making.
We are further supported by the ACS Publishing Integrity Office, which provides a centralized source of expertise across the journal portfolio. They offer guidance on a wide range of publication ethics issues, including conflicts of interest, authorship disputes, and unethical practices such as paper mills and paid authorship. They also establish clear data policies and procedures and provide access to internal scientific experts who can assess underlying research data when concerns arise.
Together, these efforts—grounded in industry best practices such as those defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics—help ensure that ACS journals uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and trust.
What do you like most about working at ACS Publications?
Having spent much of my academic and professional life immersed in scientific research, I feel fortunate to continue supporting and shaping science through my work at the ACS. The opportunity to collaborate with leading researchers and policymakers allows me to remain closely connected to a wide range of scientific disciplines and to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of high‑quality, impactful research.
Equally important has been the chance to work alongside exceptionally talented colleagues at the ACS. The organization’s diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, combined with a culture grounded in inclusion and respect, creates an environment where people feel empowered to take on complex challenges and grow both professionally and personally. Learning from colleagues across the organization has been as rewarding as the work itself.
Working at ACS has provided opportunities to serve the scholarly publishing community in a variety of capacities. Through active participation in industry discussions and service on professional committees—including the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers, and the National Information Standards Organization—has allowed me to stay engaged with evolving trends and best practices in scholarly communication. I previously served on the Board of Directors of SSP and currently volunteer as an editor for a journal that publishes peer‑reviewed research on all aspects of scholarly communication and publishing. Together, these roles allow me to represent ACS within the broader publishing community while fostering meaningful collaboration and professional networks that support the continued growth and advancement of scholarly publishing.
Lastly, working at ACS Publications fosters continuous, lifelong learning, which is a central motivator for me as I have a deep curiosity about both scientific discovery and the evolving landscape of scholarly communication. This perspective is well captured by Nobel Laureate physicist Richard Feynman’s observation: “The prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out, the kick in the discovery, the observation that other people use it.”