Newswise — Pennington, NJ – (March 29, 2017) – The Electrochemical Society (ECS) is celebrating its 115th anniversary this year by giving the world a preview of what complete open access to peer-reviewed scientific research will look like. ECS will launch the first Free the Science Week, April 3-9, and take down the paywall to the entire ECS Digital Library, making over 132,000 scientific articles and abstracts free and accessible to everyone.

In April of 1902, a group of innovative young scientists sought a new forum to discuss, publish, and disseminate developments in the growing field of electrochemistry. They formed the American Electrochemical Society in Philadelphia, the home of independence and the first free public library in the United States; a history befitting an organization that aims to Free the Science around the globe.

More than 100 years later and operating now as ECS, scientists and engineers worldwide are still engaged in our thriving community. Now, as electrochemistry and sold state science & technology become ever more relevant to the future of our planet, holding the keys to innovation in renewable energy, biomedical, water, sanitation, communications, transportation, and infrastructure sectors, ECS is continuing to find ways to lead and influence our scientific field.

Free the Science Week is part of ECS’s long-term Free the Science initiative, which will provide free access to the peer-reviewed research in the entire ECS Digital Library, not just this week, but permanently.

“The core of our mission, for the past 115 years, has been to broadly disseminate scientific research to advance our sciences,” says Roque Calvo, ECS executive director. “The research we publish has the ability to address some of the most critical challenges across the globe, and we believe that barriers in publishing, such as paywalls and high subscription fees, should not impede progress.”

ECS’s Free the Science Week celebration is more than just a week of free scientific paper downloads, it’s a celebration and commitment to making all science open science, discoverable for everyone. Through Free the Science ECS is leading its field in the open science and open access scholarly communication movements.

You can celebrate ECS’s commitment to Free the Science April 3-9 by accessing the content in the ECS Digital Library (ecsdl.org).

To learn more about ECS, go to electrochem.org.

To learn more about Free the Science, go to freethescience.org.

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About ECSFounded in 1902, ECS (electrochem.org) is led by scientists, for scientists. ECS advances electrochemistry and solid state science by publishing peer-reviewed scholarly journals (ecsdl.org), convening scientific meetings, and supporting emerging scientists in our fields. With Free the Science (freethescience.org), ECS envisions a new publishing model without costs to authors and readers so that collectively we can achieve a cleaner, safer, healthier, and greener world for us all.

Media ContactThe Electrochemical SocietyRob GerthDirector of Marketing and Communications609.737.1902 ext. 114[email protected]