The Estonian Academy Publishers is pleased to announce that Rainis Haller has been appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (PEAS), effective from 5 May 2025.

Rainis Haller has been Professor of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Tartu since 2021 and a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences since 2025. His research is rooted in mathematics, and he has a strong record of scientific leadership, having served as President of the Estonian Mathematical Society from 2018 to 2022. He has been a member of the PEAS Editorial Board since 2024, bringing continuity and a clear understanding of the journal’s scope and values to his new role.

We sat down with Rainis Haller to ask him three questions about his vision for the journal.

You have been part of the PEAS Editorial Board since 2024 – what motivated you to take on the role of Editor-in-Chief, and what do you bring to this position?

Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences has a long history and a special place among journals connected with Estonia and our wider region. I accepted the role because I believe PEAS has a strong foundation and good opportunities to strengthen its position as a selective Academy journal with a clear profile.

As a mathematician, I have learned to value precise questions, solid arguments, and clear writing. These are also important in editorial work. I want to support a fair and careful review process, and to help keep the journal focused on papers that genuinely belong in PEAS.

What is your vision for PEAS over the coming years, and how would you like to see the journal develop, both in terms of scientific scope and its visibility within the international research community?

I would like PEAS to be recognised as a selective journal of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. The journal should have a broad but well-defined scope and publish strong research in fields represented at the Academy, with particular attention to work connected with Estonia, the Baltic region, and Northern Europe.

This does not mean that PEAS should become a local journal. The aim is to publish research that is relevant internationally, while also reflecting perspectives and topics where our region has something distinctive to contribute.

In practice, I would like to build on what PEAS already does well by inviting more review articles and perspective papers, and by developing thematic contributions when they can bring together strong papers on a well-defined topic.

PEAS publishes original research across a wide range of disciplines. How do you approach the challenge of managing such broad disciplinary breadth, and what does a strong multidisciplinary journal mean to you?

A broad scope only works if the journal remains coherent. PEAS should not be simply a collection of papers from different disciplines. For every submission, the key question is simple: why should this paper appear in PEAS?

Rigorous peer review by specialists is essential, but it is not the whole story. The journal also needs careful editorial judgement at an early stage: whether a manuscript fits the profile, whether it has sufficient quality and relevance, and whether PEAS is the right place for it.

That is why I describe PEAS as a selective Academy journal with a broad but well-defined scope. The ‘Academy’ part should mean two things: high disciplinary standards and a wider perspective. The journal should publish papers that are not only technically sound but also meaningful beyond a very narrow specialist circle.

On 30 April 2025, Professor Jaak Järv’s tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences ended. His editorship, which began on 1 October 2007, spanned nearly eighteen years ‒ a period during which the journal underwent substantial development and modernisation.

One of Professor Järv’s first major undertakings was consolidating four separate series ‒ Physics. Mathematics, Chemistry, Engineering, and Biology. Ecology ‒ into a single unified journal. This structural reform streamlined the publication and laid the groundwork for subsequent advances. Over the years, Professor Järv introduced a number of important innovations, including the adoption of Creative Commons licensing for all published articles, the journal’s inclusion in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and an initiative to digitise the back catalogue of previously published Academy of Sciences journals and assign DOIs to their articles ‒ making decades of Estonian scientific research permanently citable and discoverable online.

Alongside his editorial duties, Professor Järv simultaneously served as Chairman of the Publishing Council of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, contributing to the broader strategic direction of academic publishing in Estonia. Both roles concluded on the same date.

Professor Järv’s long-standing commitment has been highly valued in maintaining the journal’s continuity and quality through different stages of development. The editorial board and the Estonian Academy Publishers extend their sincere gratitude for his dedication and the impact of his work. We wish him every success in the endeavours ahead.

As of 5 May 2025, Academician and Professor of Mathematics Rainis Haller has assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief. The responsibilities of Chair of the Publishing Council have passed to Academician Marek Tamm, Vice-President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. We warmly welcome both to their new roles and look forward to the journal’s continued development under their leadership.

Photo: Val Raasaar

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In connection with the war in Ukraine, the Estonian Academy Publishers temporarily suspends processing manuscripts of authors affiliated in the institutions of the Russian Federation and Republic of Belarus, except for submissions to Linguistica Uralica.

Estonian Academy Publishers issues seven open access scientific journals, peer-reviewed, indexed and abstracted in international review publications and databases. All journals have an international Editorial board.

Publications of the Estonian Academy Publishers cover almost all important areas of contemporary science. Our journals are peer reviewed and recognized by the Estonian Research Council and the Estonian Committee of Science Compentence as journals meeting international scientific standards.