Said Rodriguez named Outstanding Referee by American Physical Society

On June 19, AMOLF director Huib Bakker congratulated group leader Said Rodriguez on his honorable and well-deserved recognition as an Outstanding Referee. The honor comes from the American Physical Society (APS), which named Said one of its 2025 Outstanding Referees in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the peer review process in physics.

Each year, the APS selects a small number of referees from approximately 50,000 reviewers who contribute to the Physical Review Journals. The recognition is based on the quality, number, and timeliness of their reviews. Established in 2008, the Outstanding Referee program highlights the vital but often unseen role of peer reviewers in maintaining scientific standards and improving the quality of published research.

Said Rodriguez, who has been actively reviewing manuscripts for over two decades, joins a select group of AMOLF scientists to receive this distinction – following in the footsteps of Daan Frenkel (2008) and Pieter Rein ten Wolde (2014). Said typically reviews around ten papers per year, offering thorough, critical, and constructive feedback that helps shape high-impact publications.

“Refereeing is arguably the most important – and certainly one of the most time-consuming – services scientists perform for their community,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a core mechanism that ensures quality control; without referees, you cannot tell facts from fiction. I certainly don’t do it for recognition, but I appreciate the APS for acknowledging this role.”

Said’s reviews contribute to the scientific rigor of journals like Physical Review Letters, known for publishing many landmark and Nobel Prize-winning studies in physics.

You can find the full list of 2025 Outstanding Referees on this APS website page.