Scientific Publishing & the Industrial Shift:
Are We Future-Ready?
Washington, DC | April 22–23, 2026 

The research ecosystem is undergoing an industrial shift. Structural pressures — from funding and policy to AI and integrity — are accelerating change across how research is created, validated, and shared. The question is not simply how we respond, but how we lead. 

Moments like this call for in-person collaboration — and for new ways of engaging with one another. 

What’s this?
Each April, leaders and emerging voices from across the global research ecosystem — publishers, learned societies, university presses, librarians, technology providers, policy experts, government representatives, and research institutions — convene in Washington, DC to examine what this moment requires of us to advance trusted research. This is the STM US Annual Conference. 

New formats
In 2026, we are intentionally evolving the format to reflect the scale of change underway. Expect deeper engagement, new interactive sessions, debate, and more opportunity to exchange perspectives across roles and organizations of all sizes. 

Join us this April as we work together to strengthen trust, sustain quality, foster innovation, and build resilient systems for the future of research. 

Register to join us — and tell your colleagues. (These events tend to sell out!)

DEVELOPING PROGRAM SESSIONS

What Publishers Bring to the Table: Expertise That Matters in the AI Era
As AI reshapes research workflows, an important question arises: what distinctive expertise do publishers contribute in an AI-native environment? And what unique value do publishers provide that AI cannot replicate?

This interactive session explores the core capabilities that underpin research quality and trust — not simply features of content distribution, but functions that sustain rigor, context, and reliability across the scholarly record.

Rather than focusing on business models, the discussion will examine how these capabilities evolve as AI advances — and what the research community expects from them going forward.

• Subject Matter Expertise: Publishers cultivate editorial communities with deep domain knowledge—specialists who understand what matters, what’s novel, and what’s significant in their fields. This isn’t content curation; it’s contextual judgment that AI cannot provide. 

• Editorial & Peer Review Excellence: The human processes that validate methodology, assess significance, identify conflicts, and maintain rigor. As AI-generated submissions proliferate, publisher expertise in quality assurance becomes more critical, not less. 

• Beyond the Article: Publishers who enhance content with structured data, semantic markup, research objects, and contextual connections create value that transcends the PDF. The future isn’t just about content—it’s about AI-ready, validated, interconnected knowledge. 

• Trust & Integrity Infrastructure: In an era of synthetic research and paper mills, publishers’ capabilities in verification, provenance, attribution, and research integrity represent irreplaceable value. Trust isn’t just a feature—it’s the foundation. 

*New Format: Gallery Walk – Publisher Value in Action
Attendees will rotate through facilitated stations focused on each area, engaging with real-world examples, visual examples, discussion prompts, and peer perspectives. The session will conclude with synthesis and shared insights. 

Navigating Uncertainty: Funding Volatility & Policy Shifts
Changes in policy direction and research activity are creating measurable ripple effects across the global research landscape.

Drawing on large-scale international research conducted across 135 countries— with more than 13,000 researchers surveyed — this session will present emerging trendlines on how recent policy and funding changes are influencing publishing behavior, conference participation, and institutional decision-making.

Moving from data to action, panelists will discuss how organizations are using these insights to inform strategy, manage risk, and strengthen resilience in an increasingly volatile environment.

Debate: Where Should Innovation Live?
“This house believes that innovation in publishing should be managed by specialist teams rather than embedded within existing departments.”

A new format for 2026. Two speakers will argue for and against the motion, followed by rebuttal and audience questions. Attendees will vote to decide the outcome—bringing energy and perspective to a question many organizations are actively grappling with.

STM Trends 2030 

Our much-anticipated annual futurecast returns. STM Trends 2030 will examine the forces shaping the research and publishing landscape as we move toward the end of the decade — highlighting the structural, technological, and geopolitical developments that demand leadership attention now. 

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Annual Conference Program Committee:

Lori Carlin, Chief Commercial Officer, Delta Think, Inc.
Donna Okubo, Community Engagement Manager, STM
Christine Reilley, Managing Director, Publishing, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Nancy Roberts, Head of Operations, Maverick Consulting
Apoorva Shah, Vice President of Product Management and UX, Wiley
Amanda Sulicz, Associate Program Manager, Publishing Ethics, IEEE
Simone Taylor, Chief, Publishing, American Psychiatric Association

Helpful information

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