Throughout his career, Rowlinson wrote more than 200 papers and book chapters.
While he contributed to a wide range of topics, his main areas of focus were capillarity and cohesion (forces that make molecules 'stick' together).
His Molecular Theory of Capillarity—co-written with Benjamin Widom in 1982—is widely cited in scientific and engineering literatures: it had more than 2,000 citations by 2010.
His earlier work, Liquids and Liquid Mixtures (1958) is also similarly popular and is described by Widom as a "classic".
His acclaimed 2002 work Cohesion described intermolecular forces, their scientific history and their effect on properties of matter in great detail.
He also co-wrote a textbook Thermodynamics for Chemical Engineers (1975).
Other scientific topics he wrote about include phase transitions, critical phenomena, computer simulations of interfaces, glaciers, and information theory.

In addition to his technical works, Rowlinson wrote about the history of science.
His works on this topic began with the Nature paper The Legacy of van der Waals in 1973.
He followed it up with further works on Johannes Diderik van der Waals, including a 1988 translation of van der Waals' doctoral thesis, and a 1996 biography of the Dutch physicist.
His colleague Benjamin Widom praised the translation as "no less[...] than a masterwork" and the accompanying introduction "brilliant both as science and as history".
His Molecular Theory of Capillarity also treats the topic's history in addition to its technical aspect.

Rowlinson also contributed to the administration of science in his native United Kingdom.
He expanded the scope of Oxford's physical chemistry research and history of science teaching.
He supported Oxford's collection displayed at the Museum of the History of Science.
He was the editor of the journal Molecular Physics.
Throughout his career, Rowlinson wrote more than 200 papers and book chapters. While he contributed to a wide range of topics, his main areas of focus were capillarity and cohesion (forces that make molecules 'stick' together). His Molecular Theory of Capillarity—co-written with Benjamin Widom in 1982—is widely cited in scientific and engineering literatures: it had more than 2,000 citations by 2010. His earlier work, Liquids and Liquid Mixtures (1958) is also similarly popular and is described by Widom as a "classic". His acclaimed 2002 work Cohesion described intermolecular forces, their scientific history and their effect on properties of matter in great detail. He also co-wrote a textbook Thermodynamics for Chemical Engineers (1975). Other scientific topics he wrote about include phase transitions, critical phenomena, computer simulations of interfaces, glaciers, and information theory.
In addition to his technical works, Rowlinson wrote about the history of science. His works on this topic began with the Nature paper The Legacy of van der Waals in 1973. He followed it up with further works on Johannes Diderik van der Waals, including a 1988 translation of van der Waals' doctoral thesis, and a 1996 biography of the Dutch physicist. His colleague Benjamin Widom praised the translation as "no less[...] than a masterwork" and the accompanying introduction "brilliant both as science and as history". His Molecular Theory of Capillarity also treats the topic's history in addition to its technical aspect.
Rowlinson also contributed to the administration of science in his native United Kingdom. He expanded the scope of Oxford's physical chemistry research and history of science teaching. He supported Oxford's collection displayed at the Museum of the History of Science. He was the editor of the journal Molecular Physics.
John Shipley Rowlinson