Prof. Dr. Mirna Urquidi-Macdonald is the Event Chair of the 3rd International Online Conference on Corrosion and Materials Degradation (CMD 2026), which will be hosted online from 30 June to 2nd July 2026 by MDPI, Corrosion and Materials Degradation (CMD, ISSN: 2624-5558).

Early Bird Registration has been extended! We encourage you to register and submit your abstract to secure your participation at the Early Bird rate.

The following is an interview with Prof. Dr. Mirna Urquidi-Macdonald:

1. Could you please briefly introduce yourself and your current research focus?
My name is Mirna Urquidi-Macdonald. Before meeting Digby D. Macdonald, my dear husband for 40 years, my work was on mathematical modeling or problems related to energy, from solar to conventional power plants, including a nuclear power plant. After meeting Digby and getting married, my research was very oriented towards materials science, applied mathematics to materials science.  I spent one of my doctoral years working on applying pattern recognition techniques to heart research.  I have worked for 21 years as a professor at Penn State University in the Department of Engineering Sciences, where my main research focused on applying conventional and, at the time, unconventional methods (pattern recognition as part of AI and reasoning-based models, including Fuzzy Logic and Genetic Algorithms) to materials science.

2. This edition of the conference is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. Digby Macdonald. As a Conference Chair, how do you see his pioneering influence, especially his 'scientific spirit,' shaping the diverse range of research being presented by the community this year?
Digby's research areas are very broad. He was very strong in areas such as batteries and materials degradation. The subjects that were close to his heart were the passivity of metals and nuclear reactor safety.  Because of his breadth and depth in so many areas of electrochemistry that Digby dominated, the subjects covered in this monumental conference dedicated to his memory reflect very well the different areas touched by electrochemistry, and Digby enjoyed working on them.  The conference format is excellent for young researchers who may not yet have the support to travel or the time to do so, and it allows them to participate from their own office.

3. What is your impression of the Corrosion and Materials Degradation Journal?
The Corrosion and Materials Degradation Journal is a solid, specialized journal with a clear niche in corrosion science and related materials‑degradation research. The strongest impression is that it’s a young but increasingly visible MDPI journal with fast publication timelines, broad indexing, and a focus on both fundamental mechanisms and applied mitigation strategies.

4. What do you think of the development status and trends of open access publishing?
Open access is evolving from a publishing choice into a core infrastructure for global science. The combination of digital innovation and cultural shifts toward transparency is accelerating its adoption. However, there is work to do. Open access publishing is cheaper and more convenient for young researchers but still lacks recognition. There are important strategies that need to be in place to influence Institutional policy, such as:

• Building a coalition with librarians and open‑scholarship leaders;
• Using peer‑institution examples to show that the shift is already happening;
• Promoting and tenuring guidelines at several universities now explicitly recognize open-access publications and open educational resources;
• Framing open access as aligned with institutional values, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion, community engagement, and global visibility, among others. Engaging more universities, research institutes, and national laboratories in accepting open access as an important tool for evaluating researchers who publish in open access publications is important, as it provides evidence that open access increases research impact. Open access is a prestige amplifier, not a trade-off.
• Advocating for explicit language in tenure guidelines. Acknowledging open access publications as equal to subscription journals when peer‑reviewed, and recognizing open data, open methods, and reproducibility as scholarly contributions. That will happen when open access publications are submitted to high-standard peer-review processes, and the impact of the free-access publication is accepted by diverse institutions.  As citations of those papers, awards obtained by those papers from other institutions, etc.  There is work to do, but it is the correct avenue and part of the future.

5. What advice would you give to young scholars and PhD students who are just starting their careers in corrosion and materials degradation?
Find the guidelines at your institution for evaluating an applicant in terms of publication. Maintain a balance between free-access publishing and traditional publishing to increase your visibility and use the submitted and accepted papers to win awards. That way, you can help convince your Institution of the importance of considering, in their guidelines, that young professors will benefit from having papers in free-access publications. Invite researchers to submit papers in free-access publications systems.

6. Could you kindly share with us your thoughts and outlook on CMD 2026?
I am indebted to the organizers, CMD 2026. It will be a success.

7. What will be the most significant shift in materials degradation management over the next decade?
The most significant shift in material degradation management over the next decade will be the move from reactive, inspection-driven maintenance to predictive, data-driven degradation control.
Saying that, to implement models that are easy to understand, to apply, and to gain a fast benefit will be more valuable, even if the results represent a 95% predictive capability if compared with more rigorous model for which it is herded to understand the model, to obtain the data, and to predict results because the model has a mathematical rigorist that requires a large computer power.