We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Baoguo Han has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Composites Applications” Section in Journal of Composites Science (J. Compos. Sci., ISSN: 2504-477X).

Name: Prof. Dr. Baoguo Han Affiliation: School of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China Interests: smart composites and structures; nano-engineered cementitious composites; multifunctional composites

Prof. Dr. Baoguo Han  is a professor at the School of civil engineering, Dalian University of Technology. His main research directions include cement and concrete composites, self-sensing concrete in smart structures, nano-engineered cement-based composites, and (ultra) high-performance and multifunctional/smart concrete materials and structures. He has led projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the National "863" Program. He has published over 200 papers with a total citation count exceeding 20,000 and holds nearly 30 authorized invention patents. He was also selected as an "ESCI China Highly Cited Researcher" and included in the "Top 2% Global Scientists List" and the "Top 0.05% Global Scholars List" from Stanford University.

He joined the J. Compos. Sci. Editorial Board in 2020 and now has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of J. Compos. Sci.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Baoguo Han, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. Can you briefly introduce your current research?
My current research mainly focuses on cement and concrete composites, specifically in several cutting-edge directions in this field: intrinsic self-sensing concrete and its smart structures, nano engineered cementitious composites, and ultra-high performance and multifunctional/smart concrete materials and structures.

2. What appealed to you about the journal that made you willing to serve as Section Editor-in-Chief?
The name of the journal highly overlaps with the research I am engaged in, and composites are a very cutting-edge direction among the four major categories of materials.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
The future development of composites should include the following aspects: nano composites, functional and intelligent composites, structural and functional/intelligent integrated composites, multifunctional composite materials, etc.

4. What is your vision for the journal and Section?
I hope the journal can be built into a top-tier journal in the field of composites, and I also hope that the Section can provide a fair and fast platform for scholars around the world to showcase their achievements.

5. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?
Open access is beneficial for supporting the affordability of knowledge acquisition, but it may also limit submissions from authors who have difficulty paying publication fees.

We wish Prof. Dr. Baoguo Han a warm welcome and great success as new Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Composites Applications” Section in Journal of Composites Science. We look forward to his contribution to the continued success of the journal.