1. Could you please briefly introduce yourself?
   My name is Ernst Gamsjäger, and I work in academic research and teaching as an Associate Professor at the Chair of Mechanics of the Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria.
2. What do you think of the development status and trends of open access publishing?
   New observations from fundamental research and their applications should be made available to humanity. Then, these findings can be used for the benefit of humanity and enable further developments on our planet. In this context, the primary open access publication of scientific contributions ensures barrier-free dissemination of knowledge and is a desirable trend, for example, promoted by MDPI journals. To the delight of authors, the review process has become very fast. However, care must also be taken to ensure that reviewers and authors are not put under too much time pressure, so that quality remains the top priority.
3. What is your impression of the Metals journal?
   I have been a member of the editorial board of Metals for several years. Both as an author and as a reviewer, the support of the journal’s publishing team is great, e.g., there is an almost immediate response to any questions concerning the status of manuscripts.
4. What do you think will be the research hotspots in the field of metals in the next few years, and can you describe them to us?
   From my point of view, the following topics and research questions should be the focus of future research:
   • In situ testing and characterization of metals by experimental techniques combined with model approaches in order to clarify the microstructural processes (e.g., the kinetics of phase transformations, grain growth and coarsening, and the evolution of dislocation densities). The goal is to design metals with superior properties, e.g., by chemical boundary engineering.
   • How does alloying and thermomechanical treatment change the thermodynamic and mechanical properties of metals?
   • There is an urgent need to transform metallurgy into sustainable metallurgy by, e.g., non-fossil reductants in primary production, maximize the use of scrap, and replacing so-called critical raw materials; see, e.g., the following link: https://www.dierk-raabe.com/.
   In all these fields, machine learning tools will partly replace experiments and can be used to classify materials, to support the design of materials, or for the early detection of problems in a production line.
5. What is one reason you would give to encourage someone to submit an abstract?
   A big pro of the conference is the almost barrier-free access. First, it is an online conference, with the advantage that people do not have to travel far distances to attend. Second, there is no registration fee, which is quite unique for a conference.
   Moreover, there is the chance to win a prize for the best poster or presentation. The contributions can be submitted to Metals with a 20% discount on the publication fee.
6. What makes this conference different and worth attending?
   It is comparatively easy to attend. It is planned to be a purely scientific event where experts present and discuss their work. People working on similar research topics or those who do complementary research can meet, discuss their experimental and theoretical possibilities, and may join forces in future research.

Introduction of IOCME 2026:
Conference date: 12–14 October 2026
Deadline for abstract submission: 11 May 2026
Deadline for registration: 6 October 2026
Conference chair: Prof. Dr. Antonio Riveiro Rodríguez (Department of Materials Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain)

For more details, please visit https://sciforum.net/event/IOCME2026.

For any enquiries regarding the event, please get in touch with iocme2026@mdpi.com.