We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Weili Zhang has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Optical and Photonic Materials” in Materials (ISSN: 1996-1944).

Prof. Dr. Weili Zhang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Oklahoma State University, USA, holds a Ph.D. in optical engineering from Tianjin University (1993), China. His research interests include terahertz optoelectronics, nano- and micro-structured materials optics, ultrafast phenomena, and semiconductor photonics. Prof. Dr. Zhang has published over 420 invited or contributed articles in peer-reviewed journals. His articles indexed by Web of Science have received a total of over 21,500 cites, with an h-index of 74. Prof. Dr. Zhang has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher from 2019 to 2023. He currently serves as associate editor of Photonics Insights, and is a fellow of Optica (formerly OSA).

The following is a Q&A with Prof. Dr. Weili Zhang, who shared his vision for the Section, in addition to his views on the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to become its Section Editor-in-Chief?
My in-depth interaction with Materials began with a review article that we submitted to this journal. I was very impressed with the quality work of the editors and reviewers, their professional handling of manuscripts, and the incredibly fast peer-review cycle from submission, to revision, to publication. With the role of Section Editor-in-Chief, I am hoping to have an opportunity to assist with attracting high-impact submissions, increasing visibility within the optics and photonics materials research community, seeking collaborations with professional societies, identifying emerging areas of the fields, and enhancing the impact and reputation of the journal.

2. What is your vision for the Section “Optical and Photonic Materials”?
Optical and photonic materials, as an interdisciplinary research field, bring together researchers from optics and photonics, materials science, engineering, and other areas to tackle emerging challenges in science and technologies. This will, on the one hand, lead to breakthroughs in research advances of material science, optics, photonics, and optoelectronics, and on the other hand, transformative technologies that promise a wide range of applications, particularly in communications, healthcare, and renewable energy.

3. As an expert in the field of optical and photonic materials, which research topics do you think are popular at present and what does the future of this field of research look like?
Currently, popular research topics include (1) subwavelength photonics, such as micro- and nano-scale metamaterials and metasurfaces, two-dimensional materials, and plasmonic geometries; (2) quantum photonics; and (3) biophotonics. The future of research in optics and photonics materials is promising. Breakthroughs in these popular topics will eventually lead to advancements in materials, novel devices, circuits, methods, and technologies for practical deployment in various applications.

4. You have reviewed many articles as a reviewer. What do you think are the most important points of an article?
Obviously, novelty is the most important point of a research article. In optical and photonic materials, in particular, novelty can be revealed through research creativity, innovations, and discoveries. In addition, novel work should also be presented through rigorous methodology, sound analysis, and clear communication to ensure the integrity and high impact of the publication.

 5. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?
Open access for journals has been proven to be a very effective method to disseminate research. It significantly increases the accessibility of published research by making articles freely available to anyone with an internet connection. This is, in particular, very convenient for researchers and readers who are working diligently off campus. A good example is Optics Express, one of the Optica journals. It has been an open access journal since it was launched over 20 years ago and has been very well received by the optics and photonics community.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Weili Zhang as the new Section Editor-in-Chief and we look forward to him leading Materials to many more milestones.