The following is a short interview with winner Dr. Vanni Nicoletti:

I am currently a postdoc at Università Politecnica delle Marche in Ancona, Italy, and in September 2024, I will start as an assistant professor there. The paper I wrote, together with my colleagues, is based on research that we conducted about four years ago on a newly built bridge in Italy. We conducted extensive experiments on the bridge, focusing on both its before- and after-construction phases. The paper particularly details the experimental part conducted during the proof test. It was a very detailed, two-day test campaign where we described all the tests and the main outcomes.

I know Applied Sciences is a good journal with a solid ranking, which has recently increased. The journal collects high-quality papers, and one of the main benefits for authors is the fast-publishing process. The quality and speed of publishing are key points.

My research field is mainly structural health monitoring (SHM), focusing on monitoring buildings and infrastructures, like bridges. I work mainly in the field of data-driven SHM, which involves collecting data on-site, setting up monitoring systems, and analyzing the collected data. My team and I are also starting to analyze satellite data for monitoring structures.

Monitoring structures is an increasingly relevant topic, especially in Europe and Italy, where public programs are heavily investing in monitoring bridges. Monitoring will be a major topic, and improving methodologies to analyze and correlate data with the real conditions of structures will be crucial.

Performing research is challenging, especially with the limited time academics have due to other responsibilities like teaching and securing funding. Finding time to dedicate to research amidst these tasks is difficult.

Choose a research topic you like because research should be like a hobby, you need to be passionate about it. Stay updated with the current state of the art and know what other researchers around the world are doing in your field. Start from a well-established point and build upon it.

Open access is important because it provides easy access to articles. Academics sometimes struggle to access certain journals, so open access makes finding articles and information more convenient. Also, Applied Sciences is not as expensive as other journals, which is a strong advantage.

I want to thank all my co-authors and colleagues who helped me with my research. The work we did was a team effort. Without their support, I could not have prepared the materials to write the paper.

Your journal already provides good support through awards and recognitions, such as best paper awards and travel awards. These initiatives support both young and experienced researchers and enhance the journal's activities.

More information about journal awards could be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/awards.