Announcements

We are pleased to announce that the 2024 Tu Youyou Award has been conferred upon Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller, in recognition of their significant contributions to natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

Richard DiMarchi Indiana University, USA	Prof. Richard DiMarchi is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences at Indiana University, USA. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Dr. DiMarchi is a former Group Vice President at Eli Lilly and later at Novo Nordisk. He is recognized for his contributions to the discovery and development of rDNA-derived Humulin®, Humalog®, rGlucagon®, and Forteo®. His academic research has broadened the understanding of glucagon and incretin physiology and pioneered the discovery of single-molecule multi-mechanism agonists for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. The central element to success has been the chemical vision and technology to install within single molecules simultaneous agonism at related G-protein coupled receptors, coupled to the counter-intuitive discovery that glucagon and GIP agonism could synergize the therapeutic efficacy of GLP-1. These peptides and their conceptual approach have transformed the management of excessive body weight to a condition comparable to how hypertension, adult-onset diabetes, and excess cholesterol are medicinally managed.
“Professor DiMarchi was recognized by the 2024 Tu Youyou Award Committee members as being an exceptional leader in the medicinal chemistry of peptides and proteins of natural origin, and as a pioneer in the field of chemical biotechnology. His very important discoveries have led to breakthroughs in new drugs related to the therapy of diabetes and obesity. He has been named as an inventor on a very large number of patents, and he has had initially a highly successful scientific and administrative career in industry, which was followed by over two decades in academia as a distinguished professor.” —Prof. Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Chair of the Award Committee
Rolf Müller Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Germany; Helmholtz Centre for Infections Research (HZI), Germany; Saarland University, Germany	Prof. Rolf Müller is the Founding and Managing Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Saarland University, Germany. Having received his training from the University of Bonn, he held research positions at the University of Washington, USA, and Braunschweig University of Technology, Germany, prior to his appointment as professor to Saarland University. His laboratory has dedicated itself to the exploration of bacterial natural-product biosynthetic pathways for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in working with myxobacteria and other microbial producer strains. Starting from the isolation and characterization of new microorganisms, the scope of work includes microbiology-, biotechnology-, bioinformatics-, and chemistry-based approaches to exploit these isolates as sources of new drugs with a special focus on novel anti-infectives. Müller and his team apply a variety of state-of-the-art analytical methods and biological assays to perform biological and chemical characterizations of the identified compounds. Prof. Müller has received several awards, including the prestigious Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the PHOENIX Pharmacy Research Award, the DECHEMA Prize, and the Inhoffen Medal, as well as being an elected member of acatech, Leopoldina, and the German Academy of Sciences and Literature.
“The 2024 Tu Youyou Award Committee members were highly impressed by the truly outstanding past and ongoing contributions of Professor Müller in both microbial natural products isolation chemistry and in biosynthesis, as well as in the development of lead compounds for their potential in treating human diseases, through his global connections with various major funding agencies. He is also a dedicated teacher who has trained numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and he has lectured on his research in countries all over the world.” —Prof. Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Chair of the Award Committee

The achievements of Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller highlight the transformative impact of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry. We congratulate them and invite the global academic community and public to join us in celebrating their significant contributions.

2024 Award Committee
Committee Chair:

• Prof. Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Ohio State University, USA.
  

Committee Members (listed in alphabetical order):

• Prof. Angelo Fontana, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy;
• Prof. Binghe Wang, Georgia State University, USA;
• Dr. Diana Pinto, University of Aveiro, Portugal;
• Prof. Hideaki Kakeya, Kyoto University, Japan;
• Dr. RuAngelie Edrada-Ebel, University of Strathclyde, UK;
• Prof. Thomas Prisinzano, University of Kentucky, USA
• Prof. Wei Li, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, USA.

About the Tu Youyou Award:
The 2024 Tu Youyou Award includes a total monetary prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs and a medal for each recipient. Established in 2016 to honor the pioneering spirit of Nobel laureate Tu Youyou, the Tu Youyou Award is an international award honoring exceptional scholars dedicated to the fields of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

For further information about the award and the winners, please visit the Tu Youyou Award website.

Conference: ACS Fall 2025
Date: 17–21 August 2025
Location: Washington, DC, USA 

MDPI will be attending ACS Fall 2025, which will be held from 17 to 21 August 2025 in Washington, DC, USA. 

The Fall 2025 conference of the American Chemical Society (ACS) will be held in Washington, D.C., the center of global policy. As the largest international academic event in the field of chemistry, this session focuses on “Chemistry Powering Multidisciplinary Solutions”, addressing global challenges such as climate change, the public health crisis, and the energy transition, and promoting the strategic shift from basic research to industrial application. The core theme forums mainly include the following points:

• Breakthroughs in Energy Materials:
• Stability regulation of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI);
• Optimization of hydrogen production efficiency through photocatalytic water cracking (target > 15%);
• Pathways for enhancing the selectivity of carbon dioxide electrocatalytic conversion to C₂+ products.
• Life Sciences and Health:
• Clinical transformation of targeted protein degradation (PROTAC) technology;
• The application of single-cell metabolomics in the early diagnosis of cancer;
• AI-driven rational design of antimicrobial peptides.
• Sustainable Development Technologies:
• Development of plastic chemical recycling catalysts (depolymerization rate ≥ 95%);
• Trace pollutant adsorption based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs);
• Alternative evaluation of green solvents in pharmaceutical processes (PMI index optimization). 

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Molecules;
• Nanomaterials;
• Separations;
• Materials;
• Batteries;
• Polymers;
• Molbank;
• Organics;
• AppliedChem;
• Liquids;
• Reactions;
• Membranes;
• Colorants;
• Chemistry;
• Analytica;
• Coatings;
• Crystals;
• Electrochem;
• Applied Sciences;
• Catalysts;
• Sustainable Chemistry;
• Ceramics;
• C;
• CMD. 

If you are planning to attend the conference, we encourage you to visit our booth and speak to our representatives. We are eager to meet you in person and assist you with any queries that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the official website: https://www.acs.org/events/fall.html.

We are pleased to share that the Catalysts (ISSN: 2073-4344) was awarded an increased Impact Factor of 4.0 in the 2024 Journal Citation Reports™ released by Clarivate™ in June 2025. Catalysts ranks in Q2 (83 among 185 titles) in the “Chemistry, Physical” category. 

The 2024 Journal Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations received in 2024 to all publications in the journal from 2022 and 2023 by the total number of citable publications from those same years. 

To learn more, visit our journal statistics website for detailed metrics or check out our news article for general information. 

The support and dedication of all the editors, reviewers, authors, and readers are an integral part of the journal’s performance. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have contributed to the journal. 

We are pleased to announce that the Young Women in Engineering Award is open for nominations. This award was established to acknowledge the achievements of young women investigators in the field of engineering and to inspire young women to consider research and careers in engineering. All the nominations will be assessed by an Award Evaluation Committee, and winners will be announced online on 8 March 2026.

Prizes:

• CHF 1000;
• An electronic certificate;
• A voucher to waive the article processing charges (APCs) for one submission to a journal within the field of engineering (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

Number of winners: 2.

Eligibility and requirements:

• This role is designated for female candidates;
• Must have received their Ph.D. no more than 10 years prior to 31 December 2025;
• Must have produced groundbreaking research and made a significant contribution to the advancement of engineering;
• Must be nominated by senior scientists.

List of documents for nomination:

• Detailed curriculum vitae, including an updated publication list and a list of the researcher’s own research grants;
• Scanned copy of doctorate certificate;
• Signed nomination letters from two established senior scientists.

Schedule:

Open for nominations: 23 June 2025;
Nomination deadline: 30 November 2025;
Winner announcement: 8 March 2026.

Nominations and contact:

All nomination materials and award-related communications must be submitted via our official email: ywe-award@mdpi.com.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to receiving your nominations.

Young Women in Engineering Award Team

We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Catalysts 2025 Travel Award. All applications will be assessed by a dedicated evaluation committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of Catalysts (ISSN: 2073-4344).

This award provides financial support for the selected winner to attend an international conference in 2026 focused on catalysts and catalyzed reactions. The recipient will have the opportunity to deliver an oral presentation, present a poster, or both.

Candidate requirements:

• Postdoctoral fellows or Ph.D. students;
• Plans to attend an international conference in 2026 (giving an oral presentation or presenting a poster).

List of documents for application:

• Information about the conference the applicant is planning to attend and the abstract that will be submitted;
• Curriculum Vitae and list of publications;
• Justification letter describing the focus of the research (max. 800 words);
• Letter of recommendation from the supervisor, research director, or department head, which also confirms the applicant’s status.

The winner (one awardee) will be awarded CHF 800, a certificate, and a waiver for a submission to Catalysts.

Please submit your application for the Catalysts Travel Award through the following link (by clicking on “Apply”): https://www.mdpi.com/journal/catalysts/awards/3384.

The application deadline: 31 October 2025.

The winner will be announced on the Catalysts website by the end of December 2025, and the prize will be awarded at the same time. If you have any questions about this award or the application process, please feel free to contact the Editorial Office at catalysts@mdpi.com.

Catalysts Editorial Office

MDPI will be attending the 22nd National Congress on Catalysis (22NCC), which will be held from 19 to 23 October 2025, in Xiamen, China.

The National Congress on Catalysis is the largest and most academically advanced national academic conference in the field of catalysis, held every two years. This conference is co-sponsored by the Catalysis Professional Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society and Xiamen University and is chaired by Prof. Wang Ye of Xiamen University. The theme of the conference is “Catalysis Science and Technology in the New Era: Integrity and Innovation”, covering the cutting-edge research and application progress in catalysis science and technology in the fields of chemical engineering, energy, environment, materials, life, etc. The agenda mainly includes invited reports of the conference, keynote reports of the branch, invited reports of the branch, oral reports, poster presentations, special forums, etc.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Catalysts;
• Molecules;
• Surfaces;
• Applied Nano;
• Biomass;
• Chemistry;
• Electrochem;
• Energies;
• Inorganics;
• Molbank;
• Nanomaterials;
• Organics;
• Solids;
• Compounds.

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth #E12, and have a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://22ncc.scimeeting.cn/cn/web/index/27913.

We are pleased to share that Catalysts (ISSN: 2073-4344) has received an increased CiteScore of 7.6 in June 2025. The CiteScore ranks the journal 45 out of 240 titles (Q1) in the “General Environmental Science” category, 41 out of 187 titles (Q1) in the “Physical and Theoretical Chemistry” category, and 28 out of 70 titles (Q2) in the “Catalysis” category, an impressive achievement for a journal running in Volume 15.

You can find more statistics on our website.

The current CiteScores measure the average number of citations within a journal over a four-year window (2021–2024). The Scopus database provides a comprehensive suite of metrics that support informed publishing strategies, research evaluation and enable benchmarking of journal performance.

This achievement reflects the collective efforts of our authors, reviewers, and editors. Together we will continue to track the progress of Catalysts and its growing impact in catalysts and catalyzed reactions.

The China Materials Conference 2025 will be held from 5 to 8 July 2025, in Xiamen, China. The conference is organized by the China Materials Society.

Areas include the following:

• Energy materials;
• Environmental materials;
• Advanced structural materials;
• Functional materials;
• Material design, preparation and evaluation.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to initiate an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person at booth #4052 and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://cmc2025.scimeeting.cn/.

MDPI is excited to collaborate with Toronto Metropolitan University to host an engaging Scientific Publishing Workshop aimed at empowering scholars with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed in academic publishing. This workshop will delve into the key aspects of MDPI’s open access publishing framework, offering an in-depth exploration of journal selection, the editorial workflow, and the essentials of publication ethics. Participants will also gain practical advice on improving their scientific writing and effectively addressing reviewer comments, with guidance from an experienced professional. This session promises to equip attendees with valuable skills to elevate their publishing journey.

Workshop Highlights:

• Learn How to Better Write and Structure a Research Article;
• How to Choose Where to Publish Academic Work;
• How to Respond to Reviewer Comments;
• Reasons for Rejection During Pre-Check;
• How to Navigate Through Ethics and AI Use.

Date: 15 May 2025
Time: 12:00–1:30 p.m.
Venue: Toronto Metropolitan University

Program: