Announcements

Peer Review Week began 19 September 2022 under the theme of “Research Integrity: Creating and Supporting Trust in Research”. Through various blog articles, podcast, and webinar, we discussed this crucial subject throughout the week, celebrating the essential role peer review plays in maintaining research quality.

To begin, we held a Webinar on the topic. Professor Peter W. Choate and Dr. Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi joined Dr. Ioana Craciun, one of MDPI’s scientific officers, for an in-depth discussion.

We invite you to view the event recording:

During the week, the MDPI Blog in a series articles highlighted how good Peer Review safeguards research integrity. The following topics were covered:

• Peer Review Week 2022
• Research Integrity
• What We’ve Learned About Peer Review Reports
• 4 Steps to the Perfect Peer Review Report
• How to Write the Perfect Peer Review Report: An Interview
• Inviting Great Peer Reviewers

In a new edition of Insight Faster, an MDPI podcast, we were delighted to talk to the co-chairs of the Peer Review Week committee, Jayashree Rajagopalan (Senior Manager of Global Community Engagement for CACTUS) and Danielle Padula (Head of Marketing and Community Development at Scholastica) to get their take on this year’s event and its related topics.

You can find the Podcast here.

We hope you enjoy the contents!

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The academic editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal.

We are honored to present the winners in the “Engineering” category, who were selected amongst extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

Actuators:

• “Position Control of Pneumatic Actuators Using Three-Mode Discrete-Valued Model Predictive Control”
  by Haitao Qi, Gary M. Bone and Yile Zhang
  Actuators 2019, 8(3), 56; doi: 10.3390/act8030056
• “Review of Electrothermal Actuators and Applications”
  by Alissa Potekhina and Changhai Wang
  Actuators 2019, 8(4), 69; doi: 10.3390/act8040069

Batteries:

• “Pre-Lithiation Strategies for Rechargeable Energy Storage Technologies: Concepts, Promises and Challenges”
  by Florian Holtstiege, Peer Bärmann, Roman Nölle, Martin Winter and Tobias Placke
  Batteries 2018, 4(1), 4; doi: 10.3390/batteries4010004
• “A Critical Review of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Processes from a Circular Economy Perspective”
  by Omar Velázquez-Martínez, Johanna Valio, Annukka Santasalo-Aarnio, Markus Reuter and Rodrigo Serna-Guerrero
  Batteries 2019, 5(4), 68; doi: 10.3390/batteries5040068
• “Critical Review of the Use of Reference Electrodes in Li-Ion Batteries: A Diagnostic Perspective”
  by Rinaldo Raccichini, Marco Amores and Gareth Hinds
  Batteries 2019, 5(1), 12; doi: 10.3390/batteries5010012
• “Life Cycle Analysis of Lithium-Ion Batteries for Automotive Applications”
  by Qiang Dai, Jarod C. Kelly, Linda Gaines and Michael Wang
  Batteries 2019, 5(2), 48; doi 10.3390/batteries5020048
• “Design Strategies for High Power vs. High Energy Lithium Ion Cells”
  by Michael J. Lain, James Brandon and Emma Kendrick
  Batteries 2019, 5(4), 64; doi: 10.3390/batteries5040064

Chemosensors:

• “Influence of Humidity on NO₂-Sensing and Selectivity of Spray-CVD Grown ZnO Thin Film above 400 °C”
  by Roussin Lontio Fomekong and Bilge Saruhan
  Chemosensors 2019, 7(3), 42; doi: 10.3390/chemosensors7030042
• “Low Molecular Weight Fluorescent Probes (LMFPs) to Detect the Group 12 Metal Triad”
  by Ashley D. Johnson, Rose M. Curtis and Karl J. Wallace
  Chemosensors 2019, 7(2), 22; doi: 10.3390/chemosensors7020022

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering:

• “Marine Application of Fiber Reinforced Composites: A Review”
  by Felice Rubino, Antonio Nisticò, Fausto Tucci and Pierpaolo Carlone
  Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(1), 26; doi: 10.3390/jmse8010026
• “Numerical Simulation of Large Wave Heights from Super Typhoon Nepartak (2016) in the Eastern Waters of Taiwan”
  by Shih-Chun Hsiao, Hongey Chen, Han-Lun Wu, Wei-Bo Chen, Chih-Hsin Chang, Wen-Dar Guo, Yung-Ming Chen and Lee-Yaw Lin
  Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(3), 217; doi: 10.3390/jmse8030217
• “Development of Deterministic Artificial Intelligence for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV)”
  by Timothy Sands
  Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(8), 578; doi: 10.3390/jmse8080578

Lubricants:

• “Solid Lubrication with MoS₂: A Review”
  by Mohammad R. Vazirisereshk, Ashlie Martini, David A. Strubbe and Mehmet Z. Baykara
  Lubricants 2019, 7(7), 57; doi:10.3390/lubricants7070057
• “Investigations of the Friction Losses of Different Engine Concepts. Part 1: A Combined Approach for Applying Subassembly-Resolved Friction Loss Analysis on a Modern Passenger-Car Diesel Engine”
  by Christoph Knauder, Hannes Allmaier, David E. Sander and Theodor Sams
  Lubricants 2019, 7(5), 39; doi: 10.3390/lubricants7050039
• “A Discussion on Present Theories of Rubber Friction, with Particular Reference to Different Possible Choices of Arbitrary Roughness Cutoff Parameters”
  by Andrea Genovese, Flavio Farroni, Antonio Papangelo and Michele Ciavarella
  Lubricants 2019, 7(10), 85; doi: 10.3390/lubricants7100085

Micromachines:

• “4D Printing of Multi-Hydrogels Using Direct Ink Writing in a Supporting Viscous Liquid”
  by Takuya Uchida and Hiroaki Onoe
  Micromachines 2019, 10(7), 433; doi: 10.3390/mi10070433
• “Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance and Mechanism of Au@CaTiO₃ Composites with Au Nanoparticles Assembled on CaTiO₃ Nanocuboids”
  by Yuxiang Yan, Hua Yang, Zao Yi, Ruishan Li and Xiangxian Wang
  Micromachines 2019, 10(4), 254; doi: 10.3390/mi10040254
• “Three-Dimensionally Structured Flexible Fog Harvesting Surfaces Inspired by Namib Desert Beetles”
  by Jun Kyu Park and Seok Kim
  Micromachines 2019, 10(3), 201; doi: 10.3390/mi10030201

Processes:

• “Accelerating Biologics Manufacturing by Modeling or: Is Approval under the QbD and PAT Approaches Demanded by Authorities Acceptable without a Digital-Twin?”
  by Steffen Zobel-Roos, Axel Schmidt, Fabian Mestmäcker, Mourad Mouellef, Maximilian Huter, Lukas Uhlenbrock, Martin Kornecki, Lara Lohmann, Reinhard Ditz and Jochen Strube
  Processes 2019, 7(2), 94; doi: 10.3390/pr7020094
• “Multiscale Agent-Based and Hybrid Modeling of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment”
  by Kerri-Ann Norton, Chang Gong, Samira Jamalian and Aleksander S. Popel
  Processes 2019, 7(1), 37; doi: 10.3390/pr7010037
• “Dynamic Flowsheet Model Development and Sensitivity Analysis of a Continuous Pharmaceutical Tablet Manufacturing Process Using the Wet Granulation Route”
  by Nirupaplava Metta, Michael Ghijs, Elisabeth Schäfer, Ashish Kumar, Philippe Cappuyns, Ivo Van Assche, Ravendra Singh, Rohit Ramachandran, Thomas De Beer, Marianthi Ierapetritou and Ingmar Nopens
  Processes 2019, 7(4), 234; doi: 10.3390/pr7040234

Sensors:

• “A Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Healthcare Blockchain for IoT”
  by Ashutosh Dhar Dwivedi, Gautam Srivastava, Shalini Dhar and Rajani Singh
  Sensors 2019, 19(2), 326; doi: 10.3390/s19020326
• “The Progress of Glucose Monitoring—A Review of Invasive to Minimally and Non-Invasive Techniques, Devices and Sensors”
  by Wilbert Villena Gonzales, Ahmed Toaha Mobashsher and Amin Abbosh
  Sensors 2019, 19(4), 800; doi: 10.3390/s19040800
• “Contact-Based Methods for Measuring Respiratory Rate”
  by Carlo Massaroni, Andrea Nicolò, Daniela Lo Presti, Massimo Sacchetti, Sergio Silvestri and Emiliano Schena
  Sensors 2019, 19(4), 908; doi: 10.3390/s19040908

World Electric Vehicle Journal:

• “Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer Charging Infrastructure for Future EVs: From Experimental Track to Real Circulated Roads Demonstrations”
  by Stéphane Laporte, Gérard Coquery, Virginie Deniau, Alexandre De Bernardinis and Nicolas Hautière
  World Electr. Veh. J. 2019, 10(4), 84; doi: 10.3390/wevj10040084

MDPI’s Young Investigator Awards recognize promising junior researchers, acknowledge their contributions, and enhance communication among scientists. We are proud to present the winners for the year 2021 in the “Engineering” category. The winners were selected by the journals’ editors.

We warmly congratulate the awarded Young Investigators for their outstanding contributions. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Biosensors:

• Amay J. Bandodkar, North Carolina State University, USA.

ChemEngineering:

• Andrew S. Paluch, Miami University, USA.

Chemosensors:

• Mindy Levine, Ariel University, Israel.

Electronics:

• Amir H. Gandomi, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering:

• Tiago Fazeres-Ferradosa, University of Porto, Portugal.

Machines:

• Chen Lv, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore;
• Ignacio Gonzalez-Prieto, University of Malaga (UMA), Spain;
• Ning Sun, Nankai University, China.

Processes:

• Anton Rassõlkin, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.

Sensors:

• Qammer H. Abbasi, Queen Mary University of London, UK;
• Chi Hwan Lee, Purdue University, USA.

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2021 Travel Awards in the “Engineering” category for their outstanding presentations and to present them with the prize.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage talented junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps to increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of this year’s Travel Awards and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Actuators:

• Matthew Wei Ming Tan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Applied Sciences:

• Márcia de Sousa Oliveira, University of León, Spain;
• Caroline Sarah Taylor, University of Sheffield, UK;
• Raquel Viveiros, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal;
• Alfonso González Briones, University of Salamanca, Spain;
• Alen Horvat, University Carlos III Madrid, Spain;
• Marie Švecová, University of Chemistry and Technology, Czech Republic;
• Venanzio Giannella, University of Salerno, Italy;
• Michaël Lobet, University of Namur, Belgium;
• Lam Thi Ngoc Tran, National Research Council, Italy;
• Hanfei Mei, University of South Carolina, USA.

Applied System Innovation:

• Mert Nakip, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland.

Biosensors:

• Mengdi Bao, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA;

Yichi Su, Stanford University, USA.

Buildings:

• Karthik Panchabikesan, Concordia University, Canada;
• Xiaolei Yuan, Tongji University, China.

Chemosensors:

• Verónica Montes García, Université de Strasbourg & CNRS, France.

Electronics:

• Peng Hang, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;
• Alfonso González Briones, University of Salamanca, Spain.

Fluids:

• Alberto Zingaro, Politecnico di Milano, Italy;
• Sarah E. Morris, Auburn University, USA.

Infrastructures:

• Angelo Aloisio, University of L’Aquila, Italy;
• André Filipe Castanheira Alves Furtado, University of Porto, Portugal.

Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications:

• Tommaso Zanotti, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing:

• Nagalingam Arun Prasanth, Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Lab, Singapore.

Machines:

• Muhammad Jamil, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), China;
• Mariagrazia Tristano, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

Processes:

• Michele Schlich, University of Cagliari, Italy;
• Álvaro Santana Mayor, University of La Laguna, Spain.

Sensors:

• Eleonora Macchia, Åbo Akademi University, Finland;
• Alfonso Gonzalez Briones, University of Salamanca, Spain;
• Saúl Vallejos Calzada, University of Burgos, Spain;
• Ana Novo, University of Vigo, Spain;
• Yalin Liu, Macau University of Science and Technology, China;
• Marilena Giglio, Politecnico of Bari, Italy;
• Yuzhi Shi, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize the winners for the year 2021 in the “Engineering” category for their outstanding contributions among extensive competition by presenting them with an Outstanding Reviewer Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the winners on their achievement. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Actuators:

• Ryszard Dindorf, Kielce University of Technology, Poland.

Applied Sciences:

• Khaled Giasin, University of Portsmouth, UK;
• Jakub Krzysztof Grabski, University of Technology, Poland;
• Marcos Tostado-Véliz, University of Jaén, Spain;
• Luigi Pugliese, University of Calabria, Italy;
• Francesco Bennardo, University of Catanzaro, Italy;
• Heriberto Perez-Acebo, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain.

Biosensors:

• Amir Hatamie, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Buildings:

• Francesco Fiorito, Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy;
• Paul G. O’Brien, York University, Canada.

Chemosensors:

• Verónica Montes García, University of Strasbourg, France.

Machines:

• Piotr Gierlak, Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland;
• Sebastian A. Nugroho, University of Michigan, USA;
• Viorel Paleu, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania.

Processes:

• Marcin Dębowski, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland;
• Bartłomiej Zieniuk, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland;
• Zbigniew Nadolny, Poznan University of Technology, Poland;
• Attila Egedy, University of Pannonia, Hungary;
• Seok-Ho Rhi, Chungbuk National University, Korea.

Sensors:

• Hojong Choi, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Korea;
• Li Fu, Hangzhou Dianzi University, China;
• Leonardo De Mello Honorio, Federal University of Juiz De Fora Juiz De Fora, Brazil;
• Mario Versaci, Mediterranea University, Italy;
• Robertas Damasevicius, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.

We are pleased to announce the newly released 2021 CiteScore (Scopus) of Designs (ISSN: 2411-9660), which has increased from 2.1 to 3.4, ranking the journal:

• 38/115 (Q2) in the “Engineering (miscellaneous)” category;
• 125/338 (Q2) in the “Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering” category;
• 227/601 (Q2) in the “Mechanical Engineering” category.

For more information, please visit the following link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21101024200.

Designs Editorial Office

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Elisabetta Sieni has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the newly established Section “Bioengineering Design” in Designs (ISSN: 2411-9660).

Name: Dr. Elisabetta Sieni
Email: elisabetta.sieni@uninsubria.it
Affiliation: Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, via Dunant, 3, 21100 Varese, Italy
Homepage: https://www.uninsubria.eu/hpp/elisabetta.sieni
Interests: finite element simulation; electromagnetic device design; optimization; medical application of electromagnetic fields; electroporation; 3D cell culture

Dr. Elisabetta Sieni received a degree in electronic engineering, with a thesis on biomedical engineering; a Ph.D. in bioelectromagnetics and electromagnetic compatibility, with a thesis on magnetic field sources and measurements of electromagnetic fields; and a Ph.D. in information engineering, curricula bioengineering, with a thesis on the use of numerical methods and optimization techniques applied for electromagnetic field computation of biological tissues and hyperthermia with magnetic nanoparticles for tumor treatment, from the Padova University in 2002, 2006, and 2011 respectively.

From 2010 to 2015, she was involved as a post-doctoral researcher with the Department of Industrial Engineering of Padova University. Her post-doctoral studies have focused on the field of electroporation of tumor cells, the development of new electrodes for electroporation, and the electrical properties of tumor tissues. She has also worked in the field of nanoparticles and nanofluids for tumor treatment (magneto fluid hyperthermia). From 2015 to 2018, she was an assistant professor in electrotechnics at Padova University and taught at the Photovoltaic Technologies and Electrotechnics Laboratory. Currently, she is an associate professor in electrotechnics at Insubria University.

She is involved in research projects on the numerical modelization of electric devices for industrial application, the design of biomedical applications of electromagnetic fields, numerical solutions of coupled electromagnetic and thermal problems, the development of optimization algorithms, and the use of magnetic nanoparticles in hyperthermia for tumor treatment and electrochemotherapy. She works on electroporation and she has designed electroporation experiments in 3D cell cultures involving cells and the extracellular matrix.

She has worked on the implementation of optimization algorithms for the design of biomedical devices and the treatment planning of medical therapies. She has built human models for numerical computation and used them for the evaluation of human exposure to electromagnetic fields. She is the author of various papers regarding congress proceedings and in international journals.

Her interests include the design of devices for medical applications, hyperthermia, electrochemotherapy, and electromagnetic field application for tumor treatment.

The following is a short Q&A with Dr. Elisabetta Sieni, who shared with us her vision for the journal and her views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What is your vision for the Section?
In recent years, the design of biomedical applications has received considerable great interest in the scientific community, especially in the global distribution of medical devices and therapies. The pandemic further motivated this existing trend, spurring the global attention to health research in an attempt to improve the diffusion of health culture. The pandemic highlighted the necessity of structuring a global diffusion of devices and therapies and of finding solutions to limit health hazards. This global health idea has encouraged researchers to find methods to diffuse technology using the available resources. The design of new devices and the improvement of existing ones, with a focus on global health, will positively impact the world’s societies.

2. What does the future of this field of research look like?
In recent years, biomedicine and bioengineering have advanced as the average life span has increased, highlighting the important role of health acquired in modern society. Then, the findings of biomedical research have to be disseminated to improve the quality of life of each individual. As such, considerable increases in biomedical research are expected.

3. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?
Open access is an interesting opportunity for the diffusion of information at the academic level.

We warmly welcome Dr. Elisabetta Sieni to her role as Section Editor-in-Chief, and we look forward to her leading Designs to many more milestones.

We are recruiting Reviewer Board Members for Designs (ISSN: 2411-9660). If you are an active researcher in the field and passionate about promoting the publication of cutting-edge research, please contact the Designs Editorial Office (designs@mdpi.com) to apply for this role.

Designs is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes research focused on a wide range of engineering design disciplines and industrial applications, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automation, civil engineering, mechatronics, aerospace engineering, bioengineering, energy engineering, industrial engineering and manufacturing systems.

More information about the journal can be found on our homepage via the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/designs/about.

Designs considers submissions focusing on, though not limited to, the following subject areas:

• Mechanical design;
• Mechatronics design;
• Electrical design;
• Electronics design;
• Design automation;
• Aerospace design;
• Civil and infrastructure design;
• Vehicles design;
• Bioengineering design;
• Energy systems design;
• Product design;
• Industrial design;
• Design theory, methodology and management;
• Open source design;
• Design innovation.

The benefits of joining our Reviewer Board are as follows:

• We will announce your entry information on the journal's Reviewer Board;
• Discounts are awarded for comprehensive and timely reviews. These vouchers can be used for all MDPI journals;
• You will receive a personalized reviewer certificate;
• Review frequency is flexible and based on your schedule;
• You can showcase your peer reviews and editorial contributions to our journal.

If you are interested in this position, please send your application, including a full academic CV, to the Designs Editorial Office (designs@mdpi.com). We look forward to our collaboration.

1. ”Smart Monitoring and Controlling of Appliances Using LoRa Based IoT System”
Nur-A-Alam et al.
Designs 2021, 5(1), 17; 10.3390/designs5010017
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5010017

2. “Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on the Physical Infrastructure: Changes and Challenges”
Kareem Othman
Designs 2021, 5(3), 40; 10.3390/designs5030040
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5030040

3. “Using NLP for Fact Checking: A Survey”
Eric Lazarski et al.
Designs 2021, 5(3), 42; 10.3390/designs5030042
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5030042

4. “A Revised PFMEA Approach for Reliable Design of Assembly Activities”
Marcello Braglia et al.
Designs 2021, 5(1), 12; 10.3390/designs5010012
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5010012

5. “Predictive Maintenance Using Machine Learning and Data Mining: A Pioneer Method Implemented to Greek Railways”
Ilias Kalathas et al.
Designs 2021, 5(1), 5; 10.3390/designs5010005
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5010005

6. “Enterprise Design Thinking: An Investigation on User-Centered Design Processes in Large Corporations”
Jieun Kwon et al.
Designs 2021, 5(3), 43; 10.3390/designs5030043
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5030043

7. “Geometrical Optimization of a Venturi-Type Microbubble Generator Using CFD Simulation and Experimental Measurements”
Dillon Alexander Wilson, et al.
Designs 2021, 5(1), 4; 10.3390/designs5010004
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5010004

8. “Cost-Effective Design of IoT-Based Smart Household Distribution System”
Musse Mohamud Ahmed, et al.
Designs 2021, 5(3), 55; 10.3390/designs5030055
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5030055

9. “Spraying Cooling System for PV Modules: Experimental Measurements for Temperature Trends Assessment and System Design Feasibility”
Alberto Benato, et al
Designs 2021, 5(2), 25; 10.3390/designs5020025
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5020025

10. “Le Corbusier’s Urban Planning as a Cultural Legacy. An Approach to the Case of Chandigarh”
Juan-Andrés Rodríguez-Lora, et al
Designs 2021, 5(3), 44; 10.3390/designs5030044
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5030044