Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the “Drones 2022 Best Paper Award” for research and review articles published in Drones from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. One review and one research article will receive an award each. The papers will be selected after a thorough evaluation by the journal Award Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Diego González-Aguilera.

Eligibility for the Award:
– Papers published in Drones from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022;
– Open to all career levels;
– Both regular and Special Issue submissions will be considered.

Selection Criteria:
The papers will be selected by the journal Award Committee according to the following criteria:
– Scientific merit and broad impact;
– Originality of the research objectives and/or the ideas presented;
– Creativity of the study design or uniqueness of the approaches and concepts;
– Clarity of presentation;
– Citations and downloads.

The Prize:
– One review award: CHF 500 and a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Drones in 2024 after peer review (the paper type must be article/review);
– One research article award: CHF 500 and a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Drones in 2024 after peer review (the paper type must be article/review);
– Each winner will also receive an electronic certificate.

The winners will be announced on the journal website in May 2024.

Kind regards,
Drones Editorial Office

The nomination deadline of the Drones 2023 Young Investigator Award has been extended. Entries will be accepted until 29 February 2024. We are looking forward to nominations from all over the world.

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Drones is now inviting nominations for the Drones 2023 Young Investigator Award. This prize will be given to one young investigator in recognition of their excellence in the field of drones. All nominations will be assessed by an Award Evaluation Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Diego González-Aguilera.

The Prize
– CHF 2000;
– Option to publish one paper free of charge in Drones after peer review before the end of 2024;
– An electronic certificate.

Eligibility and Requirements
– Must have received their PhD no more than 10 years prior to 31 December 2023;
– Must have produced ground-breaking research and made a significant contribution to the advancement of drones;
– Candidates 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 nomination: 1 January 2023
– Nomination deadline: 29 February 2024
– Winner announcement: 30 April 2024

How to Submit Nominations?
The nominations must be submitted online at: 
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/drones/awards/2096.

Contact
Ms. Fancy Zhai
Senior Marketing Specialist
Email: [email protected]

Kind regards,
Drones Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Drones 2021 Best Paper Award. All papers published from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 in Drones were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, two winners were selected.

One Review:
UAV-Enabled Mobile Edge-Computing for IoT Based on AI: A Comprehensive Review
By Yassine Yazid, Imad Ez-Zazi, Antonio Guerrero-González, Ahmed El Oualkadi and Mounir Arioua
Drones 2021, 5(4), 148; doi:10.3390/drones5040148

One Article:
A Citizen Science Unmanned Aerial System Data Acquisition Protocol and Deep Learning Techniques for the Automatic Detection and Mapping of Marine Litter Concentrations in the Coastal Zone
By Apostolos Papakonstantinou, Marios Batsaris, Spyros Spondylidis and Konstantinos Topouzelis
Drones 2021, 5(1), 6; doi:10.3390/drones5010006

Each winner will receive CHF 500, a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Drones in 2023 after peer review and an electronic certificate.

Please join us in congratulating the winners of Drones 2021 Best Paper Award. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our authors for your continued support of Drones.

Kind regards,
Drones Editorial Office

Dear Colleagues,

As the Editor-in-Chief of Drones, it is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the Drones 2021 PhD Thesis Award. This prize is intended to be granted to a Ph.D. student or a doctor who has produced a highly anticipated academic thesis that shows great potential.

The award has been granted to:
“ACTIVE VISION BASED EMBODIED-AI DESIGN FOR NANO-UAV AUTONOMY”
By Dr. Nitin J. Sanket, University of Maryland, College Park, USA.

As the winner, he will receive CHF 800 and a certificate.

On behalf of the evaluation committee, I congratulate Dr. Nitin J. Sanket on his accomplishments. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the nominated research groups for their contributions to Drones and to thank the Award Committee for voting and helping with the award process.

Prof. Dr. Diego González-Aguilera
Editor-in-Chief, Drones