Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Lingxin Chen has been appointed Section Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Environmental Science and Engineering” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH, ISSN: 1660-4601, IF 4.614). 

Prof. Dr. Lingxin Chen is a professor at the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, China. The Institute’s R&D work is mainly about innovative chemical measurement technology and marine measurement technology, involving the fields of analytical chemistry, environmental science, marine chemistry, marine environmental monitoring, and ecological restoration engineering technology. It is committed to taking typical pollutants in the coastal environment as research objects, using nanomaterials, biomaterials, and photoelectric as well as magnetic analysis and detection technologies, building micro/nano sensing interfaces and exploring new principles, methods, and new instrument technologies for analysis and monitoring, in addition to paying attention to the study of the interaction between typical pollutants and life systems as well as revealing their relevance to human health. Meanwhile, the group pays attention to actively carrying out domestic and international cooperation. Additionally, nowadays, wide and deep contacts with distinguished experts/scholars and instrumental companies are built within the USA, Korea, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, etc.

He has published more than 400 scientific original articles and reviews. His current research interests are in coastal zone pollutants; typical water body pollutants; microanalysis techniques; environmental microanalysis; oceanic oil spill; and situ on-line as well as real-time environmental monitoring techniques. He was selected as a Clarivate “Highly Cited Researcher” in the Cross-Field category in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Lingxin Chen, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Editor-in-Chief?
Fortunately, contemporary society has great awareness of deleterious environmental side effects, resulting in a sense of responsibility toward the environment. Today we look forward to a healthy and harmonious environment system. I have devoted most of my energy to research, especially in the identification, analysis and monitoring of environmental pollution. In this direction, I have been tracking the research works engaged in environment and health, studying how pollutants lead to the change of the endogenous sources of active species in life, so as to reveal the relationship between environment and public health. I have also been thinking about how to exploit environmental science and engineering technology knowledge to solve global problems stemming from environmental pollution. I am interested in studying how to develop environmental models to investigate, analyze, predict and remediate environmental crises, how to achieve key pollution control, treatment and prevention, how to avoid exposure to hazardous materials, and ways to participate in public health prevention and management through valuable analytical insights. My relevant background coincides with the journal, and I look forward to working with researchers across the world to promote the development of this field.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
I hope for this journal to promote high-quality scientific research, which meets the need of Environmental Protection Agencies, health organizations, academics, and the governmental personnel/the public engaged in ecological protection and also human/living creatures’ safety across the world. This is the most important goal and requirement of the journal. I hope that we can attract all types of scientific researchers from many disciplines to contribute in promoting the development of environmental science, environmental engineering, clinical medicine and public health. I also hope for this journal to not only act as a platform for scientific researchers to display their research results, but also as a resource platform for understanding the latest and most important progress in the field, so as to stimulate the continuous emergence of new research results. It is hoped that in the near future, we will pool our wisdom and pay attention to the quality of the papers so that the journal can become a mainstream journal in this field.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
Environment and human health are enduring scientific themes. Humans and the environment are inseparable. They interact with each other, restrict each other, depend on each other and adapt to each other. Over billions of years of evolution, human beings have constantly adjusted their adaptive ability to maintain their dynamic balance with the changing environment. Along with the development of society and the progress of science, unsustainable anthropogenic activities have increased and a large number of environmental pollutants (physical/chemical/biological pollution) have been emitted into the human living environment (water, air and soil), further leading to the deterioration of the ecological environment and causing a variety of harm to human health. How should mankind choose a development path that coexists harmoniously with nature, so that human development needs can be met and meanwhile the natural ecosystem can be protected to the maximum extent? This question indicates the direction in which the field will be headed in the future. We expect multidisciplinary global researchers, especially those in Environmental Science and engineering technology, to put forward feasible solutions for pollution control, treatment and prevention to solve environmental problems such as pollution and public health problems including hazard exposure prevention. This is pivotal work to maintain a healthy and sustainable environmental system suitable for humans’ and other living creatures’ survival.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
Open Access publishing provides a platform to share findings for global researchers, thus promoting the rapid dissemination and development of science and technology. Providing a cross-application science platform focusing on the combination of the environment and human health, open access publishing holds unique significance.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Lingxin Chen as he starts his new role as Section Editor-in-Chief, and we look forward to him leading International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health to achieve many more milestones.