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.

Organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, the 2025 2nd International Conference on Computer Vision, Robotics and Automation Engineering will be held from 27 to 29 June 2025 in Shanghai, China.

This conference aims to serve as a platform for academic exchanges between specialists and scholars in computer vision, robotics and automation engineering, addressing the key challenges and research directions in this field. It seeks to promote the development and application of relevant theories and technologies in universities and enterprises and provide scholars, engineers and industry experts with the opportunity to present new ideas and research results.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Symmetry;
• Algorithms;
• Mathematics;
• Signals.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please feel free to visit our booth and talk to our representatives. We look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about this event, please visit the official website via https://www.ic-crae.org/.

MDPI will be attending the 3rd Joint Conference on Statistics and Data Science in China as an exhibitor. We warmly welcome researchers from diverse backgrounds to visit our booth and share their latest ideas.

The conference is hosted by the Data Science Research Centre at Zhejiang University. It will feature nearly 160 academic presentations and is expected to attract over 2,000 participants. The event will include a variety of formats, such as conference presentations, invited talks, contributed presentations, academic poster sessions, corporate booths, and talent recruitment opportunities. This conference aims to showcase new ideas, technologies, and advancements in the fields of statistics and data science from multiple perspectives and in a comprehensive manner.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Mathematics;
• Axioms;
• Data;
• Stats;
• Algorithms;
• Analytics;
• Big Data and Cognitive Computing;
• Computation;
• Forecasting;
• AppliedMath;
• Machine Learning and Knowledge Extraction.

We are thrilled to share the updated Exceptional Reviewers List for 2025. This program is designed to recognize and honor scholars who have delivered consistently exceptional review reports to our journal. Committed to fostering rigorous research and promoting knowledge exchange, Mathematics (ISSN: 2227-7390) recognizes its reviewers' significant role in maintaining the quality and integrity of all published articles. Based on survey statistics from 2024, 92% of our authors rate the peer review process as good or excellent, thanks to our pool of excellent reviewers.

We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of the reviewers who have generously volunteered their time and expertise to assist in the peer review process for Mathematics. Their dedication and attention to detail in evaluating manuscripts, offering valuable feedback, and contributing to academic rigor are truly commendable.

Each quarter, we will be selecting a group of outstanding reviewers and introducing them here, as part of the Exceptional Reviewers List, as follows:

Q1

Name: Yang Liu
Affiliation: Beihang University, China

Name: Raul Matsushita
Affiliation: University of Brasilia, Brazil

Name: Tomasz Krzywicki
Affiliation: University of Warmia and Mazury, Poland

Name: Zhijia Wang
Affiliation: Guangzhou University, China

Name: Weican Li
Affiliation: Brown University, United States

Name: Rafael Henrique Palma Lima
Affiliation: Federal University of Technology—Parana, Brazil

Name: Keke Shang
Affiliation: Nanjing University, China

Name: Tsvetelin S. Zaevski
Affiliation: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria

Name: Qingan Qiu
Affiliation: Beijing Institute of Technology, China

Name: Paulo Jefferson Dias De Oliveira Evald
Affiliation: Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil

Name: José Fernando Fontanari
Affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Name: Mark A. Coletti
Affiliation: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, United States

Name: Claudio Lupi
Affiliation: University of Molise, Italy

Name: Ting Fung Ma
Affiliation: University of South Carolina, United States

Name: Kristina P. Sinaga
Affiliation: Istituto di scienza e tecnologie dell'informazione “Alessandro Faedo” (ISTI), Italy

See what our reviewers have to say about Mathematics’ peer review process:

“As a reviewer for the prestigious journal Mathematics, I frequently assessed original and high-value research that supports global scientific research at the highest level.”—Dr. Tomasz Krzywicki

“My experience reviewing for Mathematics has been very good, because the review process and systems are well organized and optimized to make reviewing fast and pleasant.”—Dr. Rafael Henrique Palma Lima

“I have published in top journals including PRE, Chaos, and NJP, averaging over 40 citations per article. My peer review experience with Mathematics shows that its standards match those of leading traditional publications.”—Dr. Keke Shang

“Clear conditions for rejection, which exclude well-done original work regardless of subjective opinions on topic interest, greatly facilitate the reviewer's work.”—Dr. José Fernando Fontanari

“Rigorous peer review advances scientific integrity. I focus on methodological soundness and theoretical foundations while providing constructive feedback that helps authors improve their work and contributes to mathematical knowledge advancement.”—Dr. Kristina P. Sinaga

Conference: The 29th International Conference on Statistical Physics—StatPhys29
Date: 13–18 July 2025
Location: Florence, Italy

MDPI will be attending StatPhys29 as an exhibitor, which will be held from 13 to 18 July 2025. We welcome researchers from diverse backgrounds to attend and share their latest ideas with us.

The Statistical Physics (C3) Commission of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) has entrusted the organization of StatPhys29 to the Italian Society of Statistical Physics.  Held every three years, StatPhys29 is the most prestigious event in the global statistical physics community. The conference serves as an interdisciplinary forum for cutting-edge research, spanning fundamental methods and applications in fields such as biophysics, quantum technologies, economics, and finance. StatPhys29 serves as the premier gathering for the global statistical physics community and your participation will significantly contribute to the scientific discourse and enhance the conference’s intellectual impact.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Entropy;
• Biophysica;
• Axioms;
• Condensed Matter;
• Dynamics;
• Fluids;
• Foundations;
• Particles;
• Plasma;
• Physics;
• Quantum Reports;
• Modern Mathematical Physics;
• Liquids;
• Mathematics.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please do not hesitate to start conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person at the booth and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://statphys29.org/.

We are excited to announce the 2nd International Online Conference on Mathematics and Applications (IOCMA2026), which will be held from 10 to 12 June 2026.

Following the first conference held in 2023, IOCMA2026 is organized by Mathematics (ISSN: 2227-7390) and has been designed to closely align with the innovative new section structure of the journal. We sincerely invite the participation of all interested researchers and academics in exchanging ideas, engaging in fruitful collaboration, and making the new edition of this conference a success.

Conference Chairs:

• Prof. Dr. Francisco Chiclana, De Montfort University, UK;
• Prof. Dr. Ivanka Stamova, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA;
• Prof. Dr. Tadashi Dohi, Hiroshima University, Japan.

Topics of interest: 
S1. Algebra, Geometry, Topology and Logic with Applications;
S2. Mathematical Analysis;
S3. Statistics and Operational Research;
S4. Applied Mathematics;
S5. Control Theory and Mechanics;
S6. Mathematics, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Guide for Authors:
Please submit your abstract at the following link by 10 February 2026: https://sciforum.net/user/submission/create/1340.

Please use the following link to register for the event for free by 5 June 2026: https://sciforum.net/event/IOCMA2026?section=#registration.

Please refer to the “Instructions for Authors” section for details regarding abstract submission and publication opportunities.

Each winner of the Best Oral Presentation Award and Best Poster Award (4 winners) will receive:

• A certificate;
• CHF 200.

For any inquiries regarding the event, please contact iocma2026@mdpi.com.

We look forward to seeing you at IOCMA2026!

MDPI is inviting esteemed experts to join Mathematics (ISSN: 2227-7390) upcoming webinar, titled “Recent Developments in Fuzzy Regression Models Under Multi-Uncertainty”.

Fuzzy regression has become an essential analytical tool in addressing ambiguity and complexity across fields such as engineering, economics, and decision science. Since its introduction by Prof. Hideo Tanaka in 1982, the methodology has evolved to incorporate advanced techniques like fuzzy random variables and type-2 fuzzy numbers to address multi-uncertainty environments. This webinar will bring together leading researchers in fuzzy systems and soft computing to explore novel models pushing the frontiers of uncertainty quantification and decision-making.

Our expert panel will present four distinct models: (1) Dr. Azizul’s convex hull method for achieving optimal fuzzy regression; (2) Dr. Nureize’s integrated model, which combines fuzzy randomness with multi-objective decision-making frameworks; (3) Dr. Wei’s type-2 fuzzy regression approach, applied to categorical economic data; and (4) Prof. Dr. Watada’s model for processing linguistic data derived from expert knowledge.

Join us for this engaging session to discover how fuzzy regression is reshaping the analytical landscape and offering innovative solutions to real-world uncertainty. We look forward to your participation in this event.

Webinar: Recent Developments in Fuzzy Regression Models Under Multi-Uncertainty
Date: 27 May 2025
Time: 09:00–11:20 (CEST) | 15:00–17:20 (CST Asia)
More information: https://sciforum.net/event/Mathematics-17

Register for free via the following link:

Program:

The above webinar is free of charge. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Please register and we will let you know when the recording is available for viewing.

Webinar Chairs and Keynote Speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Junzo Watada, Faculty of Data Science, Shimonoseki City University, Japan;
• Dr. Azizul Azhar Ramli, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia;
• Dr. Nureize Arbaiy, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Malaysia;
• Dr. Wei Yicheng, School of Digital Economics and Management, Suzhou City University, China.

Conference: The 14th Conference of the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology
Date: 21–25 July 2025
Location: Riga, Latvia

MDPI will be attending the 14th Conference of the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology (EUSFLAT 2025) as an exhibitor, welcoming researchers from diverse backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas.

The conference is organized by the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology. The aim of the 14th Conference of the European Society for Fuzzy Logic and Technology, EUSFLAT 2025, which will take place in Riga, Latvia, is to provide a forum for researchers addressing the theory and applications of computational intelligence, fuzzy logic, fuzzy systems, and soft computing to discuss their work. EUSFLAT 2025 brings together researchers, practitioners, and students from around the world to exchange ideas and advance the state of the art in fuzzy logic, soft computing, computational intelligence, and related fields. With a dynamic program of keynote talks, special sessions, workshops, and social events, the conference provides the perfect platform for collaboration and innovation.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Axioms;
• Mathematics;
• Algorithms;
• AppliedMath;
• Applied Sciences;
• Computers;
• International Journal of Topology;
• J. Imaging;
• Logics;
• Stats.

Name: Dr. Bo Yu
Affiliation: Hunan University of Technology, China
Research interests: scientific engineering computation

The following is an interview with Dr. Bo Yu:

1. Could you provide a brief introduction of yourself to our readers? Could you describe your current research direction and share an update on your progress?
Currently, my research is focused on developing efficient numerical algorithms for large-scale scientific computation in engineering, particularly in numerical solutions to matrix equations. For example, my group is working on structured algorithms for large-scale computations with applications in fluid dynamics and materials science. We have made progress in reducing computational costs while maintaining accuracy through novel structured techniques.

2. Can you share your thoughts and feelings regarding this award?
I am deeply honored to receive this award, as it recognizes the collaborative efforts of my students and colleagues. Scientific computing is a team endeavor, and this achievement reflects the collective impact of our work in developing novel numerical methods for solving real-world problems. It also motivates me to continue pushing boundaries in both theoretical foundation and practical implementation.

3. Could you offer some insights into your approach to reviewing manuscripts? How do you strike a balance between thoroughness and efficiency?
Balancing thoroughness and efficiency is critical. My approach mainly involves the following two stages:

• Assessing the paper’s novelty, technical soundness, and clarity. If the work is outside my expertise or lacks rigor, I typically decline the paper early;
• For promising submissions, my group verifies derivations, numerical experiments, and reproducibility. We focus on whether the methodology is well justified, and if the results are significant. 

4. In your opinion, what are some key qualities that make a review outstanding?
I think an outstanding review should be objective. The report should focus on science, not personal preferences. Also, the review should provide context by comparing the work to the state-of-the-art and highlighting broader implications. Moreover, it should be concise—avoiding vague critiques—and use examples or references to support any claims.

5. Based on your experience, which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
In my perspective, I foresee growing interest in AI-aided scientific computing, particularly in integrating machine learning with traditional numerical methods.

6. What is your opinion on the open access model of publishing?
Open access (OA) is vital for democratizing knowledge, especially in publicly funded research. However, challenges remain, such as the acceleration of dissemination, high article processing charges (APCs), etc. I fully support community-driven OA models (e.g., arXiv, institutional repositories).