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Announcements
6 November 2025
MDPI Launches the Michele Parrinello Award for Pioneering Contributions in Computational Physical Science
MDPI is delighted to announce the establishment of the Michele Parrinello Award. Named in honor of Professor Michele Parrinello, the award celebrates his exceptional contributions and his profound impact on the field of computational physical science research.
The award will be presented biennially to distinguished scientists who have made outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of computational physical science—spanning physics, chemistry, and materials science.
About Professor Michele Parrinello
"Do not be afraid of new things. I see it many times when we discuss a new thing that young people are scared to go against the mainstream a little bit, thinking what is going to happen to me and so on. Be confident that what you do is meaningful, and do not be afraid, do not listen too much to what other people have to say.”
——Professor Michele Parrinello
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Born in Messina in 1945, he received his degree from the University of Bologna and is currently affiliated with the Italian Institute of Technology. Professor Parrinello is known for his many technical innovations in the field of atomistic simulations and for a wealth of interdisciplinary applications ranging from materials science to chemistry and biology. Together with Roberto Car, he introduced ab initio molecular dynamics, also known as the Car–Parrinello method, marking the beginning of a new era both in the area of electronic structure calculations and in molecular dynamics simulations. He is also known for the Parrinello–Rahman method, which allows crystalline phase transitions to be studied by molecular dynamics. More recently, he has introduced metadynamics for the study of rare events and the calculation of free energies. |
For his work, he has been awarded many prizes and honorary degrees. He is a member of numerous academies and learned societies, including the German Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, the British Royal Society, and the Italian Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, which is the major academy in his home country of Italy.
Award Committee
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The award committee will be chaired by Professor Xin-Gao Gong, a computational condensed matter physicist, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and professor at the Department of Physics, Fudan University. Professor Xin-Gao Gong will lead a panel of several senior experts in the field to oversee the evaluation and selection process. The Institute for Computational Physical Sciences at Fudan University (Shanghai, China), led by Professor Xin-Gao Gong, will serve as the supporting institute for the award. |
"We hope the Michele Parrinello Award will recognize scientists who have made significant contributions to the field of computational condensed matter physics and at the same time set a benchmark for the younger generation, providing clear direction for their pursuit—this is precisely the original intention behind establishing the award."
——Professor Xin-Gao Gong
The first edition of the award was officially launched on 1 November 2025. Nominations will be accepted before the end of March 2026. For further details, please visit mparrinelloaward.org.
About the MDPI Sustainability Foundation and MDPI Awards 
The Michele Parrinello Award is part of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing sustainable development through scientific progress and global collaboration. The foundation also oversees the World Sustainability Award, the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award, and the Tu Youyou Award. The establishment of the Michele Parrinello Award will further enrich the existing award portfolio, providing continued and diversified financial support to outstanding professionals across various fields.
In addition to these foundation-level awards, MDPI journals also recognize outstanding contributions through a range of honors, including Best Paper Awards, Outstanding Reviewer Awards, Young Investigator Awards, Travel Awards, Best PhD Thesis Awards, Editor of Distinction Awards, and others. These initiatives aim to recognize excellence across disciplines and career stages, contributing to the long-term vitality and sustainability of scientific research.
Find more information on awards here.
22 October 2025
Welcoming New Early Career Editorial Members of Minerals
Minerals (ISSN: 2075-163X) is pleased to announce the following 98 researchers, who have been added to our group of 2025–2026 Early Career Editorial Board Members. Please join us in congratulating them on becoming part of the Minerals community!
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Name: Dr. Oluwatoosin Agbaje |
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Name: Dr. Vida Strasser |
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Name: Dr. Emeline Raguin |
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Name: Dr. Gábor Botfalvai |
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Name: Dr. Lucian Staicu |
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Name: Dr. Luoyang Li |
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Name: Dr. Yi Zhou |
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Name: Dr. Maxim Rudmin |
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Name: Dr. Wenbin Yu |
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Name: Dr. Qingze Chen |
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Name: Dr. Petros Petrounias |
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Name: Dr. Elena S. Zhitova |
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Name: Dr. Yun Li |
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Name: Dr. Seungyeol Lee Affiliation: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Republic of Korea Interests: mineralogy; economic geology; nanogeoscience; planetary science Website: https://sites.google.com/view/mmcbnu/home |
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Name: Dr. Matteo Giordani |
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Name: Dr. Ruggero Vigliaturo |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Shuai Cao |
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Name: Dr. Fan Wang |
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Name: Dr. Xiaobin Gu |
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Name: Dr. Chaorong Chen |
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Name: Dr. Emmanuel Daanoba Sunkari |
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Name: Dr. Jelena T Petrović |
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Name: Dr. Anna Bogush |
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Name: Dr. Fabio Perlatti |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Qiusong Chen |
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Name: Dr. Muhammad Muniruzzaman |
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Name: Dr. Andrea Ceci |
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Name: Dr. Matteo Maron |
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Name: Dr. Yassine Taha |
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Name: Dr. Sumant Avasarala |
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Name: Dr. Hu Li |
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Name: Dr. Jianfeng Wang |
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Name: Dr. Chengang Lu |
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Name: Dr. Qiuming Pei |
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Name: Dr. Jian Li |
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Name: Dr. Wenyan Cai |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Ming Wang |
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Name: Dr. Xinlu Hu |
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Name: Dr. Shuiyuan Yang |
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Name: Dr. Bo Liu |
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Name: Dr. Nan Ju |
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Name: Dr. Byung Choon Lee |
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Name: Dr. Jeffrey Steadman |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Degao Zhai |
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Name: Dr. Ilias Lazos |
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Name: Dr. Ilaria Fuoco |
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Name: Dr. Kyu-Cheul Yoo |
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Name: Dr. Elizaveta Kovaleva |
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Name: Dr. Manuel Toscano |
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Name: Dr. Nadia Mery |
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Name: Dr. Jia Lin |
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Name: Dr. Mohammad Parsa |
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Name: Dr. Sheida Makvandi |
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Name: Dr. Manuel Canovas |
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Name: Dr. Mohammad Maleki |
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Name: Dr. Ziye Wang |
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Name: Dr. Kati Laakso |
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Name: Dr. Srikumar Roy |
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Name: Dr. Seyedalireza Khatibi |
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Name: Dr. Michael Jorgensen |
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Name: Dr. Fenghao Duan |
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Name: Dr. Haibo Yan |
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Name: Dr. Yangyang Wang |
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Name: Dr. Maria Di Rosa |
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Name: Dr. Grazina Skridlaite |
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Name: Dr. Vinod O. Samuel |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Gianni Gallello |
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Name: Dr. Jinhe Pan |
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Name: Dr. Chenwei Li |
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Name: Dr. Yuqiang Mao |
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Name: Dr. Dingzheng Wang |
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Name: Dr. Changtao Wang |
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Name: Dr. Yijiang Li |
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Name: Dr. Mingyang Li |
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Name: Dr. Xinran Zhu |
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Name: Dr. Xiangning Bu |
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Name: Dr. Ningning Liao |
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Name: Dr. Liuyang Dong |
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Name: Dr. Xiaomin Ma |
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Name: Dr. Hainan Wang |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Guixia Fan |
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Name: Dr. Weiping Liu |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Fang Zhou |
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Name: Dr. Shichao Wu |
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Name: Dr. Zhoujie Wang |
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Name: Dr. Tianfu Zhang |
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Name: Dr. Qing Sun |
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Name: Dr. Song Zou |
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Name: Dr. Sultan Ahmed Khoso |
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Name: Dr. Zhijie Chen |
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Name: Dr. Gaofeng Wang |
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Name: Dr. Renji Zheng |
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Name: Dr. Elif Emil Kaya |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Hernán Anticoi |
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Name: Dr. Gauti Asbjörnsson |
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Name: Dr. Theerayut Phengsaart |
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Name: Prof. Dr. Ye Chen |
15 October 2025
Interview with Mr. George Mustoe—Winner of the Minerals Best Paper Award
We are pleased to announce that Mr. George Mustoe’s paper “Silicification of Wood: An Overview” has won the Minerals 2023 Best Paper Award, acknowledging it as an exceptional article published in Minerals (ISSN: 2075-163X). As the winner of this award, Mr. George Mustoe will receive CHF 500, a certificate, and a free voucher for article processing fees valid for one year.
The following is a short interview with the winner, Mr. George Mustoe:
1. Congratulations on winning the Minerals 2023 Best Paper Award! Could you please briefly introduce yourself?
I did not start out as a paleontologist. My original training was in geochemistry, and as I got older, I became interested in fossil plants because, in this area, most of the local bedrock is Eocene sediment, that is, full of fossil plants, mostly fossil leaves. There had been some work conducted on that topic, but not a lot, and I finally decided if somebody was going to work on it, it might as well be me—despite the fact I knew almost nothing about botany. This goes back to the mid-1990s, I guess, when I decided, I would start looking at these fossil leaves and try to learn enough botany to make some sense of them. In my early years, I was basically looking at fossil leaves, and I became interested in paleoclimate modeling. I was influenced by a US Geological Survey geologist, Jack Wolf, who invented the first computer model of paleoclimate. So, I started out doing that, and after a while I became more interested in petrified wood, which is abundant in the Western United States. A consistent theme of my research is that I have been interested in how ancient life becomes fossilized. I have performed some taxonomy and some classical paleontology work, but mostly I have been interested in the fossilization process. I started looking at fossil wood, and it became one of my main research interests. I had good analytical skills and was performing a lot of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis—tools that were really useful for looking at fossils, particularly fossil wood. Although I have worked on many other projects, fossil wood has remained a continued interest for me. One of the things that has always interested me is the boundary areas between scientific disciplines. The world is not divided into categories like chemistry, geology, and physics, yet that is how it is usually taught. For me, one of the attractions of paleontology is that it sits at the intersection of geology, biology, and, in my case, chemistry as well. I enjoy working in those boundary areas, and almost all of the research I have chosen to do has been in that space. In paleontology, I have always been fascinated by the simple fact that when you hold a fossil in your hand, you are holding something that was once alive. My geology program focused on hard rock geology, petrology, and to some extent geophysics. I took courses in crystallography, mineralogy, and related areas, but those subjects never captivated me as much. I have always been more interested in what has happened on the surface of the Earth rather than deep within it. While hard rock geology certainly has value, my curiosity lies in surface processes and history. Paleontology, for me, is the closest thing to having a time machine.
2. Could you give a brief overview of the main content of your award-winning paper?
A great percentage of the research that has been published about fossil wood has been performed by botanists and biologists who have not had much interest in geology, so the publications have largely focused on taxonomy—what kind of wood it is—and reconstructing the paleoenvironment from the species that were living at the time. There has often been very little discussion of the geologic setting where the fossil wood was preserved, and very little about the processes of fossilization.
Early on, I saw that wood is commonly fossilized in several steps, sometimes with long delays in between. It is not a simple “wood turned to stone” process. A consistent theme of my work has been studying the succession of processes that cause wood to become mineralized. There are simple examples, but mostly very complicated ones. I have continued to follow this path, examining how wood transitions from cellulose and lignin material to mineral replacement.
One commonly repeated idea is permineralization—the belief that the open spaces in wood become filled with minerals while the actual wood tissue remains. This has been repeated in textbooks and journals, but for silicified wood, that interpretation is usually wrong. Permineralization is attractive because of its simplicity, but it has rarely been tested. One of the only attempts I found was by Dr. Saint John, who published a paper around 1927. She treated silicified wood with hydrofluoric acid to dissolve the silica and examined what remained. Of six samples, almost none retained organic matter. Her work, published in the Journal of Economic Geology, was largely ignored because it was not read by paleontologists.
When I examined samples myself, I also found very little organic matter in most silicified wood. I developed a different method: powdering the wood, heating it to about 500°C to burn off any organic matter, measuring the weight loss, and comparing it to the original density of the wood. This gave a semi-quantitative measure of preserved organic matter, which was typically very small. Thus, permineralization is mostly a comfortable fiction; actual testing shows it to be rare. Fossilization is instead a competitive process—while wood degrades through microbial activity or chemical reactions, minerals such as silica infiltrate and replace it. Petrifaction only occurs when the rates of degradation and mineralization balance. If degradation is faster, the wood is destroyed, leaving only a cast. If mineralization is faster, more organic matter may remain. But most often, almost all organic matter is lost as minerals replace it in successive stages.
The structure of wood itself favors petrifaction. Wood provides strength in trees and contains conductive cells for transporting water and dissolved minerals upward, and nutrients downward. This porosity means that, once buried, wood must be in an environment that inhibits decay—often below the water table in anaerobic conditions. If groundwater carries dissolved minerals, these can precipitate. For silica, the first step is attachment to the cell walls due to chemical affinity, followed by filling of the cell interiors, and later, fractures or larger voids. Many fossilized woods show incomplete processes, with preserved cell walls but unfilled interiors, or larger fractures left open.
Two common questions I am asked about fossil wood are “What species is it?” (I do not focus on taxonomy), and “How long does it take to petrify?” The answer to the second is highly variable. In the right conditions, wood can mineralize fairly quickly; in other cases, it never mineralizes. For example, wood in the Canadian Arctic buried in sediments without groundwater can remain as original wood for tens of millions of years. Locally, I have seen Miocene and Pleistocene wood preserved in impermeable clay, essentially sealed, still cuttable with a knife or burnable with a match. More commonly, wood mineralizes in multiple stages, over variable timescales, depending entirely on environment.
3. Could you describe some challenges you have faced during your career?
I grew up in a small town in Nevada, in a family where higher education was not an option. My father grew up on a small homestead ranch in Colorado. His father died of a heart attack in his 40s, leaving eleven children. At age of 14, my father dropped out of school after eighth grade to find work and send money home to support his widowed mother and younger siblings. He worked for ten years as a miner until serving in the army during World War II. After the war, with the mining industry in decline, he spent his life as an auto mechanic.
My mother was also a child of the Great Depression. She graduated from high school, but like my father, wanted something better for us. I had an older brother, Raymond, and my parents hoped we could both attend college, though we had no money. Their plan was simple: when Raymond was a senior in high school, the family would move to a town with a college so we could live at home and attend inexpensively. Scholarships never occurred to us, even though we were good students.
So, we moved to Bellingham, Washington—a place we had never been—because it had a small college. Raymond graduated in anthropology, and I started as a freshman majoring in geology. I worked minimum-wage jobs to pay my way through college while living at home. By the end, I became interested in biochemistry and began graduate school in that field, but my professor died of cancer at age 34, leaving me stranded. Fortunately, I had enough geology credits to complete a master’s degree in geology.
I then worked at the university as a research technician for 40 years. I was never a professor and never earned a PhD, but I had access to laboratories and freedom to study what I wanted. This led to a large publication record and an active research career. I have now been retired for 11 years, but I still have my lab keys, and continue conducting research, and enjoy the freedom of working only when I want to.
I often think about my father, who left school so early but was one of the smartest people I have known. His lack of formal education limited him, but he taught me that there are many ways to learn besides sitting in a classroom. Too often, college can feel like information being poured into your head. But what really matters in life is knowing how to find information when you need it and being willing to keep learning.
If your education ends when you receive a diploma, you can remain ignorant as the world changes. What’s important is staying curious and learning as life goes on. In my time, that meant reading journals and going to the library. Today, everything seems to be online. That makes access easier, but it also brings the challenge of separating accurate information from the enormous amount of misinformation. The real skill is not just finding information—but finding information you can trust.
4. What factors attracted you to submit your paper to Minerals? How was your submission experience?
Well, I am pleased to say I love MDPI publications. I have published in many journals and completed several hundred peer reviews across different outlets. My experience with MDPI has been excellent. The peer review is first-rate, both in the reviews I have received and in those I have conducted as a reviewer. The process is efficient, the editors are responsive, and it is refreshing not to wait six months or more for a paper to appear. Peer review is not perfect anywhere, but MDPI demonstrates a strong commitment to quality, and in my view, it is among the best.
5. What advice would you give to young researchers who aspire to produce high-impact research results?
I really recommend pursuing things that capture your interest. If you focus only on a job title, it may not lead to a very happy life. What really counts is what you do on a day-to-day basis, not what’s written on your office door or desk.
Your passions do not always have to be tied to your career. For example, I have always been devoted to music. I am a woodwind player and have taken years of lessons, and especially in retirement, I have played a lot. The closest I have come to being a professional musician is probably having neighbors who would pay me to stop practicing so much. And that is fine with me—I am glad I never had to rely on music to make a living, since most music or art jobs are not very appealing and are often difficult to sustain. Instead, I had a job I enjoyed, working 40 years in the same place with colleagues I liked.
If you pursue what truly interests you, it might not always be clear where it will lead, but it is likely to take you to a good place. If you pursue something out of ego or vanity, it is less likely to bring fulfillment. My parents, for example, encouraged my brother and me to get an education but never imposed what we should study or become. That freedom was invaluable.
Ultimately, education is less about pouring information into your head and more about giving you time and space to discover your path. It is not a bad thing to be young and undecided—often, that is exactly how you find the direction that is right for you.
6. Minerals is an open access journal. How do you think open access impacts readers and authors?
These days, I try to publish only in open-access journals. I strongly oppose the paywall structure, where access to research is restricted unless you pay a significant fee. Personally, my university library covers access costs for me, but for anyone without that advantage, it creates a huge barrier. To me, making scientific research a profitable enterprise for publishers is problematic. That is why I value MDPI journals for their commitment to Open Access and Creative Commons licensing.
I also see online publishing as the future. Hard copy journals are rarely used now; most people prefer PDFs. I used to publish in the Geological Society of America Bulletin, a leading U.S. geology journal. While technically nonprofit, they still relied heavily on paywalls and were so page-limited that every issue was committed more than a year in advance. That made it nearly impossible to get an article accepted. Online publishing eliminates those barriers, allowing unlimited articles, color illustrations, and interactive links.
More information about journal awards can be found at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals/awards.
1 October 2025
2024 MDPI Top 1000 Reviewers
We are honored to recognize the 2024 MDPI Top 1000 Reviewers—scholars whose exemplary commitment to rigorous and constructive peer review is vital in upholding the highest standards of academic publishing.
Selected from a distinguished pool of 215,000 reviewers from 65 countries and regions worldwide, these honorees stand out for their exceptional expertise, diligence, and dedication to advancing research through timely and thoughtful reviews. Their constructive and impartial feedback ensures the publication of high-quality, impactful research, while their timely reviews facilitate swift revisions and faster publication of innovative work.
Peer review is the invisible foundation of academic progress. With gratitude and respect, we celebrate these 1000 scholars who made that foundation stronger in 2024. We respected all privacy preferences, with part of nominees opting for limited attribution.
The names of these reviewers are listed below in alphabetical order by first name:
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Abbas Yazdinejad |
Hanane Boutaj |
Oscar De Lucio |
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Abdessamad Belhaj |
Hany H. Arab |
Otilia Manta |
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Abdolreza Jamilian |
Hao Zang |
Panagiotis D. Michailidis |
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Abdul Waheed |
Hatem Amin |
Panagiotis Simitzis |
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Abiel Aguilar-González |
Henry Alba |
Paola Prete |
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Adina Santana |
Hiroyuki Noda |
Paolo Trucillo |
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Aditya Velidandi |
Hitoshi Tanaka |
Patricia Kara De Maeijer |
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Adrian Stancu |
Horst Lenske |
Patrícia Pires |
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Adriana Borodzhieva |
Hossein Azadi |
Paulo Schwingel |
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Adriana Cristina Urcan |
Houlin Yu |
Pavel Loskot |
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Adriano Bressane |
Huaifu Deng |
Pedro García-Ramírez |
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Agbotiname Imoize |
Huamin Jie |
Pedro Pablo Zamora |
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Agustin L. Herrera-May |
Hugo Lisboa |
Pedro Pereira |
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Ahmed Arafa |
Igor L. Zakharov |
Pei-Hsun Wang |
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Ahmet Cagdas Seckin |
Igor Litvinchev |
Pellegrino La Manna |
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Ailton Cesar Lemes |
Igor Vujović |
Petar Ozretić |
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Akash Kumar |
Ildiko Horvath |
Petko Petkov |
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Akihiko Murayama |
Ilya A. Khodov |
Petr Komínek |
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Alain E. Le Faou |
Ilya Zavidovskiy |
Petras Prakas |
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Alain Massart |
Imran Ali Lakhiar |
Petro Pukach |
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Alejandro Plascencia |
Ines Aguinaga-Ontoso |
Petru Alexandru Vlaicu |
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Aleksandar Ašonja |
Ioan Hutu |
Phil Chilibeck |
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Aleksandra Głowacka |
Ioan Petean |
Pia Lopez-Jornet |
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Aleksandra Nesić |
Irena M. Ilic |
Pietro Geri |
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Alessio Ardizzone |
Isaac Lifshitz |
Pingfan Hu |
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Alessio Faccia |
Ismael Cristofer Baierle |
Piotr Cyklis |
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Alexander E. Berezin |
I-Ta Lee |
Piotr Gauden |
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Alexander Lykov |
Itzhak Aviv |
Piotr Gawda |
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Alexander Robitzsch |
Iustinian Bejan |
Pradeep Kumar Panda |
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Alexandre Landry |
Ivan Matveev |
Pradeep Varadwaj |
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Alexey Chubarov |
Ivan Pavlenko |
Presentación Caballero |
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Alexey Morgounov |
Ivana Mitrović |
Pu Xie |
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Alexis Rodríguez |
Iyyakkannu Sivanesan |
Qingchao Li |
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Alfredo Silveira De Borba |
Jacek Abramczyk |
Qinghua Qiu |
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Ali Hashemizdeh |
Jacques Cabaret |
Qingwei Chen |
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Alison De Oliveira Moraes |
Jaime A. Mella-Raipán |
Radoslaw Jasinski |
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Aliyu Aliyu |
Jaime Taha-Tijerina |
Radu Racovita |
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Alok Dhaundiyal |
James Chun Lam Chow |
Rafael Galvão De Almeida |
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Álvaro Antón-Sancho |
James Chung-Wai Cheung |
Rafael Melo |
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Amit Ranjan |
James O. Finckenauer |
Rafal Kukawka |
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Amritlal Mandal |
Jan Cieśliński |
Rafał Watrowski |
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Ana Isabel Roca-Fernández |
Ján Moravec |
Raffaele Pellegrino |
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Ana Tomić |
Jarbas Miguel |
Rajender Boddula |
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Anas Alsobeh |
Jaroslav Dvorak |
Ralf Hofmann |
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Anastasios Karayiannakis |
Jarosław Przybył |
Ran Wang |
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Andre Luiz Costa |
Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusurić |
Ranko S. Romanić |
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Andrea Bianconi |
Jasmina Lukinac |
Ratna Kishore Velamati |
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Andrea Sonaglioni |
Jawad Tanveer |
Rebecca Creamer |
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Andrea Tomassi |
Jean Carlos Bettoni |
Reggie Surya |
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Andrés Fernando Barajas Solano |
Jennie Golding |
Rehan Siddiqui |
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Andrés Novoa |
Jerzy Chudek |
Renato Maaliw |
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Andreu Comas-Garcia |
Jhih-Rong Liao |
Reuven Yosef |
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Andrew Lane |
Jiachen Li |
Ricardo García-León |
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Andrew Lothian |
Jianzhu Liu |
Richard Murray |
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Andrew Sortwell |
Jiaquan Yu |
Robert Boyd |
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Andrius Katkevičius |
Jibing Chen |
Robert H. Eibl |
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Andromachi Nanou |
Jie Gao |
Robert James Crammond |
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Andrzej Kielian |
Jie Hua |
Robert Oleniacz |
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Andrzej Kozłowski |
Jill Channing |
Roberto Passera |
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Andrzej Zolnowski |
Jinfeng Li |
Rodolpho Fernando Vaz |
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Ángel Josabad Alonso-Castro |
Jinle Xiang |
Rodrigo Galo |
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Ángel Llamas |
Jinliu Chen |
Roger E. Thomas |
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Angelo Ferlazzo |
Jinyao Lin |
Roger W. Bachmann |
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Angelo Marcelo Tusset |
Jinyu Hu |
Rogério Leone Buchaim |
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Anil K. Meher |
Jiří Remr |
Roman Trach |
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Animesh Kumar Basak |
Jiying Liu |
Roman Trochimczuk |
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Anita Silvana Ilak Peršurić |
João Everthon Da Silva Ribeiro |
Romil Parikh |
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Anna Kharkova |
Joao Pessoa |
Romina Fucà |
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Anna Lenart-Boroń |
Joaquim Carreras |
Ronald Nelson |
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Anna Piotrowska |
John Adams Sebastian |
Rosie Yagmur Yegin |
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Anne Anderson |
John Van Boxel |
Roxana Lucaciu |
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Antiopi-Malvina Stamatellou |
Jonathan Puente-Rivera |
Rui Sales Júnior |
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Antonia Kondou |
Jordi-Roger Riba |
Rui Vitorino |
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Antonio Miguel Ruiz Armenteros |
Jorge De Andres-Sanchez |
Ruo Wang |
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Anusorn Cherdthong |
Jorge Guillermo Diaz Rodriguez |
Ryoma Michishita |
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Aram Cornaggia |
Jorge Luis Zambrano-Martinez |
Sabina Necula |
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Ariana Saraiva |
José F. Fontanari |
Sabina Umirzakova |
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Ariel Soares Teles |
José Felipe Orzuna-Orzuna |
Said EL-Ashker |
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Aristeidis Karras |
José Francisco Segura Plaza |
Saïf Ed-Dı̂n Fertahi |
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Arnaud Dragicevic |
José Luis Díaz |
Salvatore Romano |
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Artem Obukhov |
José Luis Rivera-Armenta |
Sándor Beszédes |
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Arvind Kumar Shukla |
Jose M. Miranda |
Santiago Lain |
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Arvind Negi |
Jose M. Mulet |
Sara Black Brown |
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Athanasios A. Panagiotopoulos |
Jose Navarro-Pedreño |
Sarat Chandra Mohapatra |
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Augustine Edegbene |
José Pedro Cerdeira |
Sarunas Grigaliunas |
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Aunchalee Aussanasuwannakul |
Jouni Räisänen |
Saša Milojević |
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Aurel Maxim |
Jui-Yang Lai |
Sawsan A. Zaitone |
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Barbara Symanowicz |
Juliana Fernandes |
Scott E. Hendrix |
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Bartosz Płachno |
Julio Plaza Díaz |
Seong-Gon Kim |
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Bela Kocsis |
Juliusz Huber |
Sergii Babichev |
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Benedetto Schiavo |
Jun Liu |
Sergio Da Silva |
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Bernhard Koelmel |
Junyu Chen |
Sérgio Felipe |
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Bhupendra Prajapati |
Karan Nayak |
Sergio Guzmán-Pino |
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Bierng-Chearl Ahn |
Karel Allegaert |
Seyed Kourosh Mahjour |
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Bo Zhou |
Katarina Aškerc Zadravec |
Seyed Masoud Parsa |
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Bohong Zhang |
Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka |
Shedrach Benjamin Pewan |
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Bonface Ombasa Manono |
Katarzyna Peta |
Shehwaz Anwar |
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Bozhidar Stefanov |
Katarzyna Tandecka |
Shengwen Tang |
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Brach Poston |
Katherine Bussey |
Shih-Lin Lin |
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Byeong Yong Kong |
Katsuya Ichinose |
Shilong Li |
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Caio Sampaio |
Kazuharu Bamba |
Shing-Hwa Liu |
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Caius Panoiu |
Kazuhiko Kotani |
Shu Yuan |
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Caiyun Wang |
Kazuhiko Nakadate |
Shuohong Wang |
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Calin Mircea Gherman |
Keigi Fujiwara |
Shuolin Xiao |
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Camelia Delcea |
Keith Rochfort |
Shuping Wu |
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Cardellicchio Angelo |
Kenneth Waters |
Sihui Dong |
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Carlos Alberto Ligarda Samanez |
Keren Dopelt |
Sławomir Rabczak |
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Carlos Almeida |
Kira E. Vostrikova |
Sojung Kim |
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Carlos Balsas |
Kit Leong Cheong |
Songli Zhu |
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Carlos López-de-Celis |
Konstantinos Vergos |
Soonhee Hwang |
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Carlos Marcuello |
Koyeli Girigoswami |
Soo-Whang Baek |
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Carlos Pascual-Morena |
Krzysztof R. Karsznia |
Soufiane Haddout |
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Carlos Torres-Torres |
Krzysztof Szwajka |
Sousana Papadopoulou |
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Casey Watters |
Krzysztof Wołk |
Spiros Paramithiotis |
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Castillo Castillo |
Kumar Ganesan |
Spyridon Kaltsas |
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Changmin Shi |
Lan Lin |
Srecko Stopic |
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Chao Chen |
László Radócz |
Srinivasan Sathiyaraj |
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Chao Gu |
Laurent Donzé |
Stefano Mancin |
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Chao Zhang (China) |
Lei He |
Subhadeep Das |
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Chao Zhang (Singapore) |
Lei Huang |
Sumedha Nitin Prabhu |
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Chellapandian Maheswaran |
Leonard-Ionut Atanase |
Sushant K. Rawal |
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Cheonshik Kim |
Leonardo Henrique Dalcheco Messias |
Svetoslav Todorov |
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Chia Hung Kao |
Leonie Brummer |
Szymon Janczar |
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Chiachung Chen |
Levon Gevorkov |
Tadeusz Kowalski |
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Chiara Cinquini |
Li Fu |
Tadeusz Sierotowicz |
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Chieh-Chih Tsai |
Lidija Hauptman |
Taha Koray Sahin |
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Christian Rojas |
Lin-Fu Liang |
Tahir Cetin Akinci |
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Chu Zhang |
Ling Yang |
Takuo Sakon |
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Chuanyu Sun |
Lingli Deng |
Tamara Lazarević-Pašti |
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Chun-Wei Yang |
Ljubica Kazi |
Tao Zhang |
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Claudia Bita-Nicolae |
Lotfi Boudjema |
Taras P. Pasternak |
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Constant Mews |
Louis Moustakas |
Tarek Eldomiaty |
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Cristian Vacacela Gomez |
Luca Ulrich |
Taro Urase |
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Cristiano Matos |
Luis Adrian De Jesús-González |
Tenzer Robert |
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Cristian-Valeriu Stanciu |
Luis Alfonso Díaz-Secades |
Thawatchai Phaechamud |
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Cristóbal Macías Villalobos |
Luis Filipe Almeida Bernardo |
Thomas Michael |
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Dalia Calneryte |
Luis Nestor Apaza Ticona |
Tiberiu Harko |
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Daniel Hernandez-Patlan |
Luis Puente-Díaz |
Timea Claudia Ghitea |
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Daniele Ritelli |
Luiz Antonio Alcântara Pereira |
Timothy John Mahony |
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Daniel-Ioan Curiac |
Łukasz Rakoczy |
Timothy Omara |
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Daniil Olennikov |
Łukasz Szeleszczuk |
Tomasz Hikawczuk |
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Daodao Hu |
Maciej Kruszyna |
Tomasz M. Karpiński |
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Daqin Guan |
Magdalena Jaciow |
Tomasz Trzepiecinski |
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Daria Chudakova |
Maha Nasr |
Triantafyllos Didangelos |
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Daria Mottareale-Calvanese |
Maharshi Bhaswant |
Tsvetelin Zaevski |
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Dariusz Dziki |
Maksim Zavalishin |
Ulrich J. Pont |
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Dariusz Gozdowski |
Małgorzata Jeleń |
Vadim Kramar |
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David Kieda |
Man Fai Leung |
Vagner Lunge |
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David Luviano-Cruz |
Manickam Minakshi |
Valério Monteiro-Neto |
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Da-Zhi Sun |
Marcel Sari |
Van Giap Do |
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Debra Wetcher-Hendricks |
Marcello Iasiello |
Van-An Duong |
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Demin Cai |
Marco Limongiello |
Vanni Nicoletti |
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Dennis Dieks |
Marco Zucca |
Vasilios Liordos |
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Deokho Lee |
Marconi Batista Teixeira |
Vedran Mrzljak |
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Deyu Li |
Marcos Vinícius Da Silva |
Vicente Romo Pérez |
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Diego Romano Perinelli |
Marek Cała |
Victor-Alexandru Briciu |
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Dimitris Tatsis |
Maria G. Ioannides |
Viktor V. Brygadyrenko |
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Dirceu Ramos |
Maria João Lima |
Vinícius Silva Belo |
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Dmitrii Pankin |
Maria Kantzanou |
Violeta Popovici |
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Dmitriy Yambulatov |
Maria Leonor Abrantes Pires |
Viorel Dragos Radu |
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Dmitry Kultin |
Mariana Buranelo Egea |
Viswas Raja Solomon |
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Dongwei Di |
Mariana Magalhães |
Viviani Oliveira |
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Dorota Formanowicz |
Marija Strojnik |
Vlad Rotaru |
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Dragan Marinkovic |
Marijn Speeckaert |
Vladica Stojanović |
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Drazenko Glavic |
Marina G. Holyavka |
Volodymyr Hrytsyk |
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Duguleana Mihai |
Marina Gravit |
Volodymyr Ponomaryov |
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Dušan S. Dimić |
Mario Cerezo Pizarro |
Waldemar Studziński |
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E Terasa Chen |
Mario Ganau |
Wanming Lin |
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Edoardo Bucchignani |
Mariusz Ptak |
Waseem Jerjes |
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Eduard Zadobrischi |
Marlen Vitales-Noyola |
Wei-Chieh Lee |
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Edwin Villagran |
Marta Forte |
Weiming Fang |
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Eitan Simon |
Martha Rocío Moreno-Jimenez |
Weiren Luo |
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Elena Chitoran |
Marwan El Ghoch |
Weiwei Jiang |
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Elena Marrocchino |
Marzena Włodarczyk-Stasiak |
Wenan Yuan |
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Elisabeta Negrău |
Massimiliano Schiavo |
Wenguang Yang |
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Elisavet Bouloumpasi |
Massoomeh Hedayati Marzbali |
Wenluan Zhang |
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Elochukwu Ukwandu |
Mateusz Rozmiarek |
Wiesław Przygoda |
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Emil Smyk |
Matt Smith |
Wilian Paul Arévalo Cordero |
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Emilio Bucio |
Matteo Riccò |
Wilian Pech-Rodríguez |
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Emmanouil Karampinis |
Matthias Müller |
Wislei R. Osório |
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Ericsson D. Coy-Barrera |
Mauro Lombardo |
Wi-Young So |
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Eugeniusz Koda |
Md. Ataur Rahman |
Wojciech Sałabun |
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Ewa Chomać-Pierzecka |
Md. Biddut Hossain |
Wojciech Zabierowski |
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Ewa Tomaszewska |
Meisam Abdollahi |
Xiaofei Du |
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Ezhaveni Sathiyamoorthi |
Meng-Hwan Lee |
Xiaolong Ji |
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Fabio Corti |
Meng-Yao Li |
Xiaomin Xu |
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Fahmi Zairi |
Meysam Keshavarz |
Xiaoshuang Ma |
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Fanzhi Kong |
Michael Eisenhut |
Xiaoying Liu |
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Fasih Ullah Haider |
Michael Gerlich |
Xiao-Yong Wang |
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Fayez Tarsha-Kurdi |
Mihaela Brindusa Tudose |
Xinming Zhang |
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Fekete Mónika |
Mihaela Niculae |
Xinqiao Liu |
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Felipe Jiménez |
Mihaela Tinca Udristioiu |
Xinqing Xiao |
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Feng Wen |
Mihaela Toderaş |
Xuechen Zheng |
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Ferdinando Di Martino |
Mihai Crenganis |
Xueming Zhang |
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Fernanda Tonelli |
Mika Simonen |
Xuezhen Wang |
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Fernando Lessa Tofoli |
Milan Toma |
Xuguang Cai |
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Fernando Viadero-Monasterio |
Miloš Lichner |
Yair Wiseman |
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Fethi Ouallouche |
Milos Seda |
Yang Xu |
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Flavio Arroyo |
MIloš Zrnić |
Yangwon Lee |
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Flor H. Pujol |
Min Xia |
Yanhong Peng |
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Florin Dumitru Bora |
Mina Tadros |
Yao Ni |
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Florin Nechita |
Mingren Shen |
Yaoxiang Li |
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Francesco Di Bello |
Mircea Neagoe |
Yasushige Shingu |
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Francesco Galluzzo |
Mirela-Fernanda Zaltariov |
Yaswanth Kuthati |
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Francisco Haces Fernandez |
Mirjana Ljubojević |
Yaxin Liu |
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Francisco Rego |
Mirko Stanimirović |
Ygor Jessé Ramos |
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Francisco Solano |
Mirza Pojskić |
Yi Xu |
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Frédéric Muttin |
Modesto Pérez-Sánchez |
Yifan Zhao |
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Fredrick Eze |
Mohammad Ali Sahraei |
Yih Jeng |
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Gabriel Milan |
Mohammad Javad Maghsoodi Tilaki |
Yiyang Chen |
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Gabriel Zazeri |
Mohammad Qneibi |
Yoichi Shiraishi |
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Galina Ilieva |
Mohammed Gamal |
Yong Hwan Kim |
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Gary Van Vuuren |
Mohammed Sayed |
Yongqi Yin |
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Gennadiy Kolesnikov |
Mounia Tahri |
Young-joo Ahn |
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George E. Mustoe |
Muhammad Ahsan Asghar |
Yousi Fu |
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George Lazaroiu |
Muhammad N. Mahmood |
Yuan Meng |
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George Xiroudakis |
Muhammad Syafrudin |
Yuefei Zhuo |
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Georgiy Gamov |
Muhammed Yildirim |
Yugang He |
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Gerald Cleaver |
Murilo E. C. Bento |
Yuliia Trach |
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Ghassan Ghssein |
Muthuraj Arunpandian |
Yuliya Semenova |
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Gian Mario Migliaccio |
Narcis Eduard Mitu |
Yuri Jorge Peña-Ramirez |
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Giancarlo Trimarchi |
Naser Alsharairi |
Yuri Konstantinov |
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Gianmarco Ferrara |
Natale Calomino |
Yusheng Xiang |
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Giovanni Tesoriere |
Natanael Karjanto |
Yutaka Ohsedo |
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Giuseppe Brunetti |
Nataša Nastić |
Zaihua Duan |
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Giuseppe Di Martino |
Naveed Ahmad |
Zelaya-Molina Lily Xochilt |
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Giuseppe Losurdo |
Nebojsa Pavlovic |
Zenon Pogorelić |
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Giuseppina Uva |
Neli Milenova Vilhelmova |
Zhang Ying |
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Glauber Cruz |
Nguyen Dinh-Hung |
Zhanni Luo |
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Glenn Morrison |
Nguyen Quoc Khuong |
Zhao Ding |
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Gloria Cerasela Crisan |
Nicola Magnavita |
Zhengmao Li |
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Gordana Wozniak-Knopp |
Nicoleta Dospinescu |
Zhengwei Huang |
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Gordon Alderink |
Nicoletta Cera |
Zhidong Zhou |
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Grazia Giuseppina Politano |
Nidhi Puranik |
Zhijun Li |
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Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos |
Nikita Osintsev |
Zhixiong Lu |
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Grzegorz Woroniak |
Nikita V. Martyushev |
Zhizhong Zhang |
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Grzegorz Zieliński |
Nikola Stanisic |
Zhong-Gao Jiao |
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Guadalupe Gabriel Flores-Rojas |
Nilakshi Barua |
Zia Muhammad |
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Guangnian Xiao |
Nobuo Funabiki |
Žiga Laznik |
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Guanxi Yan |
Octavian Vasiliu |
Zigmantas Gudžinskas |
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Guoyou Zhang |
Oguzhan Der |
Zishan Ahmad |
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Gustavo Henrique Nalon |
Oimahmad Rahmonov |
Zivan Gojkovic |
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Hai-yu Ji |
Olga Morozova |
Zoran Mijić |
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Hamza Faraji |
Onur Dogan |
Zsuzsanna Bacsi |
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Hamza Sohail |
Ophir Freund |
20 August 2025
Minerals Best Paper Award—Winners Announced
Minerals (ISSN: 2075-163X) is pleased to announce the winners of the Minerals Best Paper Award. We selected two research articles and one review among all the peer-reviewed papers published in our journal in 2023. The papers were chosen after a thorough evaluation conducted by the journal’s Award Committee led by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Leonid Dubrovinsky.
We would like to congratulate the following winners:
- “Potential Future Alternative Resources for Rare Earth Elements: Opportunities and Challenges”
by Vysetti Balaram
Minerals 2023, 13(3), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13030425
- “Comparison of Quantitative X-ray Diffraction Mineral Analysis Methods”
by Jingyun Xiao, Yougui Song and Yue Li
Minerals 2023, 13(4), 566; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13040566
- “Silicification of Wood: An Overview”
by George E. Mustoe
Minerals 2023, 13(2), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13020206
The announcement of the winners can be found on the following website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals/awards/3569.
Minerals Editorial Office
14 May 2025
Interview with Dr. Elisa Laita and Dr. Chongchong Qi—Winners of the Minerals 2025 Travel Award
We are pleased to announce Dr. Elisa Laita and Dr. Chongchong Qi as the winners of the Minerals 2025 Travel Award. The Minerals Travel Award was launched in 2016, and it is awarded every year to encourage young scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in the fields of mineralogy, mineral geochemistry and geochronology, economic mineral resources, mineral exploration, innovative mining techniques, and advances in mineral processing. The winners of this award will receive CHF 800 each and a certificate. The winners were chosen by the journal’s award committee—Prof. Dr. Leonid Dubrovinsky, Prof. Hyunjung Kim, Dr. Alexandra Guedes, Dr. Jianxi Zhu, Dr. Alexander R Cruden, and Dr. Paul Alexandre.
Dr. Elisa Laita received a bachelor’s degree in geology in 2015 at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), where she also completed an M.Sc. in geology and an M.Sc. in Secondary Education in 2016 and 2017, respectively. She defended her Ph.D. at the same university in 2022, and she was awarded the extraordinary Ph.D. award. Her research has focused on the mineralogical and geochemical characterization of clay-rich materials, both from paleoclimatic and industrial perspectives. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Geology Department of the University of Jaén (Spain). She has published 16 scientific articles in JCR-indexed journals, participated in five research projects, and completed both predoctoral and postdoctoral research stays at the Institute of Analytical and Physical Chemistry for the Environment and Materials (Pau, France). She has presented her work at seven international conferences and more than ten national ones and has taken part in numerous seminars and webinars. In addition, she actively collaborates in science outreach activities related to geology, aiming to make earth sciences more accessible to the public.
Dr. Chongchong Qi received a B.Sc. in mining engineering from the China University of Mining and Technology (2016) and a Ph.D. in mining engineering from The University of Western Australia (2019), where his thesis, “Machine-Learning Aided Design for Cemented Paste Backfill”, pioneered innovative approaches to mineral-based materials. Since 2019, he has led transformative research in cemented paste backfill (CPB), green mining, and heavy metal remediation—areas central to mineral sciences. He has also published several papers in Minerals (ISSN: 2075-163X), with one of them being recognized as the Most Cited & Viewed Paper in Minerals in 2020. Dr. Qi also actively participates in the editorial process of Minerals, having joined the Editorial Board of Minerals and led several Special Issues.
We were honored to interview Dr. Elisa Laita and Dr. Chongchong Qi. The interview is summarized below:
1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your field of research?
Dr. Elisa Laita: My name is Elisa Laita, and I am currently a postdoc researcher at the Geology Department of the University of Jaén (Spain). My main research line is focused on the mineralogical and geochemical analysis of clay minerals included in palaeosols and clay-rich rocks with both palaeoclimatic and industrial perspectives.
Dr. Chongchong Qi: My name is Chongchong Qi, and I am an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. My work focuses on mitigating the environmental impacts of mineral extraction and use, including tailings recycling via cemented paste backfill technology, identification of mining-induced heavy metal pollution, pollution remediation, etc.
2. In your previous collaborations with MDPI, what impressed you the most?
Dr. Elisa Laita: In my previous collaborations with MDPI (as an author, reviewer, and currently as a Guest Editor), I have been most impressed by the efficiency of the editorial process, and I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the scientific community.
Dr. Chongchong Qi: One of MDPI’s major advantages is its fast peer-review process, made possible by the dedication of both the Editorial Office and the reviewers. When timely publication is crucial—such as supporting students’ graduations—MDPI is among the top choices.
3. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
Dr. Elisa Laita: I think that mineralogy will continue to be central for addressing global challenges in the coming years. The role of certain critical raw materials in green technologies will gain importance. I also think that advances in analytical techniques will open new avenues for exploring minerals at micro- and nanoscale levels.
Dr. Chongchong Qi: Today, AI is revolutionizing every stage of research—from idea generation and experimental design to data analysis and manuscript writing. I am confident the minerals community will experience the same transformation, with AI-supported minerals exploration, extraction, utilization, and recycling.
4. As the winner of this award, would you like to take a moment to share your thoughts with our readers or express gratitude to those who have played a significant role in your research accomplishments?
Dr. Elisa Laita: I am very grateful for this award, and I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have supported me through my academic journey. Thank you to my colleagues and mentors at the University of Zaragoza (Spain), as well as to my colleagues from the University of Jaén (Spain) and IPREM (Pau, France) for their guidance, dedication, and support.
Dr. Chongchong Qi: This award means a lot to me, as it offers an invaluable opportunity to present my research at such a prestigious conference. I am deeply grateful to the many wonderful people who have supported me along the way—especially my wife and sons, my supervisors at the University of Western Australia and Central South University, and my friends for their encouragement and assistance.
4 November 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #28 - WSF11, Nobel Laureates, Proofig AI, Romania Summit, STM and FBF
Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.
In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.
Opening Thoughts

Highlights from the 11th World Sustainability Forum in Barcelona
I’m pleased to share some highlights from the 11th World Sustainability Forum (WSF 11), held in Barcelona on 2–3 October 2025 under the theme Sustainable and Resilient Cities.
Why WSF matters
The WSF series is a flagship initiative for MDPI and is supported by the MDPI Sustainability Foundation. It serves as a transdisciplinary platform for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders to engage on sustainability challenges. WSF is now held annually as part of our commitment to maintain momentum in the sustainability discourse.
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This year’s Barcelona edition focused on urban resilience, landscape design, and social community impact in the sustainability space. Over 48 hours of sessions, we brought together leading minds across disciplines to translate vision into practice. With participants from 53 countries across all continents, WSF 11 was truly global in scope.

“WSF is now held annually as part of our commitment to maintain momentum in the sustainability discourse”
What made WSF 11 especially successful (from my vantage point) was the level of positive engagement with our participants. Chief editors, researchers, and attendees repeatedly told me how professionally executed the event was, highlighting the high energy, logistical smoothness and quality of MDPI’s event management. That kind of recognition from peers really builds our reputation as more than just a publisher, but as a convener of meaningful scientific dialogue.
Our conferences are a form of experiential marketing as they create memorable and immersive connections between a brand and attendees. These positive associations build promotion and brand loyalty, ultimately impacting the MDPI’s trust and reputation for the better.
WSF 11: By the numbers
Here’s a quick snapshot of WSF 11’s scale and reach:
- 181 registrations across global participants.
- 8 keynote speakers and 5 invited speakers.
- 144 abstracts accepted (over 355 submitted), resulting in 75 short talks and 69 posters.
- 53 countries were represented across all continents, making it a truly international event.
- First time that we ran parallel sessions for WSF (an ambitious program).
- A dedicated awards ceremony to honour outstanding sustainability research: World Sustainability Award (WSA) x 2 winners, and Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) x 3 winners.
Interviews with our World Sustainability Award Winners
One of the most rewarding parts of WSF is recognizing researchers whose work advances sustainability in powerful ways. In our Blog series, Daniella Maritan-Thomson (Content Specialist, MDPI) interviewed the two winners of the World Sustainability Award, Professor Dr. Stuart Pimm and Dr. Abdelbagi M. Ismail, who offered insights to the human side of sustainability research, the people behind the data, and the stories behind the science.
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Prof. Stuart Pimm, whose decades of conservation work make him a leader in biodiversity preservation, reflected on his WSF Award experience and research in this interview: [Interview: Prof Stuart Pimm] |
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Dr. Abdelbagi M. Ismail, an expert in crop improvement and winner of the WSF Award, shares his journey and perspectives here: [Interview: Dr Abdelbagi M. Ismail] |
“Our conferences create memorable and immersive connections”
Emerging Sustainability Leader Award winners

Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI), Prof. Dr. Vhahangwele Masindi, Dr. Katya Rhodes, and Prof. Dr. Myriam Ertz (left to right).
We also recognized three recipients of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award: Prof. Dr. Vhahangwele Masindi, Dr. Katya Rhodes, and Prof. Dr. Myriam Ertz, for their contributions as early-career researchers advancing sustainability through innovation, impact, and academic excellence across the field.
What this means for MDPI
- Building our global identity in events
WSF is a marquee MDPI event, not just a gathering, but a statement of how we wish to position ourselves in the global sustainability ecosystem. The positive feedback helps us build on our approach for future editions, so that we remain a reference point for quality, relevance, and engagement. - Expanding capacity across offices
The success of WSF 11 in Barcelona’s would not have happened without great teamwork from Basel, Barcelona, Romania, the UK, and the APAC Conference team. Thanks to everyone for their work to bring this ambitious event to life. - Supporting MDPI’s mission
At this event, I had the opportunity to present on MDPI's role in Open Access, sustainability publishing, and the intersection of science and policy. WSF is not only about the science; it’s also a platform for us to position MDPI as a thought leader and a collaborator in shaping the future of sustainable research.
I look forward to the WSF momentum as we work towards WSF 12 in Hong Kong, which is scheduled for August 2026.

MDPI Colleagues at the 11th World Sustainability Forum in Barcelona, Spain, 2–3 October 2025.
Impactful Research

Celebrating 2025 Nobel Laureates who have published with MDPI
October is always an inspiring month in science. It’s when the world turns its attention to the Nobel Prize announcements, recognizing discoveries that have changed how we understand the world.
Over the years, many distinguished researchers who have received the Nobel Prize have chosen to publish their work with MDPI. These are scientists whose breakthroughs have shaped entire fields of research, and who have entrusted our Open Access journals to share their findings with the world.
“The work we support can be world-class and world-changing”
Congratulations to the 2025 Laureates
Dozens of Nobel Laureates have published in our journals: as at 2024, more than 40 laureates had contributed over 115 articles across more than 35 MDPI journals. Congratulations to the three 2025 Nobel prize-winners who have published with MDPI during their careers. Below are links to their MDPI publications and announcements for further reading:
- Omar M. Yaghi (Chemistry)
- Awarded for his pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MDPI published his article “Covalent Organic Frameworks: Organic Chemistry Beyond the Molecule” in Molecules (2017).
- MDPI Announcement: https://www.mdpi.com/news/13455
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry – The Science Behind the Prize
- Shimon Sakaguchi (Medicine)
- Recognized for discoveries in immune-system self-tolerance and regulatory T-cells. Published in Cancers (2021).
- MDPI Announcement: https://www.mdpi.com/news/13443
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – The Science Behind the Prize
- John M. Martinis (Physics)
- Recognized for quantum tunnelling in electrical circuits. MDPI’s Journal of Nuclear Engineering (2025) includes his co-authored work.
- MDPI Announcement: https://www.mdpi.com/news/13450
- Nobel Prize in Physics – The Science Behind the Prize
These connections strengthen our mission to make research freely available and ensure that transformative ideas reach the widest possible audience.
Publishing at the leading edge of knowledge
The privilege of hosting such contributors resonates deeply with our editorial teams. It shows that top-tier scientific work has a home at MDPI, which builds our visibility in the research community. It signals that our publishing model, our editorial workflows, and our commitment to Open Access are respected at the very highest levels of science. It also gives our authors, reviewers, editors and staff the message that the work we support can be world-class and world-changing.
Publishing at the leading edge of knowledge isn’t just about individual papers – it’s about the ecosystem of support, transparency, and accessibility that makes discovery possible. Let’s continue to build a publishing platform and provide a service that attracts and enables both everyday research and the breakthroughs of tomorrow.
Inside MDPI

Strengthening Research Integrity: MDPI partners with Proofig AI
I’m pleased to share that MDPI has entered a multi-year partnership with Proofig AI, a leader in AI-driven proofing and integrity software for scientific publishing. This follows the success of our pilot program, in which Proofig AI proved highly effective in detecting duplicated, altered, and manipulated images across biomedical submissions.
Safeguarding the credibility of the research we publish
Research integrity is at the core of MDPI’s mission. The life sciences, in particular, face increasing risks of image-related issues due to advanced editing tools and generative AI. By integrating Proofig AI into our workflows, we improve our ability to detect issues early, reduce post-publication corrections, and safeguard the credibility of the research we publish.
Pilot outcomes
- Successful detection of duplicated confocal and histology images, even when altered to disguise similarities.
- Early results showed a significant drop in post-publication image manipulation flags year-on-year.
- Positive feedback from editors and staff highlighted the tool’s ease of use and reliability.

Dr. Dror Kolodkin-Gal (co-founder and CEO of Proofig AI) said:
“The MDPI team conducted a highly professional and carefully monitored pilot, achieving excellent results in detecting problematic images.
Their fast and effective integration process was impressive, and we are excited to contribute to this important collaboration.”

Sanita Meijere (IT Product and Project Manager, MDPI), shared:
“For more than a year, we’ve tested all the available image manipulation detection tools. Proofig AI’s quality and ease of use, alongside positive feedback from our internal users, made their software a clear stand-out.
We’re thrilled to be moving forward with this partnership, ensuring we do our utmost to protect MDPI’s biomedical journals. Using this advanced image proofing software reaffirms MDPI’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards in research integrity.”
Raising the bar for integrity
This partnership sets a new benchmark for quality control in biomedical publishing.

As Tim Tait-Jamieson (Head of Publication Ethics, MDPI), explains:
“The life sciences are disproportionately affected by research integrity issues, making vigilance in this field especially critical. This is driven, in part, by the increasing sophistication of image editing software and generative AI.
Whether accidental or deliberate, image manipulation can have a lasting impact on credibility. By integrating Proofig AI into our editorial workflows, we strengthen our ability to detect scientific misconduct early and reduce post-publication amendments.”
Faster and more accurate quality control
Proofig will automatically flag potentially problematic images during submission checks, giving our editors more confidence in the integrity of manuscripts and freeing up time to focus on editorial decisions. The tool will also reduce the burden of manual checks, while supporting faster and more accurate quality control. This partnership reinforces MDPI's reputation as a publisher that takes integrity seriously and continues to invest in tools to support authors, editors, and reviewers alike.
A big thank-you to all colleagues who supported the pilot and rollout. You can read more in our MDPI Blog post.
Coming Together for Science

The MDPI Romania Summit 2025
On 21–22 October, I had the pleasure of joining our colleagues in Bucharest for the MDPI Romania Summit 2025. The event was organized by our Romania Marketing team, with support from colleagues across our Romanian offices. It brought together academics, policymakers, and collaborators to discuss the country’s evolving research landscape.
Over two days, we welcomed more than 30 participants, including Editorial Board Members, Guest Editors, and policy-makers from the Romanian research and education sectors, including representatives from the Romanian Academy and the National Commission for the Accreditation of Academic Titles (CNATDCU).
The discussions and presentations reflected the strength and growth of Romania’s research community and its active engagement in Open Access publishing.
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“The discussions and presentations reflected the strength and growth of Romania’s research community”
Romania’s role in Open Access
Romania loves Open Access and has emerged as one of MDPI’s most engaged national research communities. The numbers speak for themselves:
- 67% of all publications in Romania were Open Access in 2024.
- MDPI accounts for 39% of the country’s total OA publications (14,779 in 2024).
- Over the last five years (2020–2024), Romanian institutions published over 33,000 papers with MDPI.
- There are 460 active Editorial Board Members from Romania, including 8 Chief Editors.
- 29 institutions are part of our Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP), with 8 new members joining in 2025.
These numbers reflect the trust and reliable partnership we have built with the Romanian academic community.
Highlights from the Summit
The program covered a wide range of topics from MDPI’s achievements and updates to our editorial processes, peer-review quality, AI in publishing, IOAP and Open Access funding models, and publication ethics.
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Agenda Highlights:
- MDPI Introduction, Performance & Achievements, and Collaboration with Romania – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI).
- Trust the Process: Editorial Workflow and Quality in Publishing – Dr. Liliane Auwerter (Scientific Review Group).
- Publication Ethics at MDPI: Safeguarding the Integrity of the Published Scholarly Record – Diana Cristina Apodaritei (Research Integrity Specialist).
- Institutional Partnerships – Becky Castellon (Institutional Partnerships Manager, MDPI).
- AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Sanita Meijere (AI Product Manager).
- Closing Remarks – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI).
Participants shared feedback and ideas for future collaborations, including organizing author workshops, possible conference collaborations, and strengthening our engagement with national institutions such as the Ministry of Education and Research and the National Council of Romanian Rectors.
As Acad. Dr. Nicolae-Victor Zamfir, Vice President of the Romanian Academy, noted during the discussions:
“The organization of the event is very timely, because MDPI is a publishing house in full development and expansion. The opinion of researchers is important for increasing the quality of published works.”
A collaborative future
Events like this remind us how essential it is to engage locally and listen directly to the voices of our editors, authors, and institutional partners. They help us build relationships, improve our understanding of the local market, and align our shared goals in advancing Open Access and research quality.
Thank you to everyone involved, especially our Romania Marketing team, who organized the event, and to all colleagues who continue to build relationships with our academic communities around the world.

Thank you!
A special thank-you to the Romanian Marketing team and all colleagues behind the scenes who made this Summit such a success. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. We look forward to building on this momentum with future Summits in Europe and beyond.
Closing Thoughts

STM and FBF 2025: Connecting Through Science and Publishing

Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI), Constanze Schelhorn (Head of Indexing, MDPI) at STM Conference, Frankfurt, 14 October 2025.
On 13–14 October, I attended the STM Frankfurt Conference 2025, my fourth visit to the Frankfurt event, and it continues to be one of the most valuable gatherings in our industry.
The STM meeting brings together the publishing community and key opinion leaders to speak on current trends and challenges shaping our industry.
This year’s theme – “Science Diplomacy: What is it and How Does it Work?” – unpacked the growing intersection of science, policy, and publishing.
Discussion topics ranged from what is science diplomacy and how publishers can contribute to global collaboration to how science communication can help maintain trust during an era of disruption.
I was joined by Dr. Constanze Schelhorn, our Head of Indexing, who met with representatives from Scopus, Web of Science, Digital Science, ProQuest, and other partners. These meetings give us a chance to share feedback on our collaborations, learn about new updates being developed, and build our relationships with indexing bodies.
“The STM meeting brings together the publishing community and key opinion leaders”
STM also provides a space to connect with industry peers, as I did with colleagues from Elsevier, Frontiers, Clarivate, Sage, and STM itself, reinforcing MDPI’s engagement within the broader publishing community. It was also nice to bump into some former colleagues and see them continuing to grow in their publishing careers.
At the Frankfurt Book Fair

The MDPI booth at the 2025 Frankfurt Book Fair.
Following STM, I spent the next day at the Frankfurt Book Fair (15–19 October) – one of the largest and most influential events in the publishing world.
It’s always inspiring to see the scale and energy of this global gathering, which spans everything from books and education to digital innovation and academic publishing.
We set up an MDPI booth to host discussions with partners, vendors, and researchers.
The Fair ran into the weekend, with colleagues from several MDPI departments attending to represent the company and connect with the scholarly community.
Events like STM and FBF are a nice reminder of how dynamic and interconnected our industry is, and how important it is for MDPI to continue taking part in global conversations about science, communication, and the future of publishing.
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG
15 October 2025
MDPI’s Newly Launched Journals in September 2025
Nine new journals covering a range of subjects launched their inaugural issues in September 2025. We are excited to be able to share with you the newest research rooted in the value of open access.
We extend our sincere thanks to all Editorial Board Members for their commitment and expertise. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, ensuring impactful open access scholarship.
Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below.
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Journal |
Founding Editor-in-Chief |
Journal Topics (Selected) |
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Prof. Dr. Joseph G. Grzywacz, San José State University, USA |
family formation and dynamics; family relationships; family diversity and structure; family processes; family challenges; global perspectives of family | |
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Prof. Dr. Chengkuo Lee, National University of Singapore, Singapore |
AIoT sensing technologies; distributed AI and federated learning; AI-enhanced edge analytics; sensor fusion in edge computing; low-power AI sensing; security and privacy in edge-AI systems; AI-driven optimization of IoT networks | |
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Prof. Dr. Steven Paul Nistico, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy |
aesthetics; reconstructive surgery and plastic surgery; dermatology; oral and maxillofacial surgery; surgical procedures; non-surgical procedures | |
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Prof. Dr. Mauro Tonelli, University of Pisa, Italy |
plasma physics and technology; atomic and molecular physics; nuclear physics; quantum physics and technology; dielectrics, ferroelectrics, and multiferroics; semiconductor physics and devices; engineering physics; material physics; biophysics| |
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Prof. Dr. Sergej M. Ostojic, University of Agder, Norway; |
biochemical research methods; biochemistry and molecular biology; cell biology; clinical and medicinal chemistry; clinical neurology; endocrinology and metabolism; medicine, general and internal; nutrition and dietetics; toxicology | |
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Prof. Dr. Michele Nappi, University of Salerno, Italy |
foundations and advancements in multimedia technologies; computational social media analytics; human–AI interaction in social contexts; multimedia understanding and generation for social insight; ethics, fairness, and privacy in multimedia systems | |
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Prof. Dr. Philippe Gorce, Toulon University, France |
ergonomic design and evaluation of workspaces, tools, and equipment; biomechanical analysis and ergonomic interventions for musculoskeletal health; cognitive workload assessment and management; human-computer interaction (HCI) and user experience (UX) research; ergonomic wearables; AI-driven ergonomic assessment tools; neuroergonomics | |
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Prof. Dr. Ronald Charles Sims, Utah State University, USA |
bioresources; bioproducts; bioenergy and biofuels; environmental protection; public health protection; biological waste treatment; biomass transformation; circular bioeconomy; bio-based materials and chemicals; bioresidues | |
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Prof. Dr. M. Jamal Deen, McMaster University, Canada |
device design and engineering; circuit design and system integration; applications and emerging technologies; materials and fabrication innovations; testing, reliability, and standards | |
We would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you would like to create more new journals, you are welcome to send an application here, or contact the New Journal Committee (newjournal-committee@mdpi.com).
13 October 2025
Meet Us at the 56th International October Conference on Mining and Metallurgy, 22–25 October 2025, Bor, Serbia
Conference: 56th International October Conference on Mining and Metallurgy
Date: 22–25 October 2025
Location: Bor, Serbia
MDPI will be attending the 56th International October Conference on Mining and Metallurgy, which will be held from 22 to 25 October 2025 in Bor, Serbia.
The 56th International Conference on Mining and Metallurgy (IOC 2025), jointly organized by the Technical College of Belgrade University (Bor) and the Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (Bor), is the oldest and largest academic conference in the field of mining and metallurgy in Southeast Europe. Since its establishment, this conference has always been committed to providing a high-level communication platform for global scholars, engineers, and industry leaders, as well as promoting innovation and development in mining extraction, metal smelting, and resource recycling technologies. This year's conference, with the theme of "Sustainable Mining and Green Metallurgy", focuses on the technological changes and industrial upgrading paths in the industry under the goal of carbon neutrality.
The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:
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://ioc.tfbor.bg.ac.rs/.
7 October 2025
MDPI Open Science Insights: MDPI Academic Publishing Workshop at the XXV Conference of PhD Students and Young Scientists (Jubilee Edition), 14 October 2025
In collaboration with the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Minerals (ISSN: 2075-163X) is hosting an author training session designed to educate attendees on MDPI's paper publication process and the ecosystem surrounding open access publishing. The session will cover an introduction to not only Minerals but also MDPI journals as a collective, delving into the editorial process to provide valuable insights and instilling essential skills for structuring papers and replying to reviewers effectively. Additionally, participants will be instructed on methods to improve their scientific writing, with our expert speakers leading the way to ensure a thorough understanding of how attendees can improve their publishing potential.
Date: 14 October 2025
Time: 8:00–10:00
Venue: Room 2.10, Building L2, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 13 Na Grobli Street, 50-421 Wrocław
Registration link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcrbUaui0g0cwbWMAdV818Fes7GytmCHFM2lQVfk4GT8
oHPw/viewform
Schedule:
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Speakers |
Programme and Content |
Time |
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Mgr inż. Marek Sompolski |
Official Opening |
8:00–8:05 |
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Dr. Agnieszka Rydz |
Writing Academic Articles |
8:05–9:00 |
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Ms. Anna Krakowka |
MDPI Peer Review Guidelines & Process |
9:00–9:30 |
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Ms. Anna Krakowka |
Overview of MDPI Journals and Services |
9:30–9:35 |
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Dr. Agnieszka Rydz and Ms. Anna Krakowka |
Q&A Session |
9:35–9:55 |
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Mgr inż. Marek Sompolski |
Closing Remarks |
9:55–10:00 |
Speakers:
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Mgr inż. Marek Sompolski is a PhD candidate at Wrocław University of science and technology. After graduating from WroTech, he focused on InSAR applications in polar regions, with a specific interest in calving front position detection. He was an organizing committee member of past editions of the conference of PhD students and young scientists before becoming a conference coordinator.
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Dr. Agnieszka Rydz holds a BSc, MSc, and PhD in chemistry from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, with a specialization in the crystallography of small molecules. She joined MDPI in March 2021 as an Assistant Editor for Crystals, later advancing to Section Managing Editor. She currently serves as a Journal Relations Specialist for the Minerals, Mining, and Vibration journals. In this role, she focuses on maintaining strong communication with Editorial Board Members and supporting journal development by identifying new collaboration opportunities. Dr. Rydz has organized over 100 scholar visits and has represented MDPI journals at seven scientific events. |
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Ms. Anna Krakowka holds a master’s degree in materials engineering from the Czestochowa University of Technology in Poland. She joined MDPI as an Assistant Editor in January 2021 and was promoted to Section Managing Editor later that year, also serving as Group Leader for two sections in Krakow office. Additionally, she worked as the publishing manager for Materials, gaining valuable experience in representing the journal and the company at both in-person and online academic events and meetings. She currently serves as the Journal Relations Specialist for the Materials and Construction Materials journals. |




























































































































