Announcements

Since 1996, MDPI has been committed to supporting the research community by providing the latest research freely available and making relevant and useful research available as quickly as possible. The world is current experiencing a pandemic of COVID-19, and researchers are working extremely hard to understand it and find a cure.

The values MDPI holds strongly are particularly important at the moment, and we will continue to publish relevant, peer-reviewed research as quickly as possible in open access format. This means that it will immediately be available for researchers, health professionals, and the general public to read, distribute, and reuse. We believe that scientific advancements will be crucial to overcoming this pandemic, and will do everything we can to support researchers working looking for solutions.

COVID-19 Academic Resources Center contains a variety of information related to COVID-19 available from MDPI, including journal articles, special issues, and preprints, among others.

For more information, please visit: https://www.mdpi.com/covid-19

As a leading Open Access publisher, MDPI is committed to fostering open scientific exchange in all forms across all disciplines. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many researchers have to stay at home and many academic conferences have been cancelled or postponed. In light of these changes, MDPI has adopted numerous initiatives that may help accelerate scientific exchange and provide support to the academics during this period.

Scholarly Community—Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia is an online reference created and curated by active scholars. It aims to highlight the latest research results as well as providing benchmark information for researchers and the general public interested in accurate and advanced knowledge on specific topics.

Comprehensive and Free Literature Database—Scilit

Scilit is a comprehensive, free database for scientists that uses a new method to collate data and index scientific material. Our crawlers extract the latest data from CrossRef and PubMed on a daily basis. This means that newly published articles are immediately added to Scilit.

Display Academic Achievements—SciProfiles

SciProfiles is an innovative social network for researchers and scholars that is developed by MDPI. In line with our broad mission, the purpose of SciProfiles is to accelerate discovery and innovation by facilitating immediate access to research results and providing opportunities for academic networking.

Organize and Participate in Conferences Online—Sciforum

Sciforum is an event planning platform that supports open science by offering the opportunity to host and participate in academic conferences. It provides an environment for scholarly exchange, discussion of topics of current interest, building of networks, and establishing collaborations.

Post Early Versions of Research Outputs—Preprints

Preprints is a platform dedicated to making early versions of research outputs permanently available and citable. We post original research articles and comprehensive reviews, and papers can be updated by authors at any time. Content on Preprints is not peer-reviewed, and feedback can be received from readers.

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MDPI remains committed to open science and open data and has signed a statement, along with more than thirty scholarly publishers, showing our intention to facilitate sharing of new research findings as early on as possible. The initiative sees publishers collectively removing barriers to new research, in the face of a global healthcare crisis.

Photonics is recruiting Section Editors-in-Chief for the following six new Sections:

• Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics
• Optical Communication, Information Processing, and Data Storage
• Optoelectronics and Optical Materials
• Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors
• Optical Interaction Science
• Classical Optics

Photonics publishes high impact fundamental research as well as applications of optics and photonics. The journal particularly welcomes both theoretical (simulation) and experimental research, and is covered by Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE - Web of Science), Inspec (IET), and Scopus. The first Impact Factor is expected in June 2020 (JCR - Clarivate Analytics). The Photonics website can be accessed here.

The Section Editor-in-Chief is responsible for:

• defining the Aims and Scope of the Section;
• advising on the strategic development of the Section;
• ensuring the quality of the published content;
• nominating/inviting Guest Editors and optionally delegating to them the authority to make final acceptance decisions for submitted articles;
• nominating/inviting contributors;
• nominating and leading the Section Editorial Board; and
• promoting the journal at scientific conferences or through other venues.

To apply for this position, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact the Photonics Editorial Office (photonics@mdpi.com) before 30 June 2020.

The world is currently suffering from a global pandemic of the corona virus COVID-19. MDPI expresses its sympathies for all of those affected by the virus and stands in solidarity with medical staff and researchers treating patients and searching for scientific solutions.

MDPI has previously published papers covering corona viruses in addition to new papers on the current outbreak, see all papers here. In particular, Viruses has published a number of Special Issues and papers on the topic (see here, here, and here) as well as a forthcoming Special Issue.

Alongside journal articles, MDPI has been a strong supporter of preprints, which are increasingly being used to rapidly disseminate the latest research, and we run the preprint server Preprints.org. Our database of research articles, Scilit, is free to use and covers all publishers including preprint servers. New papers are often in search results within hours of publication and users can set up alerts for new papers.

Our main priority during this period has been the health and safety of staff, and we continue to allow staff to work at home and closely monitor the situation in all locations in which we work. Despite the restrictions, we continue to provide a full publication service and, by close collaboration with our editorial boards and making use our in-house teams, ensure that there are no unnecessary delays in publishing vital research. Fast and open publication has always been at the core of MDPI values and is now more important than ever.

We hope that a solution to the current situation will emerge soon. In the meantime, we will do our best to continue communicating vital research in all fields.

The advantages of the open access model of scientific publishing are being increasingly recognized in the scientific community. It allows new scientific evidence to be accessed from the moment of publication for free by anyone around the globe, boosting the impact of new research. In response, many funders, libraries and universities have been adopting new principles to accelerate the transition to open access.

Recently, “transformative agreements” have been negotiated between traditional publishers and various institutions. While increasing the number of open access papers, these agreements lack binding commitments to a full transition to open access, their conditions vary across different regions, and access is still limited for many users.

MDPI is a co-signatory of the recent position statement raising concerns about potential downsides of transformative agreements and how they may delay a full transition to open access. The statement highlights that these models “risk perpetuating current limitations on access, transparency and market competitiveness, while simultaneously facilitating excessive charges on the public purse”.

As a pioneering open access journal publisher, MDPI is the first to promote the importance of science being made available to everyone. Our peer-reviewed journals, covering diverse academic disciplines, are fully accessible to the public free of charge under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). This is why, along with other open access publishers, MDPI is a proud signatory of the position paper and is committed to contributing to the replacement of weak transitional agreements with “agreements with publishers that are already fully committed to open science and who offer full, immediate and transparent Open Access”.

Read the position paper here

We are pleased to announce that Encyclopedia will be awarding five Outstanding Contributor Awards for researchers in 2020. The nominations and applications will be assessed by an Evaluation Committee consisting of senior scholars from the Encyclopedia Editorial Board.

Prize for Winners

1. An official certificate;
2. A cash award of 500 CHF or an MDPI discount voucher of 800 CHF.

Application Deadline

31 December, 2020 (Please send your application email with a list of all entries you contributed to our office before the deadline: office@encyclopedia.pub)

Candidate Requirements

1. Have a Ph.D. degree;
2. Have more than three qualified entries published in Encyclopedia in 2020.

Evaluation Standards

1. Number of entries published in Encyclopedia in 2020;
2. Quality of entries online (including length, figure quality, and novelty);
3. Impact of entries (including the number of likes, discussion contents, views, and downloads).

If you are a researcher and have not yet contribute entries to Encyclopedia, please do not miss this chance to highlight your research results.

MDPI will be attending the CLEO Laser Science to Photonic Applictions, San Jose, California, USA, May 12-14, 2020

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics to generate quality face-time with world renowned industry leaders and help achieve your annual sales and marketing goals. Special industry offerings make this event a magnet for executives and scientific equipment users throughout the buying channel. Exhibitors will have extensive, targeted opportunities for exposure and in-depth interaction with key prospects and customers. These high-level buyers are looking to you—the leading product experts, manufacturers and service providers—for the most innovative, cost-effective solutions to support their missions.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Applied Sciences (leading journal)
• Photonics (co-leading)
• Electronics
• Fibers
• Materials

If you are also attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (Booth #2607). Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit: https://www.cleoconference.org/home/.

Photonics is calling for Special Issue proposals for the six new sections:

• Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics
• Optical Communication, Information Processing, and Data Storage
• Optoelectronics and Optical Materials
• Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors
• Optical Interaction Science
• Classical Optics

Any other proposals within the scope of the journal are welcome: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/photonics/about.

The following information will be required to submit: Special Issue Title, Introduction, Planned Paper list.

The duties and benefits of acting as a Guest Editors are as follows:

– To re-define the title and scope of this Special Issue

– To make decisions on whether a manuscript can be accepted or not based on the reports we collect;

– To promote the Special Issue and increase its visibility at related academic conferences.

– Full/ Partial waivers on the publishing fees will be granted for your first submission in this Special Issue.

Guest Editorship: 2–3 Editors for a team. This could balance the workload for the editors and could also enable an internal discussion in case any controversial issue arises. Moreover, as the Guest Editors have different research networks, the cooperation would broaden the coverage of potential authors, thereby increasing the influence of the Special Issue. Once your proposal is approved, you have the priority to organize a team. The Publisher and EiC will review these co-editors to ensure they meet the journal’s editorial requirements. We encourage teams to include editors from multiple institutions and locations. This diversity reduces potential conflicts of interest and helps the issue to reach a wider audience.

If you are interested in editing a special issue, please contact us before 31 December 2020. To propose or request further information, please contact the Photonics Editorial Office (photonics@mdpi.com). We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Photonics publishes high impact fundamental research but also applications of optics and photonics. The journal particularly welcomes both theoretical (simulation) and experimental research and is covered by the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE - Web of Science), Inspec (IET), as well as Scopus CiteScore 2.16. The first Impact Factor expected in June 2020 (JCR - Clarivate Analytics). To date, 51 articles have been cited 10 times or more (h-10 index). The website of Photonics can be accessed here.

Photonics is recruiting Editorial Board members for the following six new sections:

• Biophotonics and Biomedical Optics
• Optical Communication, Information Processing, and Data Storage
• Optoelectronics and Optical Materials
• Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors
• Optical Interaction Science
• Classical Optics

These sections will expand the Editorial Board and cover areas that are less represented by the current team. If you are interested in this position or know of potential candidates to recommend, please contact us by 31 December 2020.

Photonics publish high impact fundamental research but also applications of optics and photonics. The journal particularly welcomes both theoretical (simulation) and experimental research, covered by the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE - Web of Science), Inspec (IET), as well as Scopus. First Impact Factor expected in June 2020 (JCR - Clarivate Analytics). The website of Photonics can be accessed here.

As an Editorial Board member, you have the following responsibilities:

– To make decisions on whether a manuscript can be accepted or not based on the reports we collect;

– To edit a Special Issue on a topic related to your research interests when it is convenient for you;

– To promote Photonics and increase its visibility at related academic conferences.

To apply or request further information, please contact the Photonics Editorial Office (photonics@mdpi.com). We look forward to hearing from you soon.

MDPI is pleased to announce the release of SciProfiles, its social network platform for researchers and scholars.

The purpose of SciProfiles is aligned with MDPI’s broad mission to accelerate discovery and innovation by facilitating immediate access to research results and to serve scholars and communities by providing opportunities for academic networking.

SciProfiles also ambitions to serve as a sustainable, transparent and community-driven research evaluation system aligned with the DORA principles (https://sfdora.org/). Through their scientific profiles, academics can highlight their contribution to research communities, and measure their impact on their field, beyond publication numbers and impact factors. SciProfiles is currently a beta version and will enrich to give researchers the possibility to highlight all of their contributions to science and their scientific communities as authors, reviewers, editors, conference organizers, conference panelists, conference keynote speakers, or even as lecturers or student mentors at their University.

The classic components of popular community social networks, including follower/following, classical metrics, endorsements and recommendations (https://www.mdpi.com/about/announcements/1690), comments (https://www.mdpi.com/about/announcements/1397) are or will be very soon highlighted in SciProfiles as open science contributions.

To help increase the impact and visibility of articles and their authors to an appropriate audience, the platform offers a NewsFeed that includes recommendations of relevant content based on interests, publication history, saved searches or colleagues’ recommendations.

SciProfiles’ avatars are now being integrated on several MDPI platforms, meaning that you will directly access researchers’ profiles from any of the MDPI platforms:

MDPI's journal publishing website: www.mdpi.com
MDPI's conference hosting and management website: www.sciforum.net
MDPI's pre-print website : www.preprints.org
MDPI's knowledge sharing website : www.encyclopedia.pub
MDPI's books store: www.mdpi.com/books
MDPI's literature database : www.scilit.com

SciProfiles aims to serve scientific communities at large. It can be embedded into third-party websites and also welcomes integration of data from third-parties.

Dr. Shu-Kun Lin: https://sciprofiles.com/profile/2
Dr. Franck Vazquez: https://sciprofiles.com/profile/FranckVazquez
Dr. Martyn Rittman: https://sciprofiles.com/profile/martynrittman