Announcements

MDPI will be attending the EUROPT(R)ODE XVII conference, which will be held from 29 March to 1 April 2026, in Jena, Germany.

EUROPT(R)ODE XVII will be hosted in Jena, Germany, the historic “City of Light”, and chaired by Professor Jürgen Popp, Scientific Director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology. This conference is a flagship international event dedicated to the advancement of chemical and biochemical optical sensing. It will gather leading scientists, engineers, and industry professionals to explore the latest innovations, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and discuss the future direction of the field.

The four-day conference will feature six plenary lectures by world-renowned researchers such as Alexey Gorshkov (USA), Laura Na Liu (Germany), and Ralf Jungmann (Germany). These will be complemented by parallel sessions covering a wide spectrum of topics, from fundamental research in plasmonic, quantum-enhanced sensing and single-molecule detection to applied technologies in wearables, microfluidics and AI-driven data analytics. With over one hundred oral presentations and a dedicated poster session, the conference will showcase cutting-edge work from leading research groups across the globe.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Biosensors;
• Bioengineering;
• Sensors;
• Analytica;
• Spectroscopy Journal;
• Biophysica;
• Micromachines;
• Molecules;
• Optics;
• Photonics;
• Chemosensors;
• Photochem;
• Colorants.

If you plan to attend this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth and have a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://europtrode2026.org/.

Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics is a central pillar of modern physics, devoted to understanding the structure, dynamics, and interactions of matter and light at the most fundamental and controllable scales. This broad and interconnected field explores the behavior of atoms, molecules, ions, photons, and their collective states, as well as the quantum principles governing their interactions. Research in AMO physics spans a wide range of topics, including atomic and molecular structure, spectroscopy and precision measurements, quantum optics, ultracold matter, light–matter interaction, coherent control, and photonic technologies. As an inherently interdisciplinary landscape, AMO physics bridges quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, chemical physics, and materials science, while providing essential foundations and enabling technologies for quantum information science, metrology, sensing, and emerging applications across science and engineering.

MDPI’s cluster of journals in atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics is dedicated to advancing research in these dynamic and rapidly evolving areas. Each journal in the cluster provides a peer-reviewed platform for original research, theoretical advances, precision measurements, and innovative experimental and conceptual approaches within atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Emphasis is placed on advanced computational and theoretical methods, state-of-the-art experimental techniques, high-precision instrumentation, and interdisciplinary research spanning quantum science, photonics, chemical physics, and materials science. By promoting open access and fostering collaboration across diverse scientific communities, the cluster supports the rapid dissemination of cutting-edge research and aims to accelerate progress in understanding and controlling matter–light interactions from fundamental physics to practical applications.

The eight participating journals are as follows:

• Entropy (ISSN: 1099-4300) focuses on entropy and information studies. Entropy is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Kevin H. Knuth (Department of Physics, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA);
• Photonics (ISSN: 2304-6732) focuses on the science and technology of optics and photonics. Photonics is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Nelson Tansu (School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia);
• Atoms (ISSN: 2218-2004) focuses on all aspects of the atom. Atoms is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Pascal Quinet (1. Physique Atomique et Astrophysique, Université de Mons, B-7000 Mons, Belgium; 2. IPNAS, Université de Liège, B-4000 Liège, Belgium);
• Lights (ISSN: 3042-7886) focuses on optics, light, and luminescent sciences and technology. Lights is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Roberto Morandotti (Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique—Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications (INRS), Varennes, QC J3X 1S2, Canada);
• Optics (ISSN: 2673-3269) focuses on high-impact fundamental research and applications in optics and photonics. Optics is led by Editors-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Costantino De Angelis (Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy) and Prof. Dr. Thomas Seeger (Institut Fluid- und Thermodynamik, Lehrstuhl für Technische Thermodynamik, Universität Siegen, Paul-Bonatz-Straße 9-11, 57076 Siegen, Germany);
• Plasma (ISSN: 2571-6182) focuses on all aspects of plasma science, such as plasma physics, plasma chemistry and space plasma. Plasma is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Andrey Starikovskiy (NEQLab, Lewes, DE 19958, USA);
• Physics (ISSN: 2624-8174) focuses on all aspects of physics ranging from fundamental studies to emerging technologies. Physics is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Edward Sarkisyan-Grinbaum (¹ Experimental Physics Department, CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland; ² Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA);
• Quantum Beam Science (ISSN: 2412-382X) focuses on the application of quantum beams for the study and characterization of materials in their widest sense, as well as developments of quantum beam sources, instrumentation, and facilities. Quantum Beam Science is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Liss (School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia).

Selected Special Issues:

“Quantum Dynamics in Hybrid Systems”
Guest Editors: Prof. Haobin Wang and Prof. Ofir E. Alon
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026

“Photonic Integrated Circuits for Information, Computing and Sensing”
Guest Editors: Dr. Andrea Salamon, Dr. Liam O’Faolain and Dr. Simone Iadanza
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2026

“Current Studies and Applications of Radiative and Collisional Processes in Atoms”
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Pascal Quinet
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026

“Optical Sensing and Optical Communication: Technologies, Systems, and Applications”
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Xizheng Ke and Dr. Feng Peng
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026

“New Insights into Plasma Theory, Modeling and Predictive Simulations”
Guest Editor: Dr. Tariq Rafiq
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026

“Nonlinear Waves and Patterns in Optics, Quantum Matter, and Elsewhere-Devoted to Prof. Boris Malomed’s 70th Birthday and Prof. Alexander Nepomnyashchy’s 75th Birthday”
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Dimitrios J. Frantzeskakis, Prof. Dr. Michael Tribelsky, Prof. Dr. Yudong Cui and Prof. Dr. Qin Zhou
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026

“Advances in Quantum Beams, Photonic Sources and Laser-Driven Systems”
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Sergey Y. Yurish
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026

Selected articles:

“Monte Carlo Based Techniques for Quantum Magnets with Long-Range Interactions”
by Patrick Adelhardt, Jan A. Koziol, Anja Langheld and Kai P. Schmidt
Entropy 2024, 26(5), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/e26050401

“A Review of Light-Emitting Diodes and Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes and Their Applications”
by Trailokya Bhattarai, Abasifreke Ebong and Mohammad Yasin Akhtar Raja
Photonics 2024, 11(6), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics11060491

“Enhancement of the NORAD-Atomic-Data Database in Plasma”
by Sultana N. Nahar and Guillermo Hinojosa-Aguirre
Atoms 2024, 12(4), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/atoms12040022

“Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Techniques and the Impact of Lighting Conditions on Reconstruction Quality: A Comprehensive Review”
by Dimitar Rangelov, Sierd Waanders, Kars Waanders, Maurice van Keulen and Radoslav Miltchev
Lights 2025, 1(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/lights1010001

“Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling”
by Sudhakara Reddy Bongu, Maximilian Buchmüller, Daniel Neumaier and Patrick Görrn
Optics 2024, 5(1), 66–75; https://doi.org/10.3390/opt5010005

“Strong, Weak and Merging Lines in Atomic Spectra”
by Jean-Christophe Pain
Plasma 2025, 8(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/plasma8020017

“Towards Precision Muonic X-ray Measurements of Charge Radii of Light Nuclei”
by Ben Ohayon, Andreas Abeln, Silvia Bara, Thomas Elias Cocolios, Ofir Eizenberg, Andreas Fleischmann, Loredana Gastaldo, César Godinho, Michael Heines, Daniel Hengstler et al.
Physics 2024, 6(1), 206–215; https://doi.org/10.3390/physics6010015

“Quantum Correlation Enhanced Optical Imaging”
by Siddhant Vernekar and Jolly Xavier
Quantum Beam Sci. 2024, 8(3), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/qubs8030019

MDPI is honored to announce the recipients of the 2025 Best Paper Awards, celebrating exceptional research for its scientific merit and broad impact. After a rigorous evaluation process conducted by Academic Editors, this year’s awards showcase papers that stand out for their innovation, relevance, and high-quality presentation.

Out of a highly competitive pool, 396 winning papers have been recognized for their exceptional contributions. We congratulate these authors for pushing the boundaries of their respective disciplines.

At MDPI, we are dedicated to broadening the reach of innovative science. To learn more about the award-winning papers and explore research projects in your field of study, please visit the following links:

• Biology and Life Sciences;
• Business and Economics;
• Chemistry and Materials Sciences;
• Computer Sciences and Mathematics;
• Engineering;
• Environmental and Earth Sciences;
• Medicine and Pharmacology;
• Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities;
• Physical Sciences;
• Public Health and Healthcare.

About MDPI Awards:

To reward the global research community and enhance academic dialogue, MDPI journals regularly host award programs across diverse scientific disciplines. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and whose work drives the advancement of their fields.

Explore the Best Paper Awards open for participation, please click here.

Date: 20–22 May 2026
Venue: Ibiza Twiins Hotel
Website: https://opal-conference.com/
Email: opal@sensorsportal.com

The 9th International Conference on Optics, Photonics and Lasers (OPAL’ 2026) in Ibiza (Balearic Islands), Spain, aims to convene leading researchers, engineers, innovators, and industry practitioners to present and discuss the latest advances shaping the future of light-based science and technology. Building on OPAL Conference Series mission of interdisciplinary exchange, OPAL’ 2026 places special emphasis on the new performance, scalability, sustainability, and security challenges emerging as photonics becomes a foundational enabler of quantum technologies, AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, next-generation communications, and precision healthcare.

OPAL’ 2026 is designed as a high-impact forum to accelerate translation from fundamental discovery to deployable systems—spanning optical materials, photonic and optoelectronic devices, lasers, metrology, and real-world applications. We welcome contributions that advance the generation, control, and detection of light across the spectrum (UV to THz), as well as work that integrates photonics with electronics, mechanics, biology, and computation. Particular attention is encouraged for research addressing reliability, packaging, manufacturability, energy efficiency, and lifecycle sustainability, reflecting the realities of scaling photonic technologies from laboratory prototypes to industrial and societal deployment.

OPAL’ 2026 also strengthens the conference’s focus on modeling, simulation, data-driven design, and experimental reproducibility, including multi-physics co-design, AI/ML-assisted discovery, digital twins, and benchmarked datasets for photonics. Through keynote lectures, technical sessions, and dedicated networking formats, the conference supports deep technical exchange and new collaborations—helping the community push boundaries in performance while meeting the practical constraints of cost, robustness, safety, and standards.

The 73rd JSAP Spring Meeting 2026 will be held from 15 to 18 March 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. The conference will be hosted by the Japan Society of Applied Physics.

The areas of focus for the conference include the following:

• Semiconductor and AI Convergence;
• Quantum Science and Technologies;
• Optics and Photonics;
• Advanced Materials and Fabrication;
• Biomedical and Applied Engineering;
• Energy and Functional Electronics;
• Interdisciplinary and Industrial Application.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Applied Sciences;
• Materials;
• Nanomaterials;
• Journal of Composites Science;
• Electronic Materials;
• Applied Nano;
• Condensed Matter;
• Magnetism;
• Instruments;
• Entropy;
• Chips;
• Eng;
• Photonics;
• Electronics;
• Micromachines;
• Nanomanufacturing;
• Physchem;
• Physics.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please feel free to get in touch via email. Our delegates also look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://meeting.jsap.or.jp/english.

Could you briefly introduce yourself and your current research topic to our readers?
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the ELI Beamlines Facility, Extreme Light Infrastructure ERIC, located in the Czech Republic. My work focuses primarily on theory and simulations of laser–plasma interactions, particularly using particle-in-cell simulations, as well as on data visualization of complex simulation results. My main research topics include laser-driven electron and ion acceleration, as well as γ‑flash generation.

Could you describe the difficulties and breakthrough innovations encountered in your current research?
One of the main challenges in my work is the need to run and post-process extremely demanding numerical simulations and to extract physical insight from them. We primarily run fully three-dimensional simulations, while also using quasi-3D and 2D configurations when appropriate. These simulations require access to powerful supercomputers and generate massive datasets, making data handling, post-processing, and interpretation a significant part of the research effort. This has motivated the development of new, interactive visualization approaches presented in this paper that allow us to explore complex three-dimensional datasets more intuitively, share them easily with other researchers, and open new possibilities for communicating these results in engaging ways to a broader audience. For example, this visualization framework was used to illustrate a regime of γ-flash generation in which the emission is collimated parallel to the target surface, as shown in this paper and explored in more detail in a separate study.    

What do you hope that readers will get from your paper?
In our paper, we present the Virtual Beamline (VBL), an interactive visualization platform developed at ELI Beamlines. It is designed to support the exploration and interpretation of complex data from high-intensity laser–matter interactions and other mesh-based datasets, using both computer screens and virtual reality with head-mounted displays. One of the strengths of our approach is accessibility: the platform runs directly in a standard web browser and requires no installation, apart from the optional software associated with a virtual reality headset. The visualizations are hosted online, making them available to researchers, educators, and broader audiences, allowing anyone to explore and better understand the physics we study.
Looking ahead, this work provides a foundation for future advances, including the possible integration of AI-based approaches, and contributes to the creation of a shared repository of visualizations that can be easily accessed and reused.

Do you have any advice or experience that you would like to share with young researchers who want to pursue research in this field?
This work is both challenging and exciting because we are essentially working at the edge of human knowledge, looking into the unknown and exploring new physics. This requires boldness, enthusiasm, and a willingness to push forward. I try to approach it with that mindset, and I would encourage young researchers to do the same.

How were you first introduced to Photonics? What is your impression of and experience with our journal?
I have had a very good experience so far. This is my second published paper in Photonics. The first one was published in a Special Issue in 2023, where Prof. Bulanov was invited to submit a paper. We agreed that I would be the first author, and together with the other co‑authors, we prepared a paper on ion acceleration.
For this new paper, I was contacted by the journal because I had previously published here, and they asked whether I would be interested in submitting another manuscript. The timing was perfect, since I was looking for a suitable venue for this work. The paper is somewhat interdisciplinary, combining visualization and physics, and it can be challenging to find the right journal for that kind of mix.
After discussing the scope, we realized it would be a very good match. It covers all the relevant aspects, and I think choosing Photonics again was the right decision.

This Academic Publishing Workshop will be led by MDPI Regional Journal Relations Specialist, Dr. Sally Wu, on “Author Training”. Participants will receive practical advice on essential aspects of writing academic articles. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the academic publishing landscape and how to successfully contribute to it.

Date: 25 February 2026
Time: 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. EST

Schedule:

Speakers:

MDPI has surpassed the milestone of 1,000 partners within the Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP). The agreements span 59 countries, covering North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

Last year alone, more than 150 new libraries and academic institutions joined MDPI’s IOAP. With the expansion of an existing consortium deal in Sweden we welcomed a further 75 partners to the program in January 2026, enabling us to surpass the 1,000-partners milestone.

The IOAP supports affiliated researchers by streamlining submission processes, reducing administrative burdens, and offering discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs). Through IOAP membership, more than 61,300 research articles received APC discounts in 2025, driving greater visibility and accessibility for partner institutions and global research communities alike.

"This milestone marks a significant step towards expanding MDPI’s global impact," said Stefan Tochev, MDPI's CEO. "Reaching 1,000 IOAP partnerships is a true testament to the growing trust and collaboration we’ve built with universities, libraries, and research organizations worldwide. We are proud to lead the way in Open Access publishing, ensuring researchers have the support they need to reach global audiences." "The success of our program is reflected in the growing global demand for Open Science and quality publishing services," said Becky Castellon, MDPI institutional partnerships manager. "Equally, institutions are increasingly seeking Open Access publishing options that support funder and national mandates. Joining the IOAP makes compliance simple."

Prof. Dr. Miroshnichenko and Dr. Hattori are some of the authors of the paper entitled "Rydberg Atom-Based Sensors: Principles, Recent Advances, and Applications," published in Photonics (ISSN: 2304-6732).

Prof. Andrey E. Miroshnichenko obtained his PhD in 2003 from the Max-Planck Institute for Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany. In 2004, he moved to Australia to join the Nonlinear Physics Centre at the Australian National University. During that time, he made fundamentally important contributions to the field of photonic crystals and brought the concept of the Fano resonances to nanophotonics. In 2007, he was awarded an Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship, and in 2011, a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. In 2017, he moved to the University of New South Wales Canberra and became an UNSW Scientia Fellow.  In 2019, Prof Miroshnichenko was recognized as one of the Highly Cited Researchers by the Web of Science Group. The topics of his research are nonlinear nanophotonics, nonlinear optics, and resonant interaction of light with nanoclusters, including optical nanoantennas and metamaterials.

Dr. Haroldo T. Hattori received a BSc (with honors) and an MSc degree in Electrical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 1998. He worked for Alcatel in Brazil and Spain on the development of optical fiber systems. From 1994 to 1998, while at Virginia Tech, he analyzed specialty optical fibers to reduce nonlinear effects in long-haul optical communications links. He worked as an assistant professor at ITA, where he conducted research in fiber Bragg gratings (for telecom and sensing applications). Between 2002 and 2005, he conducted research in the area of photonic crystals and microdisk lasers at the University of Glasgow and Ecole Centrale de Lyon. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering and Technology, UNSW Canberra. He is currently working with active opto-electronic devices (e.g., photodetectors, plasmonic devices, and lasers) and quantum sensing. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Association, Senior Member of the IEEE, and a Senior Member of Optica. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

1. Could you give us a brief introduction about yourself and your current research topic to our readers?

Prof. Dr. Miroshnichenko’s background is nanophotonics, with an emphasis on the resonance structures, dielectric structures, and metal surfaces, and together with Dr. Hattori, they have started looking into the time-dependent aspect of time-variant constructions, such as metasurfaces and Rydberg systems. This paper was about this special type of setup, where all the expertise can come together, and that is leading to more practical outcomes for those specific setups.

Like Prof. Dr. Miroshnichenko, Dr. Hattori also works with photonics and is more focused on devices such as photodetectors and sensing platforms at the moment. He has started exploring this new area of photonics since the middle of 2025. The whole Rydberg setup is operational now, and we hope to publish more work in MDPI and other venues.

2. Could you describe the difficulties and breakthrough innovations encountered in your current research?

We have a lot of experience in photonics, but we have begun working in this area recently. It turns out that there are not many groups actually involved in this area, and we see many opportunities, which is why we now want to focus and direct all our resources and attention to this specific field of sensing and setups. This allows us to get access to a specific type of measurement or sensing for different types of environments in different spectral ranges; this includes picking up very weak signals for different types of applications, including sensors, electromagnetic fields, spectral ranges, and communications. This is because a Rydberg setup can be thought of as a small, atom-sized antenna that can sense fields. This means it has a very high precision and unlocks various opportunities because it is not only a sense of the amplitude, like most sensors operate, but it is actually collecting all the properties, including the phase and polarization, which gives you full information about the electromagnetic environment, and it does not disturb the field. That means that for communication applications, you can actually kind of eavesdrop on what is going on without being noticed, and nobody will be able to detect your presence. So it is really unique in the setup there. Plus, given its small size, there is a possibility to get the current broadband spectral ranges up to terahertz.

In the beginning, it was very hard to start working on this topic because it is quite a defense-related area, and there is not much available information in journals and papers. So, we started small, working with a few megahertz, having reached 6 gigahertz, and trying to reach 10 gigahertz in the near future. We also started talking with big labs, and we got a positive response from agencies like NASA, which are interested in this topic for space applications.

3. What do you hope that readers will get from your paper?

This paper was more like an overview of the fields, with some inclusion of our results in there, because at first we were interested in the educational aspect, as we wanted to enter the field and observe what is available, known, and new, and what the current questions are in the field. As Dr. Hattori mentioned, it turns out that not much information is available. We found that general physics is known for such a mechanism and noticed that if you want to build it up yourself, there are many tricks and details you need to take care of. For us, it was a bit of a challenge to decipher it in the available literature. When we collected it, we wanted to present it in a way that the reader not only understands the process and mechanism but also knows how to replicate it and how to build a setup, and also understands how and what they can do with it and what it is useful for, such as the particular range of applications it can unlock. Our task was also actually how to fit first, as Dr. Hattori mentioned, into the existing benchmarks, so that we can obtain the results and what is published at the moment, but also to see how we can expand it right when we are focusing on a specific range of applications.

Of course, we were lucky to get some initial funding from our university in order to build this setup and construct this system, as it requires very special lasers with very narrow bandwidths, which are quite expensive.

4. Do you have any advice or experience that you would like to share with young researchers who want to pursue research in this field?

Being scientists, we want to find an exciting topic so that we can deliver not only new but also useful results in terms of applications, and the reason why we are actually focusing now on this type of application is that we see the huge potential this setup actually can bring us. We found that by building and fine-tuning it, you can unlock a high sensitivity, and the broadband-type devices can be used for different purposes for sensing fields like encrypted communications and monitoring electromagnetic environments. Currently, our setup is free space, which means that it is bulky and occupies the full optical table. The main goal for the future is to actually come up with an integrated kind of portable version, which later can be pulled either on the mobile platforms like UAVs or drones, and where you can start sensing large areas with high precision, and even intra-satellite communication and space applications, and defense, intelligence, and counterterrorism as well. We also wanted to know what is necessary in the calibration of the electromagnetic products.

At the same time, as a scientist, you need to focus on your goal and also keep in mind your limitations and boundary conditions, and not forget that other researchers or competitors may be working in the same area you are looking at. Having said that, a hard-learned lesson is that ‘you will never succeed if you don’t take calculated risks’ (Richard Branson), so you need to try different things until you succeed.

We also think that there will be some useful outcomes in the future, and that is why we want to be able to demonstrate, represent, and share them with the research community.

5. How were you first introduced to Photonics? What is your impression and experience with our journal?

We have been working with MDPI for a few years now. We were contacted initially, and so far our experience and communication with different journal editorial teams have been pleasant and successful in terms of the publishing experience; this also applies to our involvement as Academic Editors.

For this particular paper published in Photonics, we got a really short turnaround time between the submission time, review reports collection, and even the acceptance, followed by the publication being online. The short timeframe and effectiveness of the editorial process were two of the key factors that made us decide to submit to the journal.  Sometimes the deadlines were quite short, but with the help of our co-authors, we managed to handle this aspect in a timely manner. We found that the reviewer comments were very insightful, which led to the paper being improved in a good way; we found the reviewers to be very collaborative and not combative.