Announcements

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2021 Travel Awards in the “Engineering” category for their outstanding presentations and to present them with the prize.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage talented junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps to increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of this year’s Travel Awards and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Actuators:

• Matthew Wei Ming Tan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Applied Sciences:

• Márcia de Sousa Oliveira, University of León, Spain;
• Caroline Sarah Taylor, University of Sheffield, UK;
• Raquel Viveiros, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal;
• Alfonso González Briones, University of Salamanca, Spain;
• Alen Horvat, University Carlos III Madrid, Spain;
• Marie Švecová, University of Chemistry and Technology, Czech Republic;
• Venanzio Giannella, University of Salerno, Italy;
• Michaël Lobet, University of Namur, Belgium;
• Lam Thi Ngoc Tran, National Research Council, Italy;
• Hanfei Mei, University of South Carolina, USA.

Applied System Innovation:

• Mert Nakip, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland.

Biosensors:

• Mengdi Bao, Rochester Institute of Technology, USA;

Yichi Su, Stanford University, USA.

Buildings:

• Karthik Panchabikesan, Concordia University, Canada;
• Xiaolei Yuan, Tongji University, China.

Chemosensors:

• Verónica Montes García, Université de Strasbourg & CNRS, France.

Electronics:

• Peng Hang, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore;
• Alfonso González Briones, University of Salamanca, Spain.

Fluids:

• Alberto Zingaro, Politecnico di Milano, Italy;
• Sarah E. Morris, Auburn University, USA.

Infrastructures:

• Angelo Aloisio, University of L’Aquila, Italy;
• André Filipe Castanheira Alves Furtado, University of Porto, Portugal.

Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications:

• Tommaso Zanotti, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing:

• Nagalingam Arun Prasanth, Rolls-Royce@NTU Corporate Lab, Singapore.

Machines:

• Muhammad Jamil, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), China;
• Mariagrazia Tristano, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

Processes:

• Michele Schlich, University of Cagliari, Italy;
• Álvaro Santana Mayor, University of La Laguna, Spain.

Sensors:

• Eleonora Macchia, Åbo Akademi University, Finland;
• Alfonso Gonzalez Briones, University of Salamanca, Spain;
• Saúl Vallejos Calzada, University of Burgos, Spain;
• Ana Novo, University of Vigo, Spain;
• Yalin Liu, Macau University of Science and Technology, China;
• Marilena Giglio, Politecnico of Bari, Italy;
• Yuzhi Shi, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize the winners for the year 2021 in the “Engineering” category for their outstanding contributions among extensive competition by presenting them with an Outstanding Reviewer Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the winners on their achievement. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Actuators:

• Ryszard Dindorf, Kielce University of Technology, Poland.

Applied Sciences:

• Khaled Giasin, University of Portsmouth, UK;
• Jakub Krzysztof Grabski, University of Technology, Poland;
• Marcos Tostado-Véliz, University of Jaén, Spain;
• Luigi Pugliese, University of Calabria, Italy;
• Francesco Bennardo, University of Catanzaro, Italy;
• Heriberto Perez-Acebo, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain.

Biosensors:

• Amir Hatamie, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Buildings:

• Francesco Fiorito, Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy;
• Paul G. O’Brien, York University, Canada.

Chemosensors:

• Verónica Montes García, University of Strasbourg, France.

Machines:

• Piotr Gierlak, Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland;
• Sebastian A. Nugroho, University of Michigan, USA;
• Viorel Paleu, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania.

Processes:

• Marcin Dębowski, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland;
• Bartłomiej Zieniuk, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland;
• Zbigniew Nadolny, Poznan University of Technology, Poland;
• Attila Egedy, University of Pannonia, Hungary;
• Seok-Ho Rhi, Chungbuk National University, Korea.

Sensors:

• Hojong Choi, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Korea;
• Li Fu, Hangzhou Dianzi University, China;
• Leonardo De Mello Honorio, Federal University of Juiz De Fora Juiz De Fora, Brazil;
• Mario Versaci, Mediterranea University, Italy;
• Robertas Damasevicius, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.

We are pleased to announce that the impact factor of Processes (ISSN: 2227-9717) has increased to 3.352, representing an increase for the fifth consecutive year! Processes now ranks 69/142 (Q2) in the "Engineering, Chemical" category. For more detailed information, please visit the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/stats.

All the achievements have benefited from the strong support of those involved with the journal. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the scholars for their contributions to the journal’s development. We look forward to continuing our cooperation in the future.

The 2021 citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and we’re pleased to announce the following results for MDPI journals:

For more information on Impact Factors and what it means to index academic journals, please visit our related blog posts.

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2022

Source: 2021 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ^TM (Clarivate, 2022)

We are pleased to inform you that the open access journal Processes (ISSN 2227-9717) has received an increased CiteScore of 3.5 in the following categories: “Chemical Engineering: Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)”, “Chemical Engineering: Process Chemistry and Technology”, and “Chemical Engineering: Bioengineering”. For more detailed information, please see: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/stats.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the scholars who have published with us for their support in the development of Processes!

Processes Editorial Office

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

1. “Use of Black Soldier Fly Larvae for Food Waste Treatment and Energy Production in Asian Countries: A Review”
Chul-Hwan Kim et al.
Processes 2021, 9(1), 161; 10.3390/pr9010161
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/1/161

2. “Palm Oil Mill Effluent Treatment Processes—A Review”
Sharifah Mohammad et al.
Processes 2021, 9(5), 739; 10.3390/pr9050739
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/5/739

3. “Capture and Reuse of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) for a Plastics Circular Economy: A Review”
Laura Pires da Mata Costa et al.
Processes 2021, 9(5), 759; 10.3390/pr9050759
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/5/759

4. “Heat Transfer Coefficient Estimation and Performance Evaluation of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Using Flue Gas”
Xuejun Qian et al.
Processes 2021, 9(6), 939; 10.3390/pr9060939
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/6/939

5. “Emerging Challenges and Opportunities in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Distribution”
Miriam Sarkis et al.
Processes 2021, 9(3), 457; 10.3390/pr9030457
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/3/457

6. “Applying Lean Six Sigma Methodology to a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility: A Case Study”
Brian Byrne et al.
Processes 2021, 9(3), 550; 10.3390/pr9030550
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/3/550

7. “A Review of Data Mining Applications in Semiconductor Manufacturing”
Pedro Espadinha-Cruz et al.
Processes 2021, 9(2), 305; 10.3390/pr9020305
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/2/305

8. “Synthesis of New 1-Aryl-2-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)ethanone Oxime Ether Derivatives and Investigation of Their Cytotoxic Effects”
Mehmet Abdullah Alagöz et al.
Processes 2021, 9(11), 2019; 10.3390/pr9112019
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/11/2019

9. “Apple Fermented Products: An Overview of Technology, Properties and Health Effects”
Raquel P. F. Guiné et al.
Processes 2021, 9(2), 223; 10.3390/pr9020223
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/2/223

10. “Spray Drying for Direct Compression of Pharmaceuticals”
Nizar Al-Zoubi et al.
Processes 2021, 9(2), 267; 10.3390/pr9020267
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/2/267

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Evangelos Tsotsas has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the Section "Particle Processes" in the journal Processes (ISSN: 2227-9717).

Prof. Dr. Evangelos Tsotsas has held the Chair of Thermal Process Engineering at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany) since 1994. He obtained his Ph.D. (1985) and habilitation (1990) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and was the Senior Process Specialist at the Dow Chemical Company from 1991 to 1994. Prof. Dr. Tsotsas currently supervises a group of around 25 Ph.D. and postdoctoral researchers and has published more than 500 papers in highly regarded journals and proceedings. The main focus of his work is porous and granular media, drying and particle formulation (spray fluidized bed agglomeration, granulation and coating). His group has conducted extensive experimental research in these fields, including work on particle characterization, 3D imaging and process monitoring. Significant achievements of their group include novel discrete models (pore network models for wetting and drying, Monte Carlo methods for particulate processes, thermal DEM, combinations of DEM with CFD and the volume of fluid method) and continuous approaches (such as population balances).

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Evangelos Tsotsas, who shared with us his vision for the Section and his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take on the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?

Concerning the Section, particles, because particle-based products can be designed for fascinating end-user properties. Regarding the journal, its visibly increasing ability to reach out with scientific results and steer future development.

2. What is your vision for the Section?

A drive for the further development of particle technology and an open forum for scientific discussion as well as interaction with industry.

3. Who should contribute to this Section, and what can readers expect?

The Section will be thematically, and hopefully also in the readership, broad: from product design to process optimization; from mechanics to transport and reactions in particle systems; from experiments to simulations; and also from chemical and process engineering to many other branches of engineering and science.

4. What does the future of this field of research look like?

Future developments will still be based on fundamental results of a generic nature, but applications will stress the crucial goals of sustainability and green transformation in addition to efficient manufacturing.

5. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?

Open access is an opportunity and a challenge. We wish to be fast, big, and open. However, we also wish to keep high standards of quality and discussion of the details. Most importantly, we should be openly accessible not only in academia (i.e., in a closed loop) but in industry and applications, as well as in the use of published results on the ground.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Evangelos Tsotsas in his new role as Section Editor-in-Chief, and we look forward to his guidance in helping “Particle Processes” reach many more milestones.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Section “Separation Processes” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/sections/separation_processes) in Processes (ISSN: 2227-9717), which aims to provide a specific venue for this field of research.

Keywords: separation; isolation; purification; absorption/adsorption; extraction; precipitation; centrifugation; crystallization; distillation; flocculation; flotation; chelation; filtration; sedimentation; sublimation; precipitation; desalination.

We are now recruiting Editorial Board Members (EBMs) and Topical Advisory Panel (TAP) Members for this Section. If you are an active researcher in one of the aforementioned fields and are passionate about publishing cutting-edge research, please do not hesitate to get in touch (processes@mdpi.com).

The responsibilities of Processes EBMs include the following:

• Pre-screening and making decisions on new submissions related to their research interests;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue during their term on a topic related to their research interests (or supervising related Special Issues);
• Providing input or feedback regarding journal policies;
• Helping to promote the journal among their peers or at conferences;
• Attending board meetings to suggest journal development strategies;
• Reviewing manuscripts.

The responsibilities of the Processes TAP Members include the following:

• Providing regular reviews of manuscripts;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue (SI) in partnership with a senior researcher within two years of appointment and proposing a detailed strategy plan for the SI. The topic of the proposal should be within the scope of the journal. The scope of the Special Issue should be broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions but narrow enough to provide a cohesive collection. The Special Issue should cover a small part of the scope of the journal, but not the whole;
• Providing a detailed strategy plan for the SI, including assisting in preparing the Special Issue’s/Topic’s title, aim and scope, summary and keywords; soliciting papers and promoting the SI;
• Providing support for the Special Issues/Topics related to their expertise when the Guest Editor(s) is not available. This includes SI promotion via social media and giving advice on some scientific cases;
• Promoting the journal at conferences (adding 1–2 slides to presentations, distributing flyers, recommending the journal to your colleagues, etc.), on social media and other relevant platforms;
• Participating in working with Editorial Board Members or the Editorial Office in promoting high-quality/featured papers (for example, writing summaries or highlights for selected papers).

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Section “Particle Processes” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/sections/particle_processes) in Processes (ISSN: 2227-9717), to provide a specific venue for this field of research.

Topics:

• Particle Synthesis;
• Particle Modification;
• Particle Characterization;
• Particle Measurement;
• Granular Systems;
• Particle Technology.

We are now recruiting Editorial Board Members (EBMs) and Topical Advisory Panel (TAP) Members for this Section. If you are an active researcher in one of the aforementioned fields and are passionate about publishing cutting-edge research, please do not hesitate to get in touch (processes@mdpi.com).

The responsibilities of Processes EBMs include the following:

• Pre-screening and making decisions on new submissions related to their research interests;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue during their term on a topic related to their research interests (or supervise related Special Issues);
• Providing input or feedback regarding journal policies;
• Helping to promote the journal among their peers or at conferences;
• Attending board meetings to suggest journal development strategies;
• Reviewing manuscripts.

The responsibilities of the Processes TAP Members include the following:

• Providing regular reviews of manuscripts;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue (SI) in partnership with a senior researcher within two years of appointment and proposing a detailed strategy plan for the SI. The topic of the proposal should be within the scope of the journal. The scope of the Special Issue should be broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions but narrow enough to provide a cohesive collection. The Special Issue should cover a small part of the scope of the journal, but not the whole;
• Providing a detailed strategy plan for the SI, including assisting in preparing the Special Issue’s/Topic’s title, aim and scope, summary and keywords; soliciting papers and promoting the SI;
• Providing support for the Special Issues/Topics related to their expertise when the Guest Editor(s) is not available. This includes SI promotion via social media and giving advice on some scientific cases;
• Promoting the journal at conferences (adding 1–2 slides to presentations, distributing flyers, recommending the journal to your colleagues, etc.), on social media and other relevant platforms;
• Participating in working with Editorial Board Members or the Editorial Office in promoting high-quality/featured papers (for example, writing summaries or highlights for selected papers).