Announcements

Following from our two previous successful editions, we invite you to submit your abstracts and participate in the 3rd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers, taking place from 2 to 7 August 2026 in Jeju, South Korea.

Organized by MDPI and the open access journals Sensors, Micromachines, AI Sensors, Micro and Remote Sensing, this in-person conference will once again bring together experts and participating researchers who will share insights and innovations in sensors, sensing technology, transducers and artificial intelligence.

Start preparing your abstracts:
Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your work to peers and leading experts in AI-enhanced sensing systems and transducers. We will be announcing the session topics at AIS 2026 soon.

Find out more about the instructions for authors: https://sciforum.net/event/AIS2026?section=#instructions.

Find out more about the publication opportunities available for authors: https://sciforum.net/event/AIS2026?section=#Publicationopportunities.
Please feel free to share the information about this conference to your colleagues and students.

We look forward to welcoming you in Jeju!

The organizing committee of the 3rd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers (AIS 2026).

European Conference on Machine Learning and Principles and Practice of Knowledge Discovery in Databases (ECML PKDD) is the flagship European machine learning and data mining conference, attracting a worldwide audience. The conference program includes presentations of peer-reviewed research, invited talks by leaders in the field, a wide program of workshops and tutorials, poster sessions, a discovery challenge, a demo track, an applied data science track, an industry track and a PhD forum.

Topics include the following:

• Advances in machine learning theory and algorithms, including deep learning, probabilistic modeling, and reinforcement learning;
• Knowledge discovery and data mining methodologies, covering pattern mining, graph analytics, and large-scale data processing;
• Trustworthy and responsible AI, with emphasis on fairness, interpretability, privacy, and robustness;
• Applied data science and domain-driven discovery, featuring real-world case studies in industry, health, sustainability, and the physical sciences;
• Emerging frontiers, such as foundation models, generative AI, multi-modal learning, and automated machine learning (AutoML).

MDPI will be attending the conference as an exhibitor; we welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Data;
• MAKE;
• AI;
• Analytics;
• Remote Sensing;
• BDCC;
• Information;
• Computers;
• Knowledge;
• Future Internet;
• Technologies;
• JCP;
• Algorithms;
• Digital.

If you are planning to attend the above 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 at https://ecmlpkdd.org/2026/.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Antonio Miguel Ruiz Armenteros is one of the winners of the Remote Sensing Editor of Distinction Award. The Remote Sensing Editor of Distinction Award is given annually to acknowledge Editorial Board Members’ exceptional contributions to maintaining the journal’s high international standards. All winners were chosen by the journal’s award committee.

Name: Prof. Dr. Antonio Miguel Ruiz Armenteros
Affiliation: Department of Cartographic, Geodetic and Photogrammetry Engineering, University of Jaén, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain
Research interests: deformation monitoring; InSAR; MT-InSAR; GNSS; geodesy; remote sensing

We were honored to interview Prof. Dr. Antonio Miguel Ruiz Armenteros and learn about his views and experiences in relation to scientific research and peer-review. The interview is summarized below:

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and share your thoughts and feelings with our readers as the winner of the Remote Sensing Editor of Distinction Award?
   I hold a PhD in Geodetic and Cartographic Engineering, and I am currently a full professor in Geomatics Engineering at the Higher Polytechnic School of Jaén, University of Jaén, Spain. I also lead the InSAR line in my research group, “Microgeodesia Jaén”. I have been involved with this journal for many years, first as a reviewer and later as Guest Editor and Section Board Member. For this reason, receiving this award is a great honor for me. I see it as a recognition of many years of work, not only by myself, but also by my colleagues, collaborators, and my university.
2. As a member of Remote Sensing’s Editorial Board, what do you consider to be the most critical aspect of maintaining the journal’s academic standards? Is it the assessment of novelty during the initial review stage, the precise selection of peer reviewers, or the final adjudication of controversial manuscripts? Or are there other more important factors?
   In my experience, after making more than 250 editorial decisions, the final decision on controversial manuscripts is probably the most difficult part. Of course, selecting good reviewers is essential, but sometimes reviewers have different opinions, and the editor must interpret all the reports carefully.
   For me, respecting the reviewers’ opinions is fundamental. When a reviewer recommends rejection with a solid and well-reasoned argument, this opinion must be taken very seriously, even if other reviewers are more positive. However, the editor also needs to take a broader view and decide whether the manuscript really contributes something new, useful, and scientifically sound. In the end, I think the best way to maintain the standards of a journal is to be fair, impartial, and rigorous, especially with the quality of the data, the methodology, and the real contribution of the work.
3. What research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
   I think that in the next few years, the research community will pay more attention to the integration of different types of data and technologies. In my opinion, remote sensing is now in a very special moment. We have access to a vast amount of satellite data, much of which is free, and new missions are continuously improving the spatial and temporal resolution of the data. Machine learning and deep learning will continue to be very important, mainly because it is not possible to analyze such large amounts of data using traditional methods alone. I think AI will be especially useful for automatic feature extraction, change detection, time-series analysis, and the combination of different sources of information, such as optical images, SAR data, hyperspectral data, and field observations.
   I also believe that cloud computing platforms, such as Google Earth Engine, and near-real-time applications will become more relevant. These tools can be very useful in fields such as environmental monitoring, natural hazards, agriculture, water resources, and climate change studies. However, from my point of view, the most critical issue will be reliability. It is not enough to obtain automatic results; we need to know if these results are correct, reproducible, and useful. For this reason, validation with ground data, uncertainty estimation, and explainable AI will be very important topics. For me, the main challenge is not only to produce more data, but to transform these data into reliable information that can really be used by scientists, managers, and society.
4. You have led the Special Issue “Dam Stability Monitoring with Satellite Geodesy (Third Edition)” to its third edition, with the first two having already been successfully completed. From your perspective as an Editorial Board Member, what are the key ingredients for launching and managing a high‑impact Special Issue?
   From my point of view, one of the most important factors for a successful Special Issue is to choose a topic that is specific, timely, and useful for the scientific community. In our case, dam safety is a global concern, and this helped us to define a clear focus for the Special Issue. But the topic alone is not enough. You also need an active international network. We contacted experts from different countries worldwide, from Europe to America and Asia, and this helped to make the collection more attractive and more useful for readers.
   Another important point is that the Guest Editor must be active. It is not enough to open the call and wait for submissions. You need to contact potential authors, follow the review process, help with delays, and solve small problems when they appear. In our three editions, I have learned that a good Special Issue requires both flexibility and rigor. You need to be realistic with deadlines, but also strict with scientific quality.
5. Given the increasingly widespread application of AI technologies in academic writing and peer-review, how do you—as a member of an Editorial Board—view their impact on the traditional peer‑review process? Furthermore, how should journals effectively manage oversight from a standpoint of technological ethics?
   I think AI tools are useful for authors and reviewers, especially for improving language, organizing ideas, or saving time in some routine tasks. But I am also cautious. AI cannot (or should not) replace human judgment, especially when we have to evaluate whether a method is really novel, whether the data support the conclusions, or whether the interpretation makes sense in a real scientific or technical problem. For me, peer review is still a human responsibility. AI can be a support tool, but it should not make scientific decisions. Journals should ask for transparency from authors and reviewers (most do it currently). Authors should declare if they have used AI tools in the preparation of the manuscript, especially if these tools were used beyond simple language correction. Reviewers should also be careful, because using AI to prepare a review without a real personal evaluation may be unfair to the authors and risky for the journal.
   From an ethical point of view, journals need clear and practical policies. Editors should be trained to understand both the benefits and the risks of AI. Technical tools may help to identify possible inconsistencies or suspicious patterns, but they should never be the only basis for a decision. The final responsibility must remain with editors and reviewers.

We are pleased to announce that MDPI will be attending the 3rd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers, which will be held in the Republic of Korea from 2 to 7 August 2026.

Moreover, the 3rd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers is held by MDPI. This event is dedicated to exploring the latest advancements in AI-enhanced sensing systems and transducers, which is a field evolving at a breathtaking pace. AI Sensors & Transducers 2026 anticipates the participation of over 400 participants from around the world.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Sensors;
• Micromachines;
• AI Sensors;
• IoT;
• Micro;
• Nanomaterials;
• Optics;
• Remote Sensing;
• Robotics;
• Technologies.

If you plan on attending this conference, do not hesitate to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have.

In July 2026, the ISPRS Congress 2026 successfully concluded in Toronto, Canada. As one of the most influential international events in the fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing, and spatial information sciences, this congress brought together researchers, industry experts, government representatives, and academic institutions from around the world to discuss cutting-edge developments and technological innovations. MDPI’s journals in the remote sensing and geoinformation fields—ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (IJGI), Remote Sensing, Nitrogen, Earth, Geomatics, Geosciences, Optics and Smart Cities—participated as academic publishing sponsors. Through booth exhibitions, editorial board meetings, keynote speeches, and award ceremonies, MDPI engaged with global scholars face-to-face to promote open science concepts and share publishing expertise.

Booth Exhibition: Building Bridges for Offline Academic Dialogue

MDPI Booth

From 6 to 9 July, MDPI set up a dedicated communication space at Booth #210 in Exhibit Hall F. During the exhibition, MDPI representatives provided one-on-one consultations for attending scholars regarding submission processes, peer review, and open access policies. They also collected feedback and suggestions from authors, reviewers, and academic editors on journal services. Compared to online communication, these in-person interactions fostered warmer connections between the journals and scholars, helping attendees gain a more intuitive understanding of MDPI’s publishing services.

MDPI Representatives at Booth #210

Editorial Board Meetings: Building Consensus for Journal Development
On the morning of 7 July, MDPI held consecutive editorial board meetings for IJGI and Remote Sensing in Room 602A.
The IJGI Editorial Board meeting was chaired by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Wolfgang Kainz. More than ten editorial board members, including ISPRS Council members, attended both online and in person. Experts engaged in constructive discussions regarding the journal’s annual performance and future development plans, building consensus to drive high-quality growth.

Photo: MDPI CEO Stefan Tochev with IJGI Editor-in-Chief Wolfgang Kainz (left)

Photo: Group photo with MDPI representatives, IJGI Editorial Board members, ISPRS President Lena Hanouva (second from right), ISPRS Secretary General Jiang Jie (sixth from left), IJGI Editor-in-Chief Wolfgang Kainz (fifth from right), and MDPI CEO Stefan Tochev (sixth from right)

Photo: MDPI representative presenting journal work at the IJGI editorial board meeting

The Remote Sensing Editorial Board meeting was chaired by Section Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Jie Shan. Adopting a hybrid format, over ten editorial board members joined across different time zones. The meeting reviewed the journal’s annual work and featured in-depth discussions on core topics, including journal development, expanding impact, Special Issue planning, and fostering collaboration with early-career researchers, further solidifying consensus and clarifying future directions.

Photo: Group photo of Remote Sensing offline editorial board members and MDPI CEO Stefan Tochev (first from right)

Award Ceremony: Honoring Outstanding Contributions to Geoinformation Science
During the morning plenary session on July 7, the ISPRS Jack Dangermond Award ceremony took place as scheduled. MDPI CEO Stefan Tochev attended as a special guest and presented certificates to the award recipients.

Photo: MDPI CEO Stefan Tochev with the representative of the award winners (center)

Award details
The Jack Dangermond Award, sponsored by MDPI and ESRI, was established to encourage and stimulate the submission of high-quality scientific papers by individual authors or groups to the journal, to promote and advertise the journal, and to honor the outstanding contributions of Jack Dangermond to research on and the development of geospatial sciences.

The award, which consists of an ISPRS certificate and a grant of USD 10,000, will be presented every four years to the author(s) of an outstanding paper on one of the topics included in the scope of the journal. The recipient(s) of the Jack Dangermond Award can only receive the award once.

Learn more about the award: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijgi/awards/1266.

Keynote Speeches: Three Decades of Open Peer Review, Driving High-Quality Development of Open Science

At this congress, MDPI CEO Stefan Tochev delivered two keynote presentations, sharing insights into AI-empowered academic publishing informed by industry trends and MDPI’s practices.

During the Lightning Talk on the morning of 8 July, Mr. Stefan Tochev presented “The AI Revolution in Publishing – Challenges, Innovations, and MDPI’s Vision”. He noted that since 2015, total paper publications have increased by 62%, while annual reviews per researcher have grown by only 27%, underscoring AI’s role as an essential tool for sustainable academic publishing. He highlighted MDPI’s practical applications of AI for manuscript-journal matching, scope checks, and detection of ethical compliance. He emphasized the “human-in-the-loop (HITL)” principle—adhering to a “human-led, AI-assisted” approach where all AI-generated outputs undergo mandatory human verification. This human-AI collaboration model safeguards academic quality, preserves research integrity, and clearly defines accountability.

That afternoon, during the Industry Tech Session, Mr. Tochev delivered a presentation titled “MDPI at 30: Reflections and the Road Ahead,” systematically reviewing MDPI’s three-decade journey, open-science mission, and future strategic plans. The presentation reaffirmed MDPI journals’ long-term commitment to ensuring academic quality and serving the global research community.

Additionally, Ms. Carla Aloè from MDPI’s Society Department delivered a brief presentation during this session. She introduced the society journal IJGI, outlining its profile and potential pathways for collaboration with scholars, thereby further strengthening ties between the journal and the academic community.

Although the ISPRS Congress 2026 has concluded, MDPI’s efforts to advance open science and academic exchange continue unabated. Looking ahead, we will keep supporting researchers in remote sensing and geoinformation worldwide with enhanced services. We look forward to seeing you again at the next congress in Sydney, Australia, in 2029!

Conference: The RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026
Date: 1–4 September 2026
Location: London, UK

MDPI will attend the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026. The conference will take place in London at the Society and Imperial College London and online from Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 September 2026.

The RGS-IBG Annual International Conference regularly draws over 2,000 international geographers. The Royal Geographical Society serves an exceptionally wide range of public and professional audiences, including their 16,000 members.

The 2026 conference will be chaired by Prof. Peter Hopkins (Newcastle University, UK) and center on the theme of “Geographies of inequalities: towards just places”, with a focus on charting the complexities of spatial inequalities and injustices across society, culture, the economy, development, and the environment.

The following journals will be represented at the event:

• Land;
• ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information;
• Urban Science;
• Biosphere;
• Challenges;
• Earth;
• Hydrology;
• Regional Science and Environmental Economics;
• Social Sciences;
• World;
• Climate;
• GeoHazards;
• Geomatics;
• Quaternary;
• Remote Sensing.

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person to answer any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference visit the following link: https://www.rgs.org/research/annual-international-conference.

The Remote Sensing Best Paper Award for papers published in 2024 has been presented to the following articles, selected by a committee chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Dongdong Wang. Following a review process conducted by the Award Evaluation Committee, five winners were chosen.

First Prize: CHF 1000 and a voucher to waive the Article Processing Charges (APCs) for one submission (review or research article) in Remote Sensing (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

“Advancing Arctic Sea Ice Remote Sensing with AI and Deep Learning: Opportunities and Challenges”
by Wenwen Li, Chia-Yu Hsu and Marco Tedesco
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(20), 3764; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16203764

Second Prize: CHF 800 and a voucher to waive the Article Processing Charges (APCs) for one submission (review or research article) in Remote Sensing (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

“Remote Sensing Object Detection in the Deep Learning Era—A Review”
by Shengxi Gui, Shuang Song, Rongjun Qin and Yang Tang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(2), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16020327

“Spectral-Spatial Mamba for Hyperspectral Image Classification”
by Lingbo Huang, Yushi Chen and Xin He
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(13), 2449; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16132449

Third Prize: CHF 500 and a voucher to waive the Article Processing Charges (APCs) for one submission (review or research article) in Remote Sensing (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

“Flood Detection with SAR: A Review of Techniques and Datasets”
by Donato Amitrano, Gerardo Di Martino, Alessio Di Simone and Pasquale Imperatore
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(4), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16040656

“Change Detection Methods for Remote Sensing in the Last Decade: A Comprehensive Review”
by Guangliang Cheng, Yunmeng Huang, Xiangtai Li, Shuchang Lyu, Zhaoyang Xu, Hongbo Zhao, Qi Zhao and Shiming Xiang
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(13), 2355; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16132355

Please join us in congratulating the winners of the Remote Sensing Best Paper Award. We also wish to take this opportunity to thank our authors for their continued support of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292).

MDPI is delighted to announce its participation in the 2027 AAG Annual Meeting (AAG 2027), which will take place from 8 to 12 February 2027 in New York, New York, USA.

As the flagship event of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), the AAG Annual Meeting stands as one of the world’s largest gatherings for geographers, spatial scientists, and professionals in allied fields. Each year, this leading conference draws thousands of attendees from academia, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. It serves as a dynamic platform for sharing cutting-edge research findings, exploring innovative technological advancements, and engaging in critical dialogues that shape the future of geography and its diverse applied domains.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the event:

• Sustainability;
• Geographies;
• Remote Sensing;
• Land;
• Climate;
• Water;
• IJGI;
• Earth;
• GeoHazards;
• Coasts;
• Journal of Parks;
• Geomatics;
• Nitrogen;
• World;
• Quaternary.

If you are attending AAG 2027, we invite you to visit us at booth #300. Our representatives will be available to discuss publishing opportunities, the benefits of open access, and our commitment to advancing research into geosciences.

For more information about the conference, please visit its official website: https://www.aag.org/events/aag2027/.

MDPI is pleased to announce its participation in AOGS2026, which will be taking place from 2 to 7 August 2026 at the Marine Messe Hall B, Fukuoka, Japan.

Organized by the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) in collaboration with the Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU), the Annual Meeting serves as one of the leading geoscience conferences in the Asia-Pacific region. Under the 2026 conference theme, the meeting brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across the globe to exchange the latest scientific discoveries, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and address pressing challenges related to the Earth, planetary, and environmental sciences.

We warmly invite conference participants to visit the MDPI booth to learn more about our portfolio of open access journals, publishing opportunities, editorial initiatives, and author services. Our team will be available throughout the conference to discuss the ways in which MDPI supports researchers at every stage of the publishing journey, as well as to answer any questions about our journals and editorial processes.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Environments;
• Geographies;
• Quaternary;
• Climate;
• Water;
• GeoHazards;
• Hydrology;
• Sustainability;
• Remote Sensing;
• Limnological Review;
• Oceans;
• Geosciences;
• Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (JMSE);
• Earth.

If you plan on attending this conference, we invite you to visit our booth B10 and converse with our delegates in the Marine Messe Hall B. We are excited to meet you in person and address any questions that you may have. For further details about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.asiaoceania.org/AOGS2026/Home.

Our portfolio of journals available for publishing up-to-date research in immediate open access format has been further expanded. In June 2026, eleven new journals released their inaugural issues and two transferred journals released their first issue as part of MDPI, covering the subjects of environmental & earth sciences, chemistry & materials science, public health & healthcare, engineering, medicine & pharmacology, and biology & life sciences. 

We extend our gratitude to the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members who will shape the future course of these new journals. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, enabling impactful open access scholarship. 

Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below. 

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you would like to create a new journal, you are welcome to send an application here or contact the New Journal Committee (newjournal-committee@mdpi.com).