Announcements

We are pleased to announce that the 2024 Tu Youyou Award has been conferred upon Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller, in recognition of their significant contributions to natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

Richard DiMarchi Indiana University, USA	Prof. Richard DiMarchi is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Gill Chair in Biomolecular Sciences at Indiana University, USA. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Dr. DiMarchi is a former Group Vice President at Eli Lilly and later at Novo Nordisk. He is recognized for his contributions to the discovery and development of rDNA-derived Humulin®, Humalog®, rGlucagon®, and Forteo®. His academic research has broadened the understanding of glucagon and incretin physiology and pioneered the discovery of single-molecule multi-mechanism agonists for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. The central element to success has been the chemical vision and technology to install within single molecules simultaneous agonism at related G-protein coupled receptors, coupled to the counter-intuitive discovery that glucagon and GIP agonism could synergize the therapeutic efficacy of GLP-1. These peptides and their conceptual approach have transformed the management of excessive body weight to a condition comparable to how hypertension, adult-onset diabetes, and excess cholesterol are medicinally managed.
“Professor DiMarchi was recognized by the 2024 Tu Youyou Award Committee members as being an exceptional leader in the medicinal chemistry of peptides and proteins of natural origin, and as a pioneer in the field of chemical biotechnology. His very important discoveries have led to breakthroughs in new drugs related to the therapy of diabetes and obesity. He has been named as an inventor on a very large number of patents, and he has had initially a highly successful scientific and administrative career in industry, which was followed by over two decades in academia as a distinguished professor.” —Prof. Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Chair of the Award Committee
Rolf Müller Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Germany; Helmholtz Centre for Infections Research (HZI), Germany; Saarland University, Germany	Prof. Rolf Müller is the Founding and Managing Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Saarland University, Germany. Having received his training from the University of Bonn, he held research positions at the University of Washington, USA, and Braunschweig University of Technology, Germany, prior to his appointment as professor to Saarland University. His laboratory has dedicated itself to the exploration of bacterial natural-product biosynthetic pathways for more than 20 years and has extensive experience in working with myxobacteria and other microbial producer strains. Starting from the isolation and characterization of new microorganisms, the scope of work includes microbiology-, biotechnology-, bioinformatics-, and chemistry-based approaches to exploit these isolates as sources of new drugs with a special focus on novel anti-infectives. Müller and his team apply a variety of state-of-the-art analytical methods and biological assays to perform biological and chemical characterizations of the identified compounds. Prof. Müller has received several awards, including the prestigious Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the PHOENIX Pharmacy Research Award, the DECHEMA Prize, and the Inhoffen Medal, as well as being an elected member of acatech, Leopoldina, and the German Academy of Sciences and Literature.
“The 2024 Tu Youyou Award Committee members were highly impressed by the truly outstanding past and ongoing contributions of Professor Müller in both microbial natural products isolation chemistry and in biosynthesis, as well as in the development of lead compounds for their potential in treating human diseases, through his global connections with various major funding agencies. He is also a dedicated teacher who has trained numerous graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and he has lectured on his research in countries all over the world.” —Prof. Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Chair of the Award Committee

The achievements of Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller highlight the transformative impact of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry. We congratulate them and invite the global academic community and public to join us in celebrating their significant contributions.

2024 Award Committee
Committee Chair:

• Prof. Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn, Ohio State University, USA.
  

Committee Members (listed in alphabetical order):

• Prof. Angelo Fontana, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy;
• Prof. Binghe Wang, Georgia State University, USA;
• Dr. Diana Pinto, University of Aveiro, Portugal;
• Prof. Hideaki Kakeya, Kyoto University, Japan;
• Dr. RuAngelie Edrada-Ebel, University of Strathclyde, UK;
• Prof. Thomas Prisinzano, University of Kentucky, USA
• Prof. Wei Li, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, USA.

About the Tu Youyou Award:
The 2024 Tu Youyou Award includes a total monetary prize of 100,000 Swiss Francs and a medal for each recipient. Established in 2016 to honor the pioneering spirit of Nobel laureate Tu Youyou, the Tu Youyou Award is an international award honoring exceptional scholars dedicated to the fields of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry.

For further information about the award and the winners, please visit the Tu Youyou Award website.

MDPI will be attending the 3rd China Symposium on Urban Sustainable Development in Wuhan, China, which will take place from 23 to 25 May 2025. The conference focuses on the theme of “Digital Technology for a Sustainable Urban Future”, aiming to promote the application of digital technology to the monitoring and evaluation of urban sustainable development indicators, as well as provide a comprehensive platform for participating experts and scholars to share scientific research results and promote industry–university cooperation.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Land;
• Urban Science;
• Geographies;
• ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information;
• Remote Sensing;
• Smart Cities;
• Sustainability;
• Hydrology.

If you are attending the conference, please visit our booth. 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://gis.cug.edu.cn/info/1032/2358.htm.

Conference: The Fourth National Symposium on Cellulose of the Chinese Chemical Society
Date: 15–18 May 2025
Location: Guangzhou, China

The Fourth National Symposium on Cellulose of the Chinese Chemical Society will be held from 15 to 18 May 2025, in Guangzhou, China. The conference is organized by the Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division of the Chinese Chemical Society and the South China University of Technology.

Main Conference Themes:

• Structural regulation and characterization of lignocellulose (basic research on natural macromolecules such as cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, etc., physicochemical structural regulation, innovative analytical characterization means, and new understanding of their properties);
• Green pretreatment and efficient conversion of biomass (pretreatment of biomass resources, separation of components, new processes and methods of nanocellulose preparation, and new progress in the saccharification of biomass molecules and in the development of chemical or biocatalysts);
• Frontier research on biomass-based polymer materials (polymer materials in various forms such as membranes, gels, fibers, particles, etc., constructed from biomass polymers such as cellulose, nanocellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, chitosan, proteins, starch, PLA, etc., and their functionalized applications in the fields of biomedicine, etc.);
• Biomass and paper-based materials for energy and environmental applications (new biomass and paper-based materials applied in energy and environmental fields such as batteries, supercapacitors, nano-generators, transformers, electrocatalysis, wearable electronics, sensing, seawater desalination, radiation refrigeration, water purification, etc.);
• Innovative application of biomass in traditional and emerging industries (innovative application of cellulose and other biomass materials in traditional and emerging industries such as papermaking, textile, chemical industry, food, packaging, transportation and semiconductor, etc.)

The following MDPI journals will be represented in the conference:

• Polymers;
• Polysaccharides;
• Macromol;
• Gels;
• Nanomaterials;
• Marine Drugs;
• Sustainability;
• Compounds;
• Plants.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to contact us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person at the booth and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://2025cellulose.scimeeting.cn/cn/web/index/27411.

MDPI will be attending the 11th World Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership in Darwin, Australia, which will take place from 23 to 27 June 2025. The Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) is one of the largest network organizations in the field of ecosystem services worldwide. The 11th ESP World Conference will explore pathways to Nature-based Solutions (NbS), with a special focus on the insights that local and Indigenous peoples and their value systems can offer.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Diversity;
• Land;
• Sustainability;
• Urban Science;
• Agriculture;
• Conservation;
• Ecologies;
• Environments;
• Forests;
• Hydrology;
• Pollutants.

If you are attending the conference, we welcome you to visit our booth. 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://www.espconference.org/esp11/homepage.

The circular economy and its implementation is one of the hottest global topics today, aiming to achieve progress in environmental sustainability, and the tourism industry is not an exception. In service activities, such as tourism, the level of awareness and knowledge among operators in the value chain is still limited. In academia, although it is experiencing growing interest, this topic is still underexplored.

The complexities and multi- and inter-disciplinarity linked to the current transition from the linear economy, of which we are heirs, to the new paradigm of the circular economy (or circular tourism) raise many research questions that must be answered.

For this reason, the program proposed for this seminar will start with the presentation of a research agenda detailing the major challenges to be addressed, inspired by the article published in the Tourism and Hospitality Research journal in 2024 by Lucia Tomassini et al., entitled “Circular economy in tourism and hospitality: A micro-meso-macro framework for interdisciplinary research”. The second speech will highlight the discussion on which kind of practices are aligned with circular tourism: “Practice Theory and Innovation for a Circular Economy in Tourism”. In this case, the article co-authored by Flemming Sørensen (2020), titled “Tourist practices in the circular economy. Annals of Tourism Research, 85: 103027”, could be considered the starting point for the ongoing work that the speaker has been conducting. Finally, the model of human circular tourism elaborated by Francesca Nocca et al., as discussed in a couple of articles issued in the Sustainability journal in 2022 and 2023, acts as inspiration for not losing the human focus of the abovementioned transition towards identifying efficient environmental policies in the tourism sector. Its title is “The implementation of the human circular tourism model: which operational tools?”

In summary, much information on which those interested in this increasingly relevant domain must reflect will be presented at this seminar.

Keywords: sustainable tourism; circular tourism management; industrial symbiosis; smart tourism; circularity in tourism; tourism circular economy
Date: 13 May 2025 11:00 a.m. CEST | 5:00 p.m. CST Asia | 7:00 p.m. AEST
Webinar ID: 899 4343 1837

Register now for free!

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway and we will let you know when the recording is available to view.

• Dr. Alfonso Vargas-Sánchez, Andalusian Academy of Regional Science, Spain; University of the Algarve, Faculty of Economics, Portugal;
• Dr. Lucia Tomassini, Hotel Management School Leeuwarden of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands;
• Dr. Flemming Sørensen, Department of Social Sciences and Business at Roskilde University, Denmark;
• Dr. Francesca Nocca, Department of Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;
• Dr. Martina Bosone, Department of Architecture, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.

Mother Earth is sending us an urgent call to action as nature suffers from the devastating impacts of human activity. Our oceans are choked with plastic and acidifying, while extreme heat, wildfires, and floods have disrupted millions of lives. Climate change, deforestation, unsustainable agriculture, illegal wildlife trade, and other human-driven disruptions are accelerating the destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity. As we mark the third Mother Earth Day within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, it is clear that healthy ecosystems are vital for all life on Earth. Restoring damaged ecosystems can help end poverty, fight climate change, and prevent mass extinction, but success depends on everyone playing their part. Together, we must act now to heal our planet and secure a sustainable future for generations to come.

On this significant day, we are proud to present a curated collection of articles and initiatives dedicated to groundbreaking research and innovative solutions for protecting and restoring our planet. As we celebrate Mother Earth and reflect on the urgent need for action, these contributions highlight critical efforts to combat climate change, restore ecosystems, and promote sustainability. We invite readers to explore these resources and join us in our shared mission to safeguard the health of our planet for future generations. Together, we can make a lasting impact and ensure a thriving, resilient Earth for all.

Keynote Speakers

“The Conservation of Biodiverse and Threatened Dry Rainforest Plant Communities Is Vital in a Changing Climate”
by Marion Howard, Hilary Pearl, Bill McDonald, Yoko Shimizu, Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava and Alison Shapcott
Conservation 2024, 4(4), 657-684; https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation4040040

“Ten Years of Mediterranean Monk Seal Stranding Records in Greece under the Microscope: What Do the Data Suggest?”
by Maria Solanou, Aliki Panou, Irida Maina, Stefanos Kavadas and Marianna Giannoulaki
Animals 2024, 14(9), 1309; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14091309

“Groundwater Temperature Stripes: A Simple Method to Communicate Groundwater Temperature Variations Due to Climate Change”
by Manuela Lasagna, Elena Egidio and Domenico Antonio De Luca
Water 2024, 16(5), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16050717

“Resilience of an Urban Coastal Ecosystem in the Caribbean: A Remote Sensing Approach in Western Puerto Rico”
by Yadiel Noel Bonilla-Roman and Salvador Francisco Acuña-Guzman
Earth 2024, 5(1), 72-89; https://doi.org/10.3390/earth5010004

“Particulate Matter in the American Southwest: Detection and Analysis of Dust Storms Using Surface Measurements and Ground-Based LIDAR”
by Joscelyne Guzman-Gonzalez, Rosa M. Fitzgerald, Nakul N. Karle, Ricardo K. Sakai and William R. Stockwell
Atmosphere 2024, 15(1), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15010110

“An Imported Environmental Crisis: Plastic Mismanagement in Africa”
by Gilbert Moyen Massa and Vasiliki-Maria Archodoulaki
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 672; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020672

“The Effect of Habitat on Insect Movements: Experimental Evidence from Wild-Caught Butterflies”
by Matteo Marcantonio, Raluca Voda, Daniele Da Re, Quentin Igot, Roger L. H. Dennis, Aurélien Vielfaure, Sophie O. Vanwambeke and Caroline M. Nieberding
Insects 2023, 14(9), 737; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14090737

“Artificial Reefs around the World: A Review of the State of the Art and a Meta-Analysis of Its Effectiveness for the Restoration of Marine Ecosystems”
by Carolina Bracho-Villavicencio, Helena Matthews-Cascon and Sergio Rossi
Environments 2023, 10(7), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10070121

“Topography, Slope and Geomorphology’s Influences on Shoreline Dynamics along Dakar’s Southern Coast, Senegal”
by Ibrahima Pouye, Dieudonné Pessièzoum Adjoussi, Jacques André Ndione and Amadou Sall
Coasts 2023, 3(1), 93-112; https://doi.org/10.3390/coasts3010006

“Potential Use of Industrial Biomass Waste as a Sustainable Energy Source in the Future”
by Tomasz Kalak
Energies 2023, 16(4), 1783; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16041783

Conference: The 19th International Conference on Chemistry and the Environment (ICCE 2025)
Date: 8–12 June 2025
Location: Belgrade, Serbia

MDPI will be attending the 19th International Conference on Chemistry and the Environment as an exhibitor. We welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

Continual knowledge development is essential to ensure a healthy environment and the safe progress of society. ICCE 2025 aims to accelerate this process by addressing a wide range of challenges and developments from the perspective of environmental chemistry, serving societal sustainability goals.

ICCE 2025 will provide an excellent platform for networking, exchange, and collaboration. It offers a unique opportunity to share and discuss research not only within the research community but also with industry professionals and competent authorities.

The following MDPI journals will be presented at the conference:

• Sustainability;
• Clean Technologies;
• Environments;
• Processes;
• Pollutants;
• ChemEngineering.

If you plan to attend the above conference, please do not hesitate to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://icce2025.com/.

Conference: The 33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE 2025)
Date: 9–12 June 2025

Location: Valencia, Spain

MDPI will be attending the 33rd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE 2025) as an exhibitor. We welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

The EUBCE is the largest biomass conference and exhibition in the world. Each year, the EUBCE brings together the greatest minds and the latest advancements in biomass studies, with the aim of accelerating research and market uptake across the globe. During the conference, over 2,000 experts from both academia and industry share and discuss groundbreaking ideas, technologies, applications, and solutions for the sourcing, production, and utility of biomass. This scientific program is coordinated by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Since its 30th edition, the event has been complemented by the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking, aiming at identifying innovation, stimulating investment, and mobilizing the bio-based industrial sector. This is an excellent opportunity to address even more global stakeholders during the conference.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Sustainability;
• Resources;
• Recycling;
• Environments;
• Earth;
• Clean Technologies;
• C;
• Waste;
• Fuels;
• Biomass.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please do not hesitate to contact 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 website: https://www.eubce.com/.

Conference: The 5th International Conference on Urban Climate and Urban Design
Date: 30 May–1 June 2025

Location: Chongqing, China

MDPI will be attending the 5th International Conference on Urban Climate and Urban Design as an exhibitor. We welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

Climate change is one of the great challenges of the century facing mankind. Building climate-resilient cities, minimizing the adverse impacts and risks of climate change, and improving cities’ ability to adapt to climate change are of great significance for ensuring the safe operation of cities, enhancing their competitiveness and sustainable development potential. This international conference aims to discuss how to create a climate-resilient human settlement environment for effective mitigation and adaptation from the aspects of urban climate issues, urban climate adaptation design, development positioning and the advantages of different disciplines, interdisciplinary integration and academic exchange, and the formulation of climate adaptation guidelines and standards, thus allowing us to form a path and model for building climate-resilient cities.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Sustainability;
• Atmosphere;
• Buildings;
• Environments;
• Earth;
• Climate.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please do not hesitate to start 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 webpage: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9_JJufWHnvxXZ-nasyKwww.

MDPI is proud to partner with Texas A&M University–Kingsville to host an exclusive Online Scientific Publishing Exchange, designed to support researchers at every stage of their academic careers. This insightful event will feature experienced professionals from the publishing world, offering expert guidance on the evolving landscape of scientific research and publication.

The event will spotlight MDPI’s leading journal, Sustainability (ISSN: 2071-1050), providing attendees with a deeper understanding of its scope, submission process, and opportunities for publication.

Workshop Highlights:

• Introduction to MDPI and the Sustainability Journal;
• The Role of AI in Scientific Publishing;
• How to Effectively Respond to Peer Reviewers;
• Scientific Writing Essentials.

Date: 28 April 2025
Time: 1:00–3:00 p.m. EDT
Journal Involved: Sustainability
Website: https://sciforum.net/event/AT-9

Schedule:

MDPI Speakers:

	Ms. Jelena Milenkovic is a Ph.D. candidate in geosciences at the Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade. She joined MDPI in January 2022 as an Assistant Editor and gradually took on additional roles and responsibilities, such as managing Special Issues. Currently, she works as a Journal Relations Specialist for the Sustainability journal.
	Dr. Stephen Mora has an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in kinesiology and health science from York University. He started at MDPI in May 2024 and is now the Managing Editor of the IJOM, a newly transferred society journal of MDPI. During his graduate studies and MDPI tenure, Stephen has gained extensive experience in attending conferences, meeting with scholars, and hosting online and in-person presentations.
	Ms. Sofia Zelko graduated from Carleton University with a B.Sc. in combined honors in neuroscience and biology, along with a minor in German, and followed that with an MSc. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Toronto. Motivated by her passion for science and communication, Sofia is a Journal Relations Specialist at MDPI, helping to connect authors and scholars to greater publishing opportunities.
	Dr. Zach Churcher has a B.Sc. in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in chemistry at York University. He joined MDPI as an Assistant Editor for the Sensors journal at the Toronto Office and is now a regional Journal Relations Specialist for North America, traveling across Canada and the United States, attending conferences, and meeting with scholars.