Announcements

30 April 2025
Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller Share the 2024 Tu Youyou Award


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.

2024 Tu Youyou Award Laureates

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:

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.

2 July 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #24 - 2024 Impact Factor & CiteScore, MDPI Summits France & USA, Tu Youyou Award

Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.

In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.


Opening Thoughts

MDPI’s 2024 Impact Factor Highlights

For those of our readers who are new to academic publishing, you may have heard some news in June around the Impact Factor release. Every year, typically in June, Clarivate releases its annual Journal Citation Reports (JCR), which include Journal Impact Factors (JIF). This metric is widely used in academic publishing to reflect the average number of citations received by recent articles in each journal.

While Impact Factor is just one of many indicators of journal influence, it remains a major milestone for authors, editors, and publishers. It’s used to assess journal visibility, researcher recognition, and scholarly reach. Throughout our international meetings and events, it’s clear that the Impact Factor is something many of our authors and editorial board members care about, as it can influence where they choose to submit an article and the funding they receive for their research.

“These results reflect the trust that the scholarly community places in MDPI”

MDPI’s 2024 Impact Factor Highlights

  • 298 MDPI journals received a Journal Impact Factor.
  • 60 journals earned their first-ever Impact Factor
    • To put this in perspective: MDPI’s 60 new journal acceptances into the Web of Science was the second highest number of any publisher in 2024, behind Elsevier and ahead of Springer Nature. Our 87% acceptance rate for journals submitted to Web of Science shows the strength of our editorial process and our proven ability to develop journals aligned with Clarivate’s 24 evaluation criteria.
    • Notably, Textiles, Mathematics, International Journal of Neonatal Screening, Smart Cities, Systems, and Pharmaceutics ranked in the top 10% in their respective categories, highlighting their growing influence and prestige within their academic fields. This shows that high-quality indexing goes beyond visibility; it upholds credibility and trust.
  • 193 MDPI journals are now ranked in the top 50% (Q1/Q2) of their subject categories.
    • What does this mean, and why is it important? Journals are ranked by quartiles within their field, based on their Impact Factor. Q1 represents the top 25% of journals in their category, Q2 the next 25%, and so on. Being in Q1 or Q2 shows that a journal is performing well relative to other journals in its category. Authors and institutions often look at quartile rankings when choosing where to publish – it’s an important indicator of visibility and recognition, within its respective category.
  • 116 of our previously ranked journals increased their Impact Factor.
  • 14 MDPI journals achieved an Impact Factor of 5.0 or higher, suggesting a high degree of influence and visibility.

These results reflect our staff's hard work: from our editorial and production teams to our indexing, communications, and data teams, and beyond. This also reflects the trust that the scholarly community places in MDPI, reinforcing the message that when researchers publish with MDPI, they publish with impact.

Open Access with Impact

As the leading fully open access publisher, our journals have received a total of 18.4 million citations in the Web of Science by the end of 2024, reflecting the growing reach and engagement of research published with MDPI. We are committed to making scientific research freely accessible to everyone, everywhere. With the support of more than 4.2 million contributing authors, we’re proud to support the global shift toward open access.

Further Reading

If you’d like to better understand how journals get indexed and why Impact Factors matter, please read this recent interview with Dr. Constanze Schelhorn (Head of Indexing). It gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the role our indexing team plays in supporting journal indexing and visibility.

You can also read our official news announcement shared last week: MDPI Journals in the 2024 Journal Citation Reports.

Thank you to everyone, from our authors and reviewers to our editors and internal teams, who contributed to the progress of our journal indexing in 2024. We’re continuing to build journals that are recognized and trusted across disciplines.

Impactful Research

MDPI Journals See Continued Growth in 2024 CiteScore Results

Continuing our indexing updates, I’m pleased to share that MDPI has achieved strong results in the latest CiteScore metrics, released on 5 June by Scopus. These results reflect the collective efforts of our editors, reviewers, authors, and internal teams, with their dedication to quality and visibility in scientific publishing. You can read the full announcement here.

2024 Highlights:

  • 322 MDPI journals received a CiteScore (up from 274 last year).
  • 283 journals (88%) are ranked in Q1 or Q2 of their subject categories.
  • 237 journals (85%) saw an increase in their CiteScore compared to last year.
  • 48 journals received a CiteScore for the first time.
  • 39 journals are now placed in the top 10% of their subject areas.

“This growth highlights our commitment to supporting open, trusted science”

What is CiteScore and how is it measured?

CiteScore metrics are developed by Elsevier as an alternative to the Impact Factor. They measure the citation impact of journals and can be accessed freely on Scopus. The metric represents the yearly average number of citations to recent articles published in a journal. If you’re interested in learning more about citation metrics and how we use them, check out this blog post.

Why is this important?

These results show the growing recognition for, and impact of, MDPI journals across disciplines. CiteScore rankings help researchers, institutions, and funders assess where high-quality work is being published. This growth improves our journals’ positioning in the publishing landscape and highlights our commitment to supporting open, trusted science.

Inside MDPI

Highlights from the MDPI USA Summit in Boston (5–6 June)

With several Summits already behind us, I think this is a good time to reflect on the purpose of these Summits.

Why do we organize MDPI Summits?

These one-and-a-half-day, invite-only gatherings are designed to improve our relationships with Chief Editors who lead our journals and are respected voices in their fields. The Summits aim to:

  1. Share MDPI’s values, achievements, editorial practices, and local market collaborations.
  2. Collect feedback on MDPI operations and journal practices.
  3. Empower Chief Editors to confidently represent MDPI beyond the Summit.

While Chief Editors know their journals well, these events help them better understand MDPI. We want them to be ambassadors for our brand. The aim is for them to walk away informed, engaged, and equipped to share positively about MDPI.

About the Boston Summit

Held on 5–6 June, our first USA Summit gathered over 25 Chief Editors to learn more about MDPI’s activities and collaborations in the USA. The program included presentations, Q&A, and a panel discussion.

Agenda Highlights:

Moderated by Summer Huggard (Operations Manager [Toronto], MDPI), the program featured:

  • MDPI Overview and USA Collaboration – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI)
  • AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Feichi Lu (Junior Data Scientist, MDPI)
  • MDPI Editorial Process and Research Integrity – Dr. Giulia Stefenelli (Scientific Communications Lead, MDPI)
  • Panel Discussion – Stefan, Feichi, Giulia, Claudia
  • Society Partnerships – Dr. Clàudia Aunós (Society Partnerships Senior Manager, MDPI)
  • Voice of the Customer and Closing Remarks – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI)

MDPI & the USA: Facts and Figures

  • With over 216,000 publications, the USA is MDPI’s second-largest contributor after China.
  • In 2024, the USA ranked 2nd in total submissions and 2nd in total MDPI publications, with more than 28,200 publications.
  • As of 2020, the cumulative number of authors from the USA until April 2025 was 352,099.
  • As at April 2025, there are more than 12,035 active Editorial Board Members (EBMs) from the USA, with 55% having an H-index over 26.
  • Among them, 96 serve as Editors-in-Chief (EiC) and 218 as section-Editors-in-Chief (SEiC)
  • MDPI has more than 920 Institutional Open Access Program agreements worldwide, with over 130 from the USA.

A special thanks to our Toronto team, and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this event run smoothly.

Coming Together for Science

Highlights from the MDPI France Summit in Paris (12–13 June)

We completed our first MDPI France Summit in Paris last week, and it was a special event. Attendees were engaged from beginning to end, remaining after hours to network and collaborate.

Why a France Summit?

We chose to host a France Summit in view of the recent challenges MDPI has faced with the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). What we took away from the event is that our authors and editors very much appreciate and enjoy working with us, but we need to address the concerns raised by CNRS, around Article Processing Charges (APCs) and the funding of gold open access publications.

“Our authors and editors very much enjoy working with us”

Some of the claims made in the June 2023 interview with Alain Schuhl, the Deputy CEO for Science at the CNRS, are simply not factual. For example, they state that MDPI’s “average APC charges per article are now around the same as Springer Nature’s.” Here is the relevant passage, reproduced verbatim:

This is not accurate.

A recent preprint analysing APC data from Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley, PLOS, MDPI, and Frontiers (2019–2023) shows that MDPI’s average APCs remain significantly lower than those of Springer Nature and several other major publishers.

The MDPI Summits are part of our outreach and communication efforts to address misconceptions and clarify MDPI’s position as one of the most accessible and affordable major gold open access publishers in the world.

Summit Overview

Held on 12–13 June, the France Summit gathered over 20 Chief Editors to learn more about MDPI’s activities and collaborations in France. Many of these editors are influential in their institutions and professional societies. Several also have connections to CNRS, which makes this an important opportunity to clarify how we operate and build trust through open and transparent communication and hopefully turn our editors into informed advocates of MDPI.

Summit Feedback

The feedback has been very positive, with most attendees completing the post-event survey and all rating the experience as Excellent or Good. A few highlights:

  • “The whole thing was highly professional and, above all, provided quantified details that will allow us to better answer questions surrounding MDPI.”
  • “The summit was an opportunity to meet personally various people directly engaged in the organization and policies of MDPI, which made it possible to clarify some important points concerning publishing with MDPI.”
  • “Very well organized! A great opportunity to see all French MDPI partners and editors.”

Program Highlights:

Moderated by Miruna Adelina Nicolcioiu (Senior Conference Producer), the program featured:

  • MDPI Overview and France Collaboration – Stefan Tochev (CEO)
  • MDPI Editorial Process and Peer-Review Quality – Dr. Marta Colomer (Public Affairs Specialist)
  • Institutional Partnerships and Open Access Funding Models – Becky Castellon (Institutional Partnerships Manager)
  • AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Daniele Raimondi (Data Scientist)
  • Publication Ethics: Global Trends – Diana Cristina Apodaritei (Research Integrity Specialist)
  • Closing Remarks – Stefan Tochev
  • Panel Discussion – Diana, Becky, Prof. Dr. Patrick Da Cost, and Stefan

MDPI & France: Facts and Figures

  • With over 51,000 publications, France is MDPI's tenth-largest contributor, and fifth largest among EU countries after Italy, Spain, Germany, and Poland.
  • As of 2020, the cumulative number of authors from France until April 2025 was 87,592.
  • As at April 2025, there are more than 2,800 active Editorial Board Members (EBMs) from France, with 59% having an H-index over 26.
  • Among them, 22 serve as Editors-in-Chief (EiC) and 61 as section-Editors-in-Chief (SEiC)
  • In 2024, IJMS, JCM, and Molecules were the top three MDPI journals in terms of submissions from French-affiliated authors.

Special thanks to our colleagues from Romanian offices for organizing this successful event.

Closing Thoughts

Richard DiMarchi and Rolf Müller Share the 2024 Tu Youyou Award

As we wrap up this month’s newsletter, I’d like to take a moment to recognize the winners of the 2024 Tu Youyou Award, presented by our journal Molecules. I am pleased to share 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.

I invite you to read the editorial co-authored by the Tu Youyou Award Committee, which highlights the significance of the award and the remarkable impact of the recipients’ research.

A sincere thank-you to the 2024 Award Committee for their dedication and selection process, and congratulations once again to this year’s honourees. Your work exemplifies the kind of research MDPI is proud to support and amplify.

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 honour the pioneering spirit of Nobel laureate Tu Youyou, the Tu Youyou Award is an international award recognizing 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.

Stefan Tochev
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG

30 June 2025
International Asteroid Day, 30 June 2025


International Asteroid Day 2025 highlights the growing capabilities of planetary defense against asteroid threats. With advanced systems now tracking over 36,000 near-Earth objects and deflection technologies like NASA’s successful DART mission, we are better equipped than ever to detect and mitigate potential impacts. As we prepare for Apophis’ close approach in 2029, this global awareness day emphasizes the importance of international cooperation and public participation in safeguarding our planet.

On International Asteroid Day, we highlight cutting-edge research and innovative planetary defense initiatives that protect Earth from cosmic threats. We invite you to explore our curated resources on asteroid detection, deflection technologies, and global preparedness efforts. Together, we can advance our collective mission to defend our planet from near-Earth objects and build a more secure future for all.

Keynote Speakers:

Dr. Marco Fenucci
Earth Object Coordination Centre, Italy
Dr. Josep Maria Trigo Rodriguez
Institute of Space Sciences, Spain

Feel free to register for the webinar here!

Orbital Analysis of a Dual Asteroid System Explorer Based on the Finite Element Method
by Linli Su, Wenyu Feng, Lie Yang, Zichen Fan, Mingying Huo and Naiming Qi
Aerospace 2024, 11(12), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11120993

Trajectory Design of Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Exploration with Reusable Probes from Cislunar Space
by Chao Peng, Renyong Zhang and Yang Gao
Aerospace 2024, 11(7), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11070546

Applications of Ground-Penetrating Radar in Asteroid and Comet Exploration
by Wei Guan, Yan Su, Jiawei Li, Shun Dai, Chunyu Ding Chunyu Ding and Yuhang Liu
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(12), 2188; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16122188

Mitigation of the Collision Risk of a Virtual Impactor Based on the 2011 AG5 Asteroid Using a Kinetic Impactor
by Marco Cinelli
Mathematics 2024, 12(3), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/math12030378

Assessment of Asteroid Classification Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks
by Victor Bacu, Constantin Nandra, Adrian Sabou, Teodor Stefanut and Dorian Gorgan
Aerospace 2023, 10(9), 752; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10090752

Pyroxene and Hydroxyl Signatures in Vesta Newly Calibrated Data from Dawn Mission
by Giuseppe Massa, Andrea Longobardo, Ernesto Palomba, Marianna Angrisani, Chiara Gisellu, Fabrizio Dirri, Maria Cristina De Sanctis, Andrea Raponi, Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo and Mauro Ciarniello
Universe 2023, 9(6), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe9060296

The Formation of a Rubble Pile Asteroid: Insights from the Asteroid Ryugu
by Tsutomu Ota, Christian Potiszil, Katsura Kobayashi, Ryoji Tanaka, Hiroshi Kitagawa, Tak Kunihiro, Chie Sakaguchi, Masahiro Yamanaka and Eizo Nakamura
Universe 2023, 9(6), 293; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe9060293

Numerical Study on Asteroid Deflection by Penetrating Explosion Based on Single-Material ALE Method and FE-SPH Adaptive Method
by Pengfei Han, Qiguang He, Xiaowei Chen and He Lv
Aerospace 2023, 10(5), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10050479

Solar Sail Trajectories to Earth’s Trojan Asteroids
by Alessandro A. Quarta and Giovanni Mengali
Universe 2023, 9(4), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe9040186

Feasibility Analysis of Autonomous Orbit Determination and Gravity-Field Recovery around Asteroids Using Inter-Satellite Range Data
by Haohan Li and Xiyun Hou
Aerospace 2023, 10(3), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10030304

Insights in Planetary Geology
Guest Editors: Dr. Paola Manzari and Dr. Maria Pedone
Submission deadline: 30 September 2025
Advances in Asteroid Dynamics
Guest Editors: Dr. Marta Ceccaroni and Dr. Marco Fenucci
Submission deadline: 31 October 2025
Detection and Tracking of Near-Earth Asteroids
Guest Editor: Dr. Haibin Zhao
Submission deadline: 27 February 2026
The Hidden Stories of Small Planetary Bodies
Guest Editors: Dr. Emese Forgacs-Dajka and Dr. Csaba Kiss
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026

30 June 2025
MDPI Webinar | International Asteroid Day 2025, 30 June 2025


MDPI is excited to announce a special webinar in celebration of International Asteroid Day on 30 June 2025. International Asteroid Day’s goal is to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard and to inform the public about the crisis communication actions to be taken at the global level in case of a credible near-Earth object threat.

The theme of the webinar is “Exploring Near-Earth Objects: Challenges and Opportunities”. We are very much looking forward to seeing you at the MDPI Asteroid Day Webinar 2025. Please find below an outline of the presentations.

Date: 30 June 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m. CEST
Webinar ID: 821 8607 0803

Register now for free!

Program

Speaker/Presentation

Time in CEST

Introduction

11:00–11:10 a.m.

Dr. Marco Fenucci
Countdown to impact—Responding to asteroid imminent impactors

11:10–11:25 a.m.

Prof Dr. Josep Maria Trigo Rodriguez
Sample return to asteroid missions as the key to implement effective deflection techniques

11:25–11:45 a.m.

Q&A Session + Discussion

11:45–12:00 p.m.

Closing of Webinar

12:00–12:05 p.m.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join the webinar. Registrations made 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 watch.

Invited Speakers:

For more information about this webinar, please visit the following link:
https://sciforum.net/event/IADW2.

If you have any questions about the webinar, please contact journal.webinar@mdpi.com.

MDPI Webinar Secretariat

30 June 2025
Meet Us at GR24 and Amaldi16, 14–18 July 2025, Glasgow, UK


Conference: GR24 and Amaldi16
Organization: The Institute for Gravitational Research at the University of Glasgow and the Institute of Physics
Date: 14−18 July 2025
Place: Glasgow, UK
Booth ID: 03 

A number of MDPI journals will attend GR24 and Amaldi16 as exhibitors, an exciting event being held in Glasgow, UK, from 14 to 18 July 2025. 

The 24th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR24) and the 16th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves (Amaldi16) will be held together as a joint meeting, bringing together experts from across classical and quantum gravity, mathematical and applied relativity, gravitational-wave instrumentation and data analysis, multimessenger astronomy, relativistic astrophysics and cosmology. 

The following MDPI journals will be presented at the conference:

If you are attending the above conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us at our booth #03. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have.

26 June 2025
14 MDPI Journals Celebrate a Decade of Scholarly Publishing


In the year 2025, we are thrilled to share that 14 academic journals are celebrating their 10th anniversary of establishment.

To commemorate this milestone, each journal has launched a dedicated online anniversary webpage to review academic achievements, envision future directions, and express heartfelt gratitude to all contributors—authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and supporters—who have played a pivotal role in the journals’ growth. It is through your dedication and outstanding contributions that these journals have grown and developed into influential platforms for global scholarly exchange.

Over the past decade, these journals have remained committed to the principles of open science, delivering exceptional value within their respective fields.

Key highlights include:

  • Universe—A cornerstone for fundamental and applied physics research, spanning near-Earth space to cosmic phenomena;
  • Batteries—Focuses on the latest research achievements in batteries and closely related disciplines, effectively connecting academic research with industrial practice;
  • Magnetochemistry—Over 1,000 high-impact papers published, attracting worldwide attention in magnetic research;
  • Non-Coding RNA—Evolved from an open-access pioneer to a leading platform in non-coding RNA studies;
  • Safety—Emerged as a vital interdisciplinary platform dedicated to addressing global challenges in safety science, risk management, and injury prevention;
  • Tomography—Provided early career scholars with valuable editorial experience and academic support, fostering their professional growth in medical imaging;
  • Fermentation—Took microbial fermentation engineering as the core, promoting the leap of biomanufacturing from the laboratory to industrialization;
  • Gels—Recorded the revolutionary breakthroughs of gel materials from basic research to intelligent applications;
  • Journal of Imaging—Pioneering intelligent imaging technology to redefine the horizons of scientific discovery;
  • International Journal of Neonatal Screening—Dedicated to the rapid publication and knowledge sharing of newborn screening research;
  • C — Journal of Carbon Research—Explored the infinite possibilities of carbon science;
  • Journal of Fungi—Revealed the mysteries of fungal science, from fundamental research to global public health applications;
  • Beverages—Reshaped the beverage industry with technology, from flavor innovation to the upgrade of healthy consumption;
  • Horticulturae—Restoring the symbiotic bond between humans and nature through innovative green technology.

Journal

Editor-in-Chief

Prof. Dr. Andreas Jossen
Technische Universität München, Germany
Editorial | View journal anniversay page

Prof. Dr. Edgar Chambers IV
Kansas State University, USA
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Craig E. Banks
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Dr. Badal C. Saha
Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), USA
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. David Díaz Díaz
Universität Regensburg, Germany
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Douglas D. Archbold
University of Kentucky, USA
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Dr. Ralph Fingerhut
University Children's Hospital, Switzerland
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. David S. Perlin
The State University of New Jersey, USA
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Gonzalo Pajares
University Complutense of Madrid, Spain
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Carlos J. Gómez García
Universidad de Valencia, Spain
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. George A. Calin
The University of Texas, USA
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Raphael Grzebieta
The University of New South Wales, Australia
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Emilio Quaia
University of Padova, Italy
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (F.R.A.S.), Italy
Editorial | View journal anniversary page

As we embark on the next stage of our journey, we remain dedicated to upholding the highest standards of academic excellence and fostering a vibrant academic community.

We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported MDPI. Moving forward, we are committed to advancing open science, enhancing publishing services, and fostering the transformation of research outcomes. Together, let us continue to drive academic progress and global scholarly collaboration.

25 June 2025
Universe Receives an Updated Impact Factor of 2.6


We are pleased to share that Universe (ISSN: 2218-1997) was awarded an increased Impact Factor of 2.6 in the 2024 Journal Citation Reports™ released by Clarivate™ in June 2025. Universe ranks in Q2 (35 among 84 titles) in the “Astronomy & Astrophysics” category.

The 2024 Journal Impact Factor is calculated by dividing the number of citations received in 2024 to all publications in the journal from 2022 and 2023 by the total number of citable publications from those same years.

To learn more, visit our journal statistics website for detailed metrics or check out our news article for general information.

The support and dedication of all the editors, reviewers, authors, and readers are an integral part of the journal’s performance. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have contributed to the journal.

18 June 2025
Welcoming New Early Career Editorial Members of Universe

Universe (ISSN: 2218-1997) is pleased to announce the following 30 researchers, who have been added to our group of 2025–2026 Early Career Editorial Board Members. Please join us in congratulating them on joining the Universe community!

Name: Dr. Ana Alonso-Serrano
Affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Research interests:
high-energy physics; general relativity; quantum field theory; special and general relativity; quantum physics; cosmology; gravitational physics; fundamental physics; quantum cosmology; black holes; wormholes; universe; multiverse; thermodynamics; relativistic quantum information; philosophy of science

Name: Dr. Amirnezam Amiri
Affiliation: Physics Department, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Research interests:
AGN; gas-phase metallicity; SED and star formation; galactic environments; extraterrestrial artificial intelligence; observational data analysis; computational astronomy

Name: Dr. Alexander Ayriyan
Affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Wroclaw, Max Born Pl. 9, 50-204 Wroclaw, Poland
Research interests: neutron stars; dense nuclear matter; equation of state (EOS); compact stars, Bayesian analysis; relativistic stellar structure

Name: Dr. Francesco Bajardi
Affiliations: 1. Scuola Superiore Meridionale (SSM), Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy; 2. Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Napoli, Via Cinthia 9, 80126 Napoli, Italy
Research interests:
classical and quantum cosmology; Noether symmetries; general relativity; modified theories of gravity

Name: Dr. Indranil Banik
Affiliation: Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
Research interests:
cosmology; galactic dynamics; Milgromian dynamics

Name: Dr. Trambak Bhattacharyya
Affiliation: Institute of Physics, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce 25-406, Poland
Research interests:
heavy-ion physics; quark–gluon plasma; Tsallis statistics; socio-physics

Name: Dr. Simone Biondini
Affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland
Research interests: high-energy physics phenomenology; effective field theories; early universe

Name: Dr. Mattia Dalla Brida
Affiliation: Theoretical Physics Department, CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
Research interests:
lattice QCD; phenomenology of the standard model; quantum field theory

Name: Dr. Luca Buoninfante
Affiliation: NORDITA, Hannes Alfvéns väg 12, 114 19 Stockholm, Sweden
Research interests:
general relativity; quantum gravity; higher-derivative gravity; nonlocal quantum field theory; black holes; gravitational waves

Name: Dr. Xiong-Hui Cao
Affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Research interests:
hadron physics; dispersion relations; hadron form factors; chiral effective field theories

Name: Dr. Xiao Yan Chew
Affiliation: School of Science, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang , China
Research interests:
gravitational physics; numerical relativity

Name: Dr. Pedro Cunha
Affiliation: Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal
Research interests: gravity and general relativity; black holes; exotic compact objects; strong gravitational lensing and black hole shadows

Name: Dr. Artur Czerwinski
Affiliation: Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Intypeatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, ul. Grudziadzka 5, 87-100 Torun, Poland
Research interests: quantum optics; entanglement; quantum dynamics; open quantum systems; non-Markovian evolution; quantum state tomography; time-bin encoding; phase retrieval; quantum Hamiltonian tomography; tomography; entanglement measures; quantum measurement; decoherence

Name: Dr. Antonia Frassino
Affiliation:
Departament de Física Quàntica i Astrofísica and Institut de Ciències del Cosmos, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Research interests: black holes; holography; EFT; quantum gravity, QFT in curved spacetime

Name: Dr. Cláudio Gomes
Affiliation:
Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre s/n, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
Research interests: gravitation; cosmology; alternative theories of gravity

Name: Dr. Rahul Gupta
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Research interests: gamma-ray bursts (GRBs); fast X-ray transients; supernovae

Name: Dr. Szymon Piotr Harabasz
Affiliation:
Institut für Kernphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64289, Germany
Research interests: heavy-ion collisions; dileptons; statistical hadronization; azimuthal flow; high-density QCD

Name: Dr. Guansheng He
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Physics, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
Research interests: general relativity; gravitational lensing; post-Newtonian dynamics

Name: Dr. Ricardo G. Landim
Affiliation
: Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
Research interests: cosmology; theoretical physics; dark energy; dark matter; baryogenesis/leptogenesis; extra dimensions; 21 cm hydrogen line; fast radio bursts; radio astronomy

Name: Dr. Zhenyan Lu
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China
Research interests: high-energy physics; axion physics; theta vacuum; chiral perturbation theory; chiral anomaly quark matter

Name: Dr. Raffaella Anna Marino
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Research interests: astrophysics; formation and evolution of galaxies; intergalactic medium; star formation; instrumentation; imaging; spectroscopy; IFU; big data analytic and visualization; algorithms development; simulations

Name: Dr. Mehrab Momennia
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física y Matemáticas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, México
Research interests: black hole perturbation theory; relativistic astrophysics and accretion disks; thermodynamics of black holes; relativistic kinetic theory on curved spacetime; accretion process into black holes; modified gravity; cosmology

Name: Dr. Alessandro Peca
Affiliations:
1. Eureka Scientific, Oakland, CA 94602-3017, USA; 2. Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Research interests:
active galactic nuclei (AGN); X-ray astronomy; multi-wavelength studies; AGN variability; obscuration processes

Name: Dr. Luciano Petruzziello
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132 I-84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy
Research interests: neutrino physics; quantum field theory in curved spacetime; quantum gravity; general relativity; extended theories of gravity; Casimir effect; quantum information

Name: Dr. Alessia Platania
Affiliation:
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Research interests: quantum gravity; asymptotic safety; renormalization group; quantum gravity phenomenology; cosmology; black holes

Name: Dr. Venkatessh Ramakrishnan
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, University of Concepcion, Concepcion, Bio Bio 4030000, Chile
Research interests: imaging supermassive black holes; accretion physics of AGNs; gas kinematics and stellar dynamics; multifrequency SED modeling; sparse image processing

Name: Dr. Marco Danilo Claudio Torri
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano e INFN, 20133 Milano, Italy
Research interests: quantum gravity; quantum field theory; theoretical physics and spacetime symmetries (Lorentz and CPT symmetries); neutrino physics; cosmic ray physics

Name: Dr. Andreas Trautner
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, 69029 Heidelberg, Germany
Research interests: CP violation; flavor physics; neutrino interactions; physics beyond the standard model; particle cosmology; strong CP problem; symmetries and outer automorphisms

Name: Dr. Syed Uddin
Affiliations:
1. The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813, Santa Barbara Street, Pasadean, CA 91101, USA; 2. Centre for Space Studies, American Public University System, Charles Town, WV, USA
Research interests:
supernova cosmology; large-scale structure; instrumentation

Name: Dr. Wolfgang Wieland
Affiliation:
Institute for Quantum Gravity, Theoretical Physics III, Department of Physics Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstraße 7, 91052 Erlangen, Germany
Research interests: quantum gravity; loop quantum gravity and spinfoam models; spin structure of spacetime; quasi-local observables/quasi-local realisations of the holographic principle

9 June 2025
Universe Receives an Increased CiteScore of 5.2


We are pleased to share that Universe (ISSN: 2218-1997) has received an increased CiteScore of 5.2 in June 2025. The CiteScore ranks the journal 63 out of 246 titles (Q2) in the “General Physics and Astronomy” category, an impressive achievement for a journal running in Volume 11.

You can find more statistics on our website.

The current CiteScores measure the average number of citations within a journal over a four-year window (2021–2024). The Scopus database provides a comprehensive suite of metrics that support informed publishing strategies, research evaluation and enable benchmarking of journal performance.

This achievement reflects the collective efforts of our authors, reviewers, and editors. Together we will continue to track the progress of Universe and its growing impact in fundamental and applied physics from circumterrestrial space to cosmological scenarios.

3 June 2025
MDPI INSIGHTS: The CEO's Letter #23 - MDPI Summits Spain & Italy, Ei Compendex, and Editorial Independence

Welcome to the MDPI Insights: The CEO's Letter.

In these monthly letters, I will showcase two key aspects of our work at MDPI: our commitment to empowering researchers and our determination to facilitating open scientific exchange.


Opening Thoughts

Highlights from the MDPI Spain Summit in Barcelona (21-22 May)

In May we hosted the MDPI Spain Summit in Barcelona – our second summit in the city following the inaugural one in November 2023.


Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI) at the MDPI Spain Summit in Barcelona, 22 May 2025.

Creating a space for exchange of views

The goal of our summits is to bring together Chief Editors of MDPI journals from across disciplines and institutions. These intimate gatherings provide a platform to present the latest developments at MDPI and to initiate open conversations about our journals, the future of open access, and the evolving landscape of scientific publishing.

Most importantly, these are opportunities for in-person connection, providing a more meaningful space for the exchange of views and for building long-term relationships.

Exploring the future of scientific publishing in Spain

The summit took place on 21–22 May and featured a mix of MDPI presentations (including two guest presentations), roundtable discussions, and Q&A sessions. On the first day, we held a focused session with our Chief Editors to gather feedback and have open discussions on their journal development, the peer-review process, and local accreditation systems.


Dr. Giulia Stefenelli (Scientific Communications Lead, MDPI, presents MDPI’s Editorial Process and Peer Review Quality Metrics at the MDPI Spain Summit in Barcelona, 22 May 2025.

I had the pleasure of opening the Summit with a welcome address and an overview of MDPI’s recent milestones. The agenda then included the following sessions:

  • MDPI and Recent Developments in the Spanish Market – Dr. Marta Colomer (Public Affairs Specialist, MDPI)
  • MDPI Editorial Process and Peer Review Quality Metrics – Dr. Giulia Stefenelli (Scientific Communications Lead, MDPI)
  • Open Access in Spain – Dr. Remedios Melero (Researcher, CSIC – guest speaker)
  • AI in Publishing and MDPI's Actions – Dr. Enric Sayas (Business Analyst, MDPI), Daniele Raimondi (Data Scientist, MDPI), and Dr. Alexandre López-Borrull (Researcher, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya – guest speaker)
  • Publication Ethics – Ana Stankovic (Research Integrity and Publication Ethics, MDPI)
  • Opening and Closing remarks were provided by Rocksy Zhang (Editorial Director, MDPI)

We are extremely grateful for the strong engagement shown by our Editors, who were clearly appreciative of the event and the discussions we had. They felt seen and heard, which is a vital prerequisite for building open channels of communication and cultivating productive long-term collaborations.


MDPI colleagues during MDPI Spain Summit in Barcelona (22 May 2025).

A big thank-you to the entire Barcelona team for organizing such a successful event!

Upcoming MDPI Summit events:

  • Italy Summit – Rome (26–27 May)
  • US Summit – Boston, MA (5–6 June)
  • France Summit – Paris (12–13 June)
  • US Summit – Houston, TX (26–27 June)
  • UK Summit – London (16–17 September)
  • Germany Summit – Berlin (18–19 September)
  • Romania Summit – Bucharest (23–24 October)
    ...with more in between, and more to follow.

Impactful Research

50 MDPI Journals Now Indexed in Ei Compendex

Indexing is a key indicator of a journal’s scientific impact. An indexed journal gives research greater visibility and credibility within the global academic community and is recognized for its quality and relevance. While many of our journals are included in major databases such as Web of Science and Scopus, MDPI also places strong emphasis on journal inclusion in subject-specific indexing platforms that align with each journal’s scope. This ensures that when you publish with MDPI, you publish with impact.

I’m pleased to share that as at May 2025, 51 of our journals are now indexed in Ei Compendex, a leading bibliographic database for engineering and applied sciences. This is a major milestone that reflects both the quality or our editorial processes and the relevance of the research we publish in these fields.

“When you publish with MDPI, you publish with impact”

Discoverability and reach

Inclusion in Ei Compendex means greater discoverability for our authors and broader reach of our journals in the fields of engineering and technology. It improves our ability to support global research and innovation, while building MDPI’s reputation in the applied sciences. This recognition is the result of the dedicated work of our editorial teams, reviewers, and authors, and of our overall commitment to excellence in publishing.

You can read our full announcement here.

Appreciative thanks to everyone involved in reaching this milestone.

Inside MDPI

 

One Year of MDPI’s Seoul Office

On 29 April, we marked one year since the opening of our Seoul office, MDPI’s first local hub in South Korea. South Korea is a key market for MDPI, currently ranking as our sixth-largest contributor to the company’s total publications, with over 89,000 MDPI articles authored by individuals affiliated with Korean institutions. Over the past 12 months, the Seoul team has made great strides in building our visibility, networks, and presence in the region.

A few highlights from the past year


Claude Seo (MDPI Korea Office Manager, Seoul)

Claude Seo, who has over 15 years of experience in the academic publishing industry, is the Office Manager of the Seoul office.

In its inaugural year, the Seoul office focused primarily on marketing and promotional activities to support the MDPI brand locally. During that time, the team concentrated on scholar visits to local institutions, attending academic conferences, and hosting editorial board meetings.

The team also secured 10 Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP) renewals, signed three new IOAP agreements, and established one new Society affiliation.

The Seoul office also hosted its first library book fair and reached over 1,000 followers on its LinkedIn channel, which is an encouraging indication of local visibility and engagement.

“The Seoul team has made strides in building our visibility, networks, and presence in the region”

Growth plans

Later this year, we are working on opening a new Seoul office in a more central location, with room for our growing team. The new space will bring us closer to other publishing partners and provide easier access to and from the airport. The Seoul office will continue to expand its efforts in outreach and engagement as its builds its presence in South Korea.

Warm thanks to the entire Seoul team for their hard work and dedication, and to all MDPI colleagues who have contributed to this exciting chapter in our global journey.

Coming Together for Science

Highlights from the MDPI Italy Summit in Rome (26–27 May)

We closed the month of May by hosting the first MDPI Italy Summit in Rome. This was an important event for us, as Italy has consistently ranked among the top ten countries globally for open access publications over the past decade.

MDPI and Italy: Facts & Figures

  • With over 144,000 publications (as at 31 May 2025), Italy is MDPI’s third largest contributor after China and the USA.
  • In 2024, MDPI was the second-largest publishing house in Italy.
  • The 7,165 Editorial Board Members (EBMs) drawn from Italian institutions represent 8.9% of all MDPI academic editors.
  • Among these, 319 serve as Editors-in-Chief (EiCs) or Section Editors-in-Chief (SEiCs).
  • Eleven Italian EBMs were recognized as 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers.
  • In 2024, MDPI received 24,873 review reports and collaborated with 88,578 reviewers from Italy.
  • 23,131 Guest Editors from Italian institutions led 4,827 Special Issues across 248 MDPI journals.
  • MDPI partners with over 900 institutions globally, of which 17 are in Italy.

The MDPI Italy Summit in Rome


Dr. Prof. Giulio Cerullo, EiC of Applied Sciences, at the MDPI Italy Summit in Rome (27 May 2025).

Held on 26–27 May, the MDPI Italy Summit brought together 25 Chief Editors from across our journal portfolio, including some of our largest journals such as Applied Sciences, to discuss MDPI’s latest developments and collaborations in the Italian market, our use of data intelligence and AI to support strategic decision-making, a look into our editorial process, peer-review quality metrics, and conversations around research integrity and community engagement.

The Summit featured MDPI presentations followed by Q&A and concluded with a roundtable discussion. On the evening of the 26th, we hosted a dinner with our Editors to connect personally, learn more about their research, and hear feedback on journal operations and the broader academic landscape in Italy.


Gathering of Editors-in-Chief and MDPI staff at the MDPI Italy Summit in Rome (27 May 2025).

Event Agenda – 27 May

Moderated by Maddalena Favaretto (Conference Scientific Advisor, MDPI), the program featured:

  • MDPI Overview, Achievements, Latest News and Future Developments – Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI)
  • Country Report: Italy – Dr. Laura Perez Martin (Conference Assistant, MDPI)
  • AI in Publishing and MDPI’s Actions – Dr. Andrea Perlato (Head of Data Analytics, MDPI)
  • MDPI Editorial Process and Research Integrity – Dr. Giulia Stefenelli (Scientific Communications Lead, MDPI)
  • Panel Discussion – Stefan, Andrea, Giulia


Panel Discussion with Stefan Tochev (CEO, MDPI), Dr. Giulia Stefenelli (Scientific Communications Lead, MDPI), Dr. Andrea Perlato (Head of Data Analytics, MDPI) during the MDPI Italy Summit in Rome (27 May 2025).

A big thank-you to our Conference team and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make these events run smoothly.

Closing Thoughts

Upholding Editorial Independence in Scholarly Publishing

A recent MDPI blog post written by Dr. Ioana Craciun (Scientific Communications Specialist, MDPI), “Editorial Independence and Publisher Support: Collaborating to Uphold Integrity,” highlights the important balance between editorial autonomy and publisher collaboration in academic publishing.

As the leading fully Open Access scholarly publisher, we are proud to champion editorial independence within our publishing process.

Drawing from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, the article emphasizes that while editors must have the freedom to make decisions based on scholarly merit, publishers play a critical role in providing the necessary infrastructure and tools to support the editorial process. This collaborative approach ensures the integrity of the peer review process, builds trust among authors and readers, and upholds the quality and relevance of published content.

MDPI highlights its commitment to this model by investing in research integrity specialists, AI tools for plagiarism detection, and administrative support, all aimed at empowering editors to make independent, informed decisions.

Stefan Tochev
Chief Executive Officer
MDPI AG

Back to TopTop