Announcements

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal last year.

We are honored to present the winners in the “Physical Sciences” category, who were selected amongst extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Entropy:

• “Classical (Local and Contextual) Probability Model for Bohm–Bell Type Experiments: No-Signaling as Independence of Random Variables”
  By Andrei Khrennikov and Alexander Alodjants
  Entropy 2019, 21(2), 157; doi 10.3390/e21020157
• “Nonlinear Information Bottleneck”
  By Artemy Kolchinsky, Brendan D. Tracey and David H. Wolpert
  Entropy 2019, 21(12), 1181; doi 10.3390/e21121181
• “Dynamic Maximum Entropy Reduction”
  By Václav Klika, Michal Pavelka, Petr Vágner and Miroslav Grmela
  Entropy 2019, 21(7), 715; doi 10.3390/e21070715
• “Topological Information Data Analysis”
  By Pierre Baudot, Monica Tapia, Daniel Bennequin and Jean-Marc Goaillard
  Entropy 2019, 21(9), 869; doi 10.3390/e21090869

Universe:

• “Nonsingular Black Holes in ƒ (R) Theories”
  By Gonzalo J. Olmo and Diego Rubiera-Garcia
  Universe 2015, 1(2), 173-185; doi 10.3390/universe1020173
• “Is It No Longer Necessary to Test Cosmologies with Type Ia Supernovae?”
  By Ram Gopal Vishwakarma and Jayant V. Narlikar
  Universe 2018, 4(6), 73; doi 10.3390/universe4060073
• “A Universe that Does Not Know the Time”
  By João Magueijo and Lee Smolin
  Universe 2019, 5(3), 84 ; doi 10.3390/universe5030084
• “Seeing Black Holes: From the Computer to the Telescope”
  By Jean-Pierre Luminet
  Universe 2018, 4(8), 86; doi 10.3390/universe4080086

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

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

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2022

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

Universe (ISSN: 2218-1997) will be attending the 23rd International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR23) and the 2022 Annual Meeting of Division of Gravitation and Relativistic Astrophysics, Chinese Physical Society as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held from 3 to 8 July 2022.

GR23 will be hosted by the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. This conference series constitutes the principal international meetings for scientists working in all areas of relativity and gravitation.

Below are Parallel Sessions being held during the conference:

A1: Classical GR: Theoretical developments;
A2: Classical GR: Mathematical developments;
A3: Alternative and modified theories of gravity.

B1: Relativistic astrophysics;
B2: Numerical relativity;
B3: Approximations, perturbation theory, and their applications;
B4: Cosmology: Theory and observations.

C1: Pulsar Timing Arrays;
C2: Gravitational wave astronomy: searches, data analysis, parameter estimation;
C3: Astrophysics and multi-messenger astronomy with gravitational waves;
C4: Gravitational waves: Present and future of ground-based and space-based detectors;
C5: Experimental gravitation.

D1: Loop quantum gravity and spin foams;
D2: Gravitational aspects of string theory;
D3: Causal sets, causal dynamical triangulations, non-commutative geometry, asymptotic safety, and other approaches to quantum gravity;
D4: Quantum fields in curved space-time, semiclassical gravity, quantum gravity phenomenology, and analog models.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Universe;
• Symmetry;
• Astronomy;
• Galaxies;
• Physics;
• Particles.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start an on-site conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Jianrong Shi and Dr. Andrea Longobardo have joined Universe (ISSN 2218-1997) as Editorial Board Members of the Sections “Stellar Astronomy” and “Planetary Sciences”, respectively.

Prof. Dr. Jianrong Shi is a researcher in stellar astrophysics at the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is the Operations Manager of the LAMOST. His main research interests encompass stellar astrophysics, the origin of the chemical elements, and the formation and evolution of galaxies. In particular, his work focuses on accurately determining the chemical composition of stars. By observing stars of different ages and locations, we can thereby uncover, for example, how stars forge different elements by nuclear burning, and how a galaxy, like our own Milky Way, has evolved with time since its formation. His recent work focuses on accurately determining the abundances of Li, Mg, Ca, Ba, Eu, etc., from the LAMOST medium-resolution spectra.

Dr. Andrea Longobardo is an INAF-IAPS researcher, working in the planetary science field, with a particular focus on small bodies. He is a team member of the VIR imaging spectrometer (NASA’s Dawn mission) and an associated scientist of the ESA/Rosetta instruments VIRTIS (imaging spectrometer) and GIADA (dust detector). He is currently a team member of the ESA/Comet Interceptor mission. He has also collaborated with the VIRTIS/Venus Express and Hayabusa2/NIRS3 teams. He has led several projects concerning the photometry, mineralogy, and spectroscopy of small bodies in addition to planetary dust characterization. Moreover, he is involved in the development of dust sensors (MarcoPoloR/VISTA, Hera/VISTA, Comet Interceptor/DISC, and ESA’s CAM and CAMLAB sensors) and is the deputy PI of the VISTA instrument.

We wish them every success in their new positions, and we look forward to their contributions to the journal.

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

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

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

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

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Haotong Zhang has joined Universe (ISSN 2218-1997) as an Editorial Board Member of the “Stellar Astronomy” Section (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe/sections/stellar_astronomy).

Prof. Dr. Haotong Zhang is a professor at the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Science. He is the chair of the LAMOST (Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope) scientific survey department.

He received his Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2001. He has been working for LAMOST since he graduated. He led the development of the LAMOST 2D data reduction pipeline and the survey strategy pipeline. He also led the first LAMOST time-domain test survey and the subsequent discovery of the non-interacting massive stellar black hole LB1. His research interests include data reduction and spectral analyzing methods in spectral surveys, the fiber positioning measurement method, binaries with compact objects (black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs), observational study of the formation and evolution of binaries, etc.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Maurizio Pajola has joined Universe (ISSN 2218-1997) as an Editorial Board Member of the “Planetary Sciences” Section (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe/sections/planetary_sciences).

Dr. Maurizio Pajola is a Staff Researcher at the National Institute for Astrophysics-Astronomical Observatory of Padova (INAF-OAPD, Italy). In 2014, he received his Ph.D. in astronautics and Satellite Sciences in collaboration with the Center for Studies and Activities for Space “G.Colombo”, CISAS-University of Padova, and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena-California/USA after completing a thesis on the geological characterization and surface spectroscopy of the drainage networks of ancient Mars.

In 2014-2015, Maurizio worked as a Post-Doc at the CISAS-UPD, focusing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko surface analysis through Rosetta high-resolution imagery. In 2016-2017, he worked as a NASA Fellow at the Ames Research Center, in Moffett Field-California/USA, where he analyzed the surface mineralogy of Phobos and identified how to engineer the safest and geologically most interesting Martian landing sites for the ExoMars and the Mars 2020 rovers.

He is currently involved in different minor bodies and planetary space missions and is a Co-Investigator of the NASA OSIRIS-Rex sample return mission from Near-Earth Asteroid (101955) Bennu; a Team Member of the NASA/ASI DART/LICIACube mission to the binary NEA (65803) Didymos-Dimorphos; an Associate Scientist of the ESA OSIRIS/Rosetta mission to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; and Associate Scientist of the ESA CaSSIS/ExoMars for the exploration of the Martian surface; and an Associate Scientist of the SIMBIO-SYS/BepiColombo mission for the exploration of Mercury.

He is working on a geomorphological and spectrophotometric analysis of Martian paleoriverbeds and paleolakes as well as on the identification of future Mars Human landing sites. He focuses on mineralogical clustering and the modeling of the different types of terrains present on the planet Mercury. In addition, he is carrying out research activities on comet 67P and Phobos.

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Academic editors play a crucial role in leading our journals and ensuring that each article undergoes a robust and timely peer-review. With the launch of Topics this year and addition of Topic Editors to our family of academic editors, we decided it would be a good time to restructure our academic boards, thus providing more clarity and support for each role. MDPI is pleased to announce the launch of a new position—Topical Advisory Panel Member, that will replace the previous position of Topics Board Member. The Topical Advisory Panel will be comprised of early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of the new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Guest Editors, Topic Editors, and Section Board Members. The responsibilities of the Topical Advisory Panel are available here: https://www.mdpi.com/editors.

Each year, the members’ performances are evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to the journal;
• Have received a Ph.D. in the last 10 years, approximately;
• Have at least 6-8 published papers in the last 5 years as first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this role, please contact the editorial office by email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Founded in 1996, MDPI was one of the first fully Open Access publisher. Over 25 years MDPI has grown to become the largest Open Access publisher globally, publishing over 160,000 articles across more than 350 journals in 2020. At the core, MDPI was founded in response to a pressing need of fast publication and inclusion. The scholar was set at the centre of the publication process for the first time. Acting as a service provider, rather than a product provider, MDPI exists to help scientists achive their objective to disseminate research results. At MDPI, we believe scientists deserve a better service from the publishing world.

The International Open Access Week (Open Access Week), founded by the SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) Alliance and student partners in 2008, has been successfully running for 13 years. As an advocate and pioneer of open access publishing, MDPI actively responds to the call of International Open Access Week. This year’s theme of “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity” highlights the Recommendation’s call for equitable participation from all authors and readers.

For the last 25 years, MDPI has been committed to disseminating open research. Here is a video showing MDPI’s Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for More than 25 Years.

International Open Access Week is an important opportunity to catalyze new conversations, create connections across and between communities that can facilitate this co-design, and advance progress in the building of more equitable foundations for opening knowledge—discussions and actions that need to be continued, year in and year out. MDPI has always aimed to provide professional and efficient publishing services to scholars around the world.

Our mission is to make scientific research accessible to everyone; this year, we interview and hold discussions with open science ambassadors on how to build an equal and inclusive environment for open science. Academic editors help us collaborate with more institutions to advocate for open access ideas.

Read our anniversary blog post: "Sharing 'Collective Human Knowledge': The Benefits of Open Access Publication"

Besides this, our scientific community is a key driver of our success and MDPI’s remarkable growth. Despite the pandemic, we have prepared online conferences and workshops to gather scholars from different communities.

The Basel Sustainable Publishing online forum provides an equal opportunity for stakeholders and researchers from multi-cultural environments to exchange ideas and eliminate barriers to participation.

Conference date: 25 October 2021, online
Conference website: https://bspf2021.sciforum.net/
Main topics: MDPI discusses the current dilemma of open access science from various perspectives such as governments, libraries, and publishers, and related measures on how to change the status quo of discrimination from a global perspective.

We aim to support equality, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications. We collaborate with universities and key laboratories and have scholarly communications with researchers, teachers, and students on open access workshops.

• 25 October 2021
  Energies journal and Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• 28 October 2021
  Machines journal and State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University

• 29 October 2021
  Processes journal and Beijing Institute of Technology

• 29 October 2021
  Coatings journal and Wuhan University of Technology

MDPI is committed to providing open access and high-quality publishing services for scholars and promoting rapid dissemination of academic achievements. We hope to promote the practices and policies of open access publishing and diversify the dissemination of academic achievements.