Announcements

At MDPI we have slightly revised the layout for articles to be published in the 2021 Volume, starting at the end of December 2020. As of today, the article templates available for download on ‘Instructions for Authors’ pages have been updated.

The most noticeable change can be found on the first page of the article, where a left-hand column has been created to include the following front matter elements: (i) the recommended citation style for the article, (ii) the publishing history, (iii) as well as the Creative Commons Attribution license used (iv) a standard note regarding affiliations. At the same time, the extra spacing on the left means the authors’ affiliations are now more clearly set apart than before. Other front matter key elements such as journal logo, article type, article title, authors, abstract and keywords remain unchanged.

The blank column on the left runs through all pages in an article; as a result, the main text is slightly more condensed, which improve reader friendliness for smaller screens. Small figures/tables are aligned on the left with standard indenture, while large figures/tables are centered and covering the full width of the page. The revised layout was applied in the article pictured below, to serve as an example:

1) Information is displayed in the left information bar.

2) In the main text, there is a blank column on the left.

3) Small tables/figures are aligned on the left, large tables/figures are centered.

We are pleased to acknowledge that many academic editors who have made an impact on MDPI journals as editorial board members, editors-in-chief, or section editors, are recognized as 2020 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate.

Highly Cited Researchers highlights the top 1% of researchers, by citations, in one or more of the 22 fields used in Clarivate Analytics Essential Science Indicators. We offer our congratulations to 279 academic editors of MDPI journals who were recognized as the most influential scholars in their fields in 2020.

The full list of 2020 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed on https://recognition.webofsciencegroup.com/awards/highly-cited/2020/

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

  Photographer: Andy Holmes

Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez share this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for their discoveries about one of the most exotic phenomena in the universe—the black hole. Roger Penrose showed that the general theory of relativity leads to the formation of black holes. Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez discovered that an invisible and extremely heavy object governs the orbits of stars at the centre of our galaxy. A supermassive black hole is the only currently known explanation.

Sir Roger Penrose, who is a Professor at the Mathematical Institute at University of Oxford, joined the Advisory Board of the journal Universe in October 2017 and continues to provide invaluable and constructive suggestions for the development of the journal. We congratulate Professor Penrose on receiving the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics. We also extend our congratulations to Professor Reinhard Genzel and Professor Andrea Ghez who share this prize with Professor Penrose.

Join us in our effort to decrease the reviewing time and to improve the quality of published papers!

Since the inception of Universe (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe) in 2015, it has published more than 500 articles and has an impact factor of 1.752 (JCR 2019), and it has been indexed in many other important databases (Scopus, Astrophysics Data System, INSPIRE-HEP Search, and many more).

Universe has experienced continuous growth in recent years, and to maintain its high standards and to continue publishing high-quality papers, we need professional and expert scientists to become reviewers. Our reviewers are involved in the editorial process, and are essential to improving the quality and efficiency of the journal.

We are therefore recruiting scientists to join our reviewer board to provide professional comments for submissions that fall within the scope of Universe, as well as to conduct timely and efficient reviews, with the aim of making the journal stand out among other astrophysics and planetary science journals.

We hope this is of interest to you and look forward to our future collaboration.

Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio
Editor-in-Chief
Universe

We are pleased to announce that the 1st Electronic Conference on Universe (Universe 2021), chaired by Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio, Prof. Dr. James A. Isenberg, Prof. Dr. Gerald B. Cleaver, Prof. Dr. Gonzalo J. Olmo, Dr. Antonio Padilla, Dr. Paolo Giacomelli and Dr. Lijing Shao, et al., will be held on https://ecu2021.sciforum.net/, from 22 to 28 February 2021.

This conference aims to provide leading scientists working in the field of gravitation, cosmology, field theory, high energy physics, and astronomy with a robust common platform, in which to share and discuss the latest research, and to promote the advancement of this exciting and rapidly changing field. We hope to encourage discovery across the discipline, as we cover the following broad themes, as listed below:

• Session 1: General Relativity and Gravitation
• Session 2: Quantum Field Theories
• Session 3: Black Holes
• Session 4: Dark Matter and Dark Energy
• Session 5: High Energy Physics
• Session 6: Compact Objects
• Session 7: Deep-Space Probes
• Session 8: The Universe of Andrei Sakharov
• Session 9: Teaching relativity and modern physics in general

We proudly invite the global community of scholars to join Universe 2021, to present their latest research and development, and share novel ideas on the multidisciplinary aspects of the research and development of astronomy and astrophysics. Thanks to the flexibility of our innovative electronic platform, you are welcome both to upload and present your work, and to attend the conference, completely free of charge. We are also considering creating a Special Issue for selected conference papers in our journal Universe (IF: 1.752; ISSN 2218-1997; https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe/special_issues/ecu2021). For papers published in the Special Issue, if one does get created, there will be no article processing charge.

Universe 2021 offers you the opportunity to participate in an international scholarly conference without the concerns and expense of travelling—all you need is access to the Internet. During the conference period, you will be able to upload papers, posters, presentations (including videos), comment on other presentations, and otherwise engage with fellow scholars in real time. In this way, the conference offers a novel opportunity to exchange opinions and views within the scholarly community, and to discuss papers and the latest research in a discussion forum.Timeline:

Abstract Submission: 20 November 2020

Notification of Acceptance: 31 December 2020

Proceedings Paper Submission Deadline: 15 January 2021

Conference: 22–28 February 2021

We look forward to receiving your research papers and to welcoming you to this 1st Electronic Conference on Universe.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Conference Secretariat
Ms. Danielle Yao
Mr. Abbot Yan
E-Mail: ecu2021@mdpi.com

Universe (ISSN 2218-1997, IF: 1.752) is fully open access with a distinguished Editorial Board with extensive academic qualifications (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe/editors). Universe has an Impact Factor of 1.752 (JCR 2019) and is covered by the following indexing and abstracting databases: Astrophysics Data System (ADS), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), INSPEC, INSPIRE-HEP Search, Journal Citation Report, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Scopus and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics).

To ensure the efficient and high-quality production of our journal, this year we have added new sections and we are currently seeking nominations and applications for the position of Section Editor-in-Chief (SEiC) for the following Sections:

• Solar System
• Galaxies and Clusters
• Compact Objects
• Planetary Sciences
• Stellar Astronomy
• Exoplanets

The main responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief are as follows:

(1) Decision-making (with the Editor-in-Chief) concerning the Section's aims and scopes;

(2) Recommending hot topics and suggesting potential guest editors;

(3) Inviting distinguished scientists to join the Section Editorial Board;

(4) Overview of the editorial process (mainly making the final decision as to whether a paper can be published after peer‐review and revisions);

(5) Promoting Universe and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences.

Applicants must have strong, relevant experience in their capacities as an author, reviewer, and/or associate editor of related journals. The SEiC must also be well recognized in related areas of expertise. The chosen SEiC will be responsible for defining the scope and orientation of the Section, working with the editorial board, and overseeing the editorial process.

Applications or nominations must include:

• A complete curriculum vitae (CV);
• A personal statement summarizing a proposed vision and plans for this Section.

The deadline for submissions is 15 December 2020. Please contact us (universe@mdpi.com) before the deadline.

Kind regards,
Universe Editorial Office
universe@mdpi.com

Universe is recruiting Section Editorial Board Members for the following Sections:

• Gravitation

Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio,
Ministero dell' Istruzione, dell' Università e della Ricerca (M.I.U.R.)-Istruzione, Italy;

Prof. Dr. James A. Isenberg,
Department of Mathematics, Fenton Hall, University of Oregon.

• High Energy Nuclear and Particle Physics

Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Maria Vasileiou,
Department of Physics, University of Athens, Greece.

• Foundations of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Gravity

Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Astrid Eichhorn,
Syddansk Universitet, Odense, Denmark.

• Field Theory

Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Gerald B. Cleaver,
Baylor University, USA

• Cosmology Section

Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Antonino Del Popolo,
1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania, Italy;
2. INFN, Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy.

• Space Science

Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Ezio Caroli,
National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Astrophysics and Space Science Observatory of Bologna (OAS), Italy.

• Universe Letter

Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Emilio Elizalde,
Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC/CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain

If you are interested in this position or know of potential candidates to recommend, please contact us by 31 December 2020.

Universe (ISSN 2218-1997, IF: 1.752) is fully open access with a distinguished Editorial Board with extensive academic qualifications (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe/editors). Universe has an Impact Factor of 1.752 (JCR 2019) and is covered by the following indexing and abstracting databases: Astrophysics Data System (ADS), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), INSPEC, INSPIRE-HEP Search, Journal Citation Report, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Scopus and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics). For more information about Universe, please visit: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/universe.

As a Section Editorial Board Member, you will be responsible for:

(1) Pre-screening submissions and making decisions on whether they should be rejected or accepted for processing;

(2) Recommending timely topics and suggesting potential guest editors;

(3) Editing a Special Issue on a topic related to your research;

(4) Publishing one paper per year, free of charge, in open access;

(5) Identifying appropriate conferences for editors to attend;

(6) Promoting Universe and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences.

To apply or request further information, please send your full academic CV and a short statement of interest to the Universe Editorial Office (universe@mdpi.com).

We believe that by combining our rigorous editorial policies with your expertise, we can produce a high-quality journal. We thank you in advance for your interest and we look forward to collaborating with you.

Kind regards,
Universe Editorial Office
universe@mdpi.com

We are delighted to announce the establishment of our Open Access agreement with Jisc Collections, which will allow UK institutions to benefit from access to article processing charge (APC) discounts and streamlined payment workflows.

All institutions participating in the agreement will also gain access to the MDPI online submission system where they can find full article metadata and pricing information for easy identification and additional transparency.

Eligible authors affiliated with the participating institutions are prompted to choose the corresponding Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP) when they submit an article via our online submission system.

About Jisc

Jisc's vision is for the UK to be the most digitally advanced education and research nation in the world. At its heart is the super-fast national research and education network, Janet, with built-in cyber security protection.  Jisc also provides technology solutions for its members (colleges, universities and research centres) and customers (public sector bodies), helps members save time and money by negotiating sector-wide deals and provides advice and practical assistance on digital technology. Jisc is funded by the UK higher and further education and research funding bodies and member institutions.

For more information, contact helen.dobson@jisc.ac.uk.

About MDPI

MDPI is a publisher of fully peer-reviewed, Open Access journals with a focus on thorough and rapid editorial processing. Its aim is to ensure that high-quality research is verified and made available to the research community as quickly as possible. MDPI stands at the forefront of the Open Access movement, having launched its first online journal Molecules in 1996. Today, MDPI is a leader in Open Access publishing with over 250 journals across all research disciplines, and all content published under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

For any questions about this agreement, please contact the MDPI IOAP team at ioap@mdpi.com.

The updated citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), published by Clarivate. The recent release of the JCR includes seventy-one MDPI titles. Out of these, 18 titles are newcomers, receiving a first Journal Impact Factor which is based on citation activity in 2019: Actuators, Agriculture, Biology, Biomedicines, Biosensors, Chemosensors, Children, Healthcare, Journal of Fungi, Journal of Personalized Medicine (JPM), Land, Life, Magnetochemistry, Membranes, Pharmaceuticals, Photonics, Separations and Toxics.

• Out of the previously listed journals, a total of 72 percent boast an increased Impact Factor.
• 25 journals are ranked among the top 25% of journals in at least one of the categories they are ranked for.
• Articles published in 2019 in MDPI journals account for approximately 17 percent of of articles published in gold Open Access journals covered in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).
  
  

First Impact Factors

Updated Impact Factors

The following new topical sections have recently been established in Universe. This will enable more specific categorization of published papers according to their subject.

Space Science

Solar System

Universe Letter

Planetary Sciences

Exoplanets

Galaxies and Clusters

Compact Objects

Stellar Astronomy

If you are an active researcher in any of the above fields and are passionate about participating in the publication of cutting-edge research, please do not hesitate to get in touch about joining the Editorial Board. Editorial Board Members have the following responsibilities:

1. Conducting preliminary checks of submissions and making the final decision as to whether a paper can be accepted for publications following peer review and author revisions (when it suits your schedule);
2. To serve as Guest Editor of a Special Issue on the topic related to your research;
3. To review a couple of manuscripts per year.

Editorial Board Members are entitled to publish one paper free of charge in Universe each year. Further information about the Editorial Board may be found at https://www.mdpi.com/editors. If you are interested in becoming an Editorial Board Member for Universe, please send us your full academic CV and a short cover letter that details your interest and enthusiasm for the position.

Universe Editorial Office
(universe@mdpi.com)