Announcements
26 December 2025
Interview with Dr. Mohamed M. Hantush—Water Exceptional Reviewer 2025
1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your field of research?
I am a Senior Research Hydrologist at the Center of Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER) of the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, with over 30 years of academic research and working experience in the areas of subsurface and surface water hydrology and water quality modeling. I am a Fellow of the ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) and the recipient of the 2020 Robert G. Wetzel Award for Water Quality by American Institute of Hydrology. Currently, I am the Groundwater Section Editor for the ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. My research interests include groundwater, contaminant hydrology, ecohydrology, and application of statistics and probability to model uncertainty estimation and risk assessment.
2. What key aspects do you typically focus on during the review process?
Novelty and originality of the contribution; scientific rigor and technical soundness of the research; organizational aspects and coherence of the presentation; and conciseness and English writing style.
3. In your opinion, what qualities are essential for a reviewer to possess?
An authority in the field, absence of conflict of interest (fairness), thorough review, constructive comments and feedback, and a timely review.
4. As an exceptional reviewer for MDPI, do you have any tips or experiences to share that could help other reviewers improve the quality of their reviews?
Start by identifying if the research question or the research gap to be bridged is clearly articulated. Assess the novelty of the contribution and soundness of the science implemented. Be fair and constructive in reviewing the manuscript. A reviewer should be able to distinguish between a typical/routine technical report material and a research paper. While the former can be informative and has a purpose, the latter represents an original development or modification of a methodology, or a highly insightful application and demonstration of a methodology to a real-case study.
5. Based on your experience reviewing manuscripts, what advice would you give to authors?
As you prepare a manuscript, make sure the research question to answer and the knowledge gap to be bridged by the research are clearly articulated in the Introduction; focus on the novel aspect of the methodology and/or analysis, follow the format of a typical research article; present the methodology clearly; and articulate how the findings would advance the topic through a focused and insightful discussion. Proper organization, emphasizing clarity of the figures and tables, is equally important and should come with a contextual Introduction, and a focused abstract and conclusions. Finally, make sure the writing style is coherent and follows proper idiomatic English, grammar, and punctuation. If not fluent in English, it is highly recommended before submitting the manuscript to a journal that the help of a native English speaker, or an individual who is proficient in English technical writing, be sought in reviewing and editing the manuscript.
The idea of free access and reuse of published journal articles without subscription fees is a major advantage to researchers who cannot afford the fees. Although fees are typically charged for the publication of articles and might be conceived as posing a conflict of interest, the fees might be waived if the manuscript is deemed of exceptional quality by the editor. Free access to journal articles coupled with a rigorous peer-review processes, as in subscription-based journals to ensure quality and validity, makes the open access model very attractive to scientists and practitioners.
