MDPI Open Science Insights: Scientific Publishing Workshop at City University of Hong Kong, 10 July 2025

Prof. WANG Jianfeng Jeff received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Tongji University, China and his Ph.D. degree from Virginia Tech, USA. Prof. Wang is an internationally renowned expert in the field of micro–macro mechanics of granular materials. His research aims to explore the multiscale physics and mechanics underlying macroscopic soil behavior using X-ray computed tomography (CT), discrete element method (DEM) simulation, and machine learning methods. His work over the past 20 years includes the X-ray CT characterization of the micro-structures and micro-morphologies of geomaterials, and DEM modeling and analysis of the fundamental soil behaviors of crushable sands and their applications in various geotechnical engineering problems such as pile foundation, slope stability, and retaining structures. Prof. Wang has received many prestigious international research awards, including being in the Top 0.5% of ScholarGPS in 2025 (#99 in X-ray), the World's Top 2% Scientists in 2022–2024, the 2023 Excellent Editorial Board Member Award from the Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, VEBLEO Fellow, the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) Award, the 2011 Geotechnical Research Medal (UK Institution of Civil Engineers), and the 2010 Higher Education Institutions Outstanding Research Award—Natural Science Award (from the Ministry of Education of China). His research has attracted over HKD 10 million of external grants, including from the Research Grant Council (RGC) of Hong Kong SAR and the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

Ms. Sally (Sijia) Li graduated from the University of Sydney and joined MDPI in 2019. She previously worked as an Assistant Editor for Sustainability and as a Managing Editor for Urban Science, JTAER, and Hardware. She is currently working as the Journal Development Editor for Sustainability and the Head of Marketing Events. Based in MDPI’s Hong Kong office, she is responsible for market expansion and scholarly services in the Greater Bay Area. She is committed to providing researchers with efficient and professional publishing support.

Dr. Jeffrey Liu holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. In 2021, he joined CMAC Digital Medicines Manufacturing Research Centre as a Research Associate. In 2024, he became a Publishing Specialist at MDPI, supporting editorial teams in open access publishing, journal development, and business promotion.

Dr. Nelson Li graduated from Beijing Normal University and joined MDPI in September 2022. He currently serves as a Publishing Specialist at MDPI and is mainly responsible for promoting the long-term development of journals, facilitating productive exchanges between editorial teams and scholars, and providing scholars with high-quality publishing services.