Meet the Magnetochemistry 2021 Outstanding Reviewer Award Winner—Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Sorace
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Name: Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Sorace |
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1. Could you please briefly introduce your research group and current research projects to us?
I am an Associate Professor at the University of Florence, working in the Laboratory of Molecular Magnetism where I am responsible for the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy. At present, I am interested in using this technique for the experimental characterization of molecular systems acting as potential qubits or qu-gates and of the anisotropy of Lanthanide-based complexes.
2. As an expert in the field of molecule magnets, could you please talk about the hot topics in this field?
Molecular magnetism dramatically evolved since I started working in the field, and is much more diversified now. I would mention only a few hot topics: further increasing blocking temperature in single-molecule magnets; controlling and addressing magnetic properties of molecular complexes by the electric field and optical radiation; application of molecular magnets in quantum technologies, by exploiting their coherent properties; nanostructuration of molecular magnets. Each one of these fields has seen spectacular advances in the past few years.
3. Based on your rich reviewing experience, could you please share the common problems that authors face?
Apart from technical issues of different degrees of severity, a general problem often encountered during the review process is a lack of clarity about the scope of the work. This also reduces the impact of the presented results.
4. Could you please share some useful skills to help young researchers achieve their research goals smoothly?
First and foremost, research work is hardly a smooth path from point A to point B, even when accurate planning of experimental and theoretical work has been done in advance. Significant progress in our knowledge can occur when deviations from the expectations are observed, and, thus, one of the most relevant skills is the ability to identify such deviations and interpret them. In terms of the skills needed to obtain results, beyond a strong fundamental preparation in their research field, they must be able to discuss results with specialists in many different fields, to broaden the scope of their research and make it more effective.
5. As an Editorial Board Member of Magnetochemistry, your advice is important to us. Can you tell us your idea for the development of the journal and the Open Access model?
While Open Access is a necessity in scientific publishing, it is my feeling that an Open Access model based on Article Processing Charges by authors risks to reproduce and amplify the major issues of the subscription-based model, i.e., an increase of the inequality among researchers from different countries and groups, based on their funding. At least at a European level, the direction to be pursued is that of transformative agreement of the subscription model toward open-access “read-and-publish” ones. As for Magnetochemistry, in the past few years, it got a quite recognizable profile of a forum for presenting magnetic characterization of materials. I think it should build on it by increasing the number of normal submissions and considering Special Issues only for very special cases.
The Magnetochemistry Editorial Office would like to express sincere appreciation for Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Sorace, who is an excellent scientist in his field. In 2021, he published more than 10 papers, and some of them get more than 10 citations. In addition, he has rich experience in reviewing papers. He provided many valuable suggestions for authors and Editorial Office editors. For example, hot topics, clarity about the scope of the work and skills to achieve their research goals. We believe his suggestions will provide great help to authors to orient their research direction and improve the quality of their articles.
MDPI is committed to publishing high-quality articles efficiently and we as a company share the same concerns as Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Sorace. To reduce the risk posed by the Article Processing Charge, MDPI makes many efforts, providing vouchers for reviewers from all around the world, cooperating with universities on Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP link: https://www.mdpi.com/about/ioap) and so on. We are devoted to improving the popularity of the journal and increasing regular contributions. Currently, Special Issues may be one of the methods to attract high-quality papers. However, we believe there must be more ways to solicit quality contributions. In addition, it is our great honor to hear the high praise for Magnetochemistry and we hope these efforts will make a difference.