The “Entropic Alloys and Meta-Metals” Section of Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) covers the field of transition and rare metal extraction, purification, deformation, physical and mechanical behaviors, characterization, shaping, modeling, materials design, and medium- and high-entropy alloys. The “Entropic Alloys and Meta-Metals” Section aims to foster a better understanding of microstructural design and control, including the opportunities that the nanoscale field offers, allowing competition with other forming technologies in the development of high-performance materials for applications where extreme conditions are expected.

As all the articles published in our journal are in an open access format, you have free and unlimited access to the full texts. We welcome you to read the top ten selected papers published in 2022 listed below:

“Cryogenic-Mechanical Properties and Applications of Multiple-Basis-Element Alloys”
by Kaixuan Cui, Peter K. Liaw and Yong Zhang
Metals 2022, 12(12), 2075; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12122075
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/12/2075

“Anisotropic Elastic and Thermal Properties of M2InX (M = Ti, Zr and X = C, N) Phases: A First-Principles Calculation”
by Bo Li, Yonghua Duan, Mingjun Peng, Li Shen and Huarong Qi
Metals 2022, 12(7), 1111; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12071111
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/7/1111

“An Overview of Highly Porous Titanium Processed via Metal Injection Molding in Combination with the Space Holder Method”
by Francisco Cavilha Neto, Mauricio Vitor Giaretton, Guilherme Oliveira Neves, Claudio Aguilar, Marcelo Tramontin Souza, Cristiano Binder and Aloísio Nelmo Klein
Metals 2022, 12(5), 783; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12050783
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/5/783

“Compositional Dependence of Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy in Fe-, Co-, and Cu-Alloyed Ni-Mn-Ga”
by Michal Rameš, Vít Kopecký and Oleg Heczko
Metals 2022, 12(1), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12010133
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/1/133

“First-Principles Study on the Elastic Mechanical Properties and Anisotropies of Gold–Copper Intermetallic Compounds”
by Jian Wang, Hongbo Qin, Junfu Chen, Daoguo Yang and Guoqi Zhang
Metals 2022, 12(6), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12060959
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/6/959

“Rejuvenation-to-Relaxation Transition Induced by Elastostatic Compression and Its Effect on Deformation Behavior in a Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glass”
by Jingxian Cui, Qiang Luo, Siyi Di, Zhengguo Zhang and Baolong Shen
Metals 2022, 12(2), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12020282
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/2/282

“Thermal Stability of Microstructure of High-Entropy Alloys Based on Refractory Metals Hf, Nb, Ta, Ti, V, and Zr”
by Tomáš Vlasák, Jakub Čížek, Oksana Melikhova, František Lukáč, Dalibor Preisler, Miloš Janeček, Petr Harcuba, Mariia Zimina and Ondřej Srba
Metals 2022, 12(3), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12030394
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/3/394

“Recent Advances in Magnetostrictive Tb-Dy-Fe Alloys”
by Zijing Yang, Jiheng Li, Zhiguang Zhou, Jiaxin Gong, Xiaoqian Bao and Xuexu Gao
Metals 2022, 12(2), 341; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12020341
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/2/341

“Study on the Surface Modification of Nanostructured Ti Alloys and Coarse-Grained Ti Alloys”
by Hsuan-Kai Lin, Yi-Hong Cheng, Guan-Yuan Li, Ying-Chi Chen, Piotr Bazarnik, Jessica Muzy, Yi Huang and Terence G. Langdon
Metals 2022, 12(6), 948; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12060948
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/6/948

“Characterizing Changes in Grain Growth, Mechanical Properties, and Transformation Properties in Differently Sintered and Annealed Binder-Jet 3D Printed 14M Ni–Mn–Ga Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys”
by Aaron Acierno, Amir Mostafaei, Jakub Toman, Katerina Kimes, Mirko Boin, Robert C. Wimpory, Ville Laitinen, Andrey Saren, Kari Ullakko and Markus Chmielus
Metals 2022, 12(5), 724; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12050724
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/12/5/724

MDPI will attend the 12th World Biomaterials Congress (WBC 2024) as an exhibitor. We invite researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

The WBC is a large-scale academic conference supported by the IUSBSE, a global association in the field of biomaterials. The 12th World Biomaterials Congress will attract more than 4,000 participants from all over the world. Participating experts can gather and share the latest information and knowledge in the diverse areas within biomaterials research.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Bioengineering;
• International Journal of Molecular Sciences;
• Journal of Functional Biomaterials;
• Applied Biosciences;
• Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease;
• Materials;
• Current Issues in Molecular Biology;
• Cosmetics;
• Fibers;
• Metals.

If you are planning to attend the above conference, please do not hesitate to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.wbc2024.com/.

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Metals, which will be hosted online from 5 to 7 May 2025, Central European Summer Time. IECME 2025 will be free of charge for presenters and visitors.

As a pillar technology that supports the development of modern society, metallurgy plays a crucial role in addressing major societal challenges. IECME 2025 will enable you to share and discuss your most recent research findings with a global, vibrant community of scientists and engineers in the field.

Conference Sessions:
S1. “Experiment, Computation, AI and Machine Learning on Metals”;
S2. “Metallic Materials Chemistry”;
S3. “Microstructure of Metals and Alloys”;
S4. “Entropic Alloys and Meta-Metals”;
S5. “Metallic Functional/ Electronics Materials”;
S6. “Additive Manufacturing”;
S7. “Corrosion, Wear and Protection”;
S8. “Metallic Materials Processing”;
S9. “Metallic Materials for Biomedical Applications”.

Conference Chairs:

• Dongyang Li, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;
• Yung C. Shin, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.

Important Deadlines:
Deadline for abstract submission: 17 January 2025.
Abstract acceptance notification: 17 February 2025.
Registration deadline: 28 April 2025.

Guide for Authors:
To submit your abstract, please click here.
To register for the event, please click here.

Note: We only accept abstracts for this conference. To publish a conference proceedings paper for free and to submit a full manuscript to Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701, Impact Factor: 2.9), please refer to the “Publication Opportunities” section of the “Instructions for Authors” using the following link: 
https://sciforum.net/event/IECME2025?subscribe&section=#instructions.

Best Oral Presentation Award and Best Poster Award:
There will be six winners selected for these awards. Each winner will receive a certificate and CHF 200.

For any inquiries, please contact iecme2025@mdpi.com.

We look forward to seeing you at the event.

We wish to congratulate Dr. Giulia Stornelli on winning the Metals 2023 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award. Dr. Giulia Stornelli received her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Roma Tre (Rome, Italy) in 2018 and her Ph.D. degree in industrial engineering from the University of Roma Tor Vergata (Rome, Italy) in 2023 under the supervision of Prof. Roberto Montanari and Prof. Andrea Di Schino. She is currently a Research Fellow in Metallurgy in the Engineering Department of the University of Perugia, Italy.

Interests: Additive manufacturing; innovative steel; non-conventional welding process

The following is an interview with Dr. Giulia Stornelli: 

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself to the readers?
I am a young researcher with a strong passion for metallurgy. My field of research includes the study and optimization of steels and their production processes for the energy sector, but I am also involved in research programs concerning light alloys. During my Ph.D. studies, my research focused on the optimization of a thermo-mechanical process for the structural application of steel in nuclear fusion plants. In fact, the 2023 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award that I received concerned my Ph.D. thesis entitled “Novel Thermo-Mechanical Treatments on EUROFER97 Steel for Nuclear Fusion Application”. I am an active reviewer for many scientific journals. In addition, I also serve as a Guest Editor and Editorial Board Member for qualified scientific journals. I have also given numerous oral presentations at international conferences.

2. What is your current research and why did you choose this research field?
I am still working on EUROFER97 steel to improve its resistance to neutron radiation at low temperatures. In addition, a field that has fascinated me more and more over the years concerns additive manufacturing and its huge potential, especially in terms of its ability to promote the development of innovative alloys that would otherwise not be processable with conventional technologies. One topic of interest is the study of FeSi magnetic steels with a high Si content for the production of high-efficiency ferromagnetic cores via additive manufacturing.

3. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
I believe that energy efficiency is a topic of particular interest that will accompany us for the next few years. In particular, the development of metal alloys for extreme environments in the energy sector represents a challenge in the metallurgical sector. Furthermore, I believe that additive manufacturing processes represent the link between old and new production technologies.

4. What qualities do you think young scientists need?
Passion is necessary, as well as perseverance and discipline, a desire to learn and a strong adaptability for teamwork. However, the chance to work in a collaborative team is key to personal and professional growth.

5. If you have the opportunity, will you actively apply to attend academic conferences? What do you think you can learn from participating in conferences that you cannot from working in a lab?
I believe that participation in academic conferences is of considerable importance for the scientific growth of a young researcher. Active discussion with professors, researchers, technicians and experts of other research institutes and companies promotes curiosity for innovation and investigation.

A range of MDPI journals will be attending the TMS 2024 Annual Meeting & Exhibition from 3 to 7 March 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, Orlando, Florida, USA.

The TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition brings together more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, business leaders, and other professionals in the fields of minerals, metals, and materials for a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary exchange of technical knowledge.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Materials;
• Metals;
• Fibers;
• AppliedChem;
• Processes;
• Polymers.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to drop by our booth and start a conversation with us. We look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit https://www.tms.org/TMS2024/Home/, or contact the Materials Editorial Office at materials@mdpi.com or the Metals Editorial Office at metals@mdpi.com.

In recognizing the exceptional efforts of our reviewers in 2023, we express our sincere gratitude for upholding the high standards of Metals. Their commitment ensured the rigorous peer review that is integral to quality academic publishing.

In 2023, Metals received 6172 review reports, from 1120 reviewers. This past year, we worked with reviewers from 79 countries and regions, reflecting the diversity in our collaboration with research communities. Their dedication shapes scholarly discourse and advances global research. The editorial team expresses gratitude for the vital role played by each reviewer in the Metals family throughout 2023, and we look forward to their continued support in 2024.

The following are the reviewers who have consented to show their names:

All papers published in 2020 and 2021 in Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) were considered for the award. After a thorough evaluation of the originality and significance of the papers, citations, and downloads, the winner was selected.

Review:
“Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for the Measurement of the Corrosion Rate of Magnesium Alloys: Brief Review and Challenges”
by Feliu Sebastián, Jr.
Metals 2020, 10(6), 775; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10060775

Dr. Sebastian Feliu Jr. is a tenured scientist within the ECORR research group at the National Center of Metallurgical Research (CENIM), Madrid. He earned his Ph.D. in metallurgy with the highest distinction, “apto cum laude”, from the Complutense University in Spain in 1990. Additionally, he conducted post-doctoral research within the Surface and Interface Group at the University of Surrey, UK. He has participated in 17 research projects and has published 87 articles in the Web of Science of Thomson Reuters, 14 articles not included in the ISI Web of Knowledge, and 8 chapters in books. His publications have been ISI-cited over 2440 times (6 papers with over 100 citations and 13 papers with over 50 citations), with an h-index of 25. Throughout his career, Dr. Feliu Jr. has been actively involved in research in the field of metallurgy and corrosion science. His research interests in this area mainly include an understanding of the corrosion mechanisms of various structural metals and the factors that affect their corrosion, which is considered one of the key factors limiting, or even preventing, their use under real-life service conditions. Such an understanding is also essential for the widespread application of materials in aggressive environments (especially environments containing H₂O and Cl^‒).

1. Could you give us a brief introduction about yourself to our readers?
I graduated with an honors degree in metallurgy from the Faculty of Chemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid in 1987. My main interests are in the field of corrosion, largely due to my interesting and fruitful conversations with Prof. S. Feliu, my father. In 1988, I was awarded a Ph.D. scholarship funded by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). In 1990, I completed my doctoral thesis under the direction of Professors Manuel Morcillo and Jose Maria Bastidas in the Department of Corrosion at CENIM. My Ph.D. was primarily focused on the use of impedance measurements to obtain information about the effect of the replacement of a fraction of zinc with a Fe₂P extender on the anti-corrosive properties of zinc-rich coatings. Following my Ph.D., I joined the group of Prof. James Castle at the University of Surrey, England, in 1991, as an honorary research fellow, where I used X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to examine the influence of the atmosphere on the chemical damage to polypropylene during the process of abrasion, focusing, in particular, on the chemical composition of the surface during the process of abrasion. I was promoted to tenured scientist at CENIM in 1995. I remain in this role at present. My research interests include three lines of investigation within corrosion research. The first is the study, by means of surface analysis techniques, of the corrosion mechanisms of technological materials, including galvanized steels and aluminum and magnesium alloys. The objective of this line of research, using the XPS technique, has been to try to establish relationships between the chemical composition of the outermost surfaces of the materials and their resistance to corrosion. The second is the study of the corrosion mechanisms of Mg–Al alloys. The objective is to use EIS, XPS, gravimetric, and hydrogen evolution measurements to understand and assess the protective nature of the native oxide films and the corrosion layers formed on the surfaces of different Mg–Al alloys and environments. The third is the study, by electrochemical methods, of the corrosion mechanisms of technological materials. One of the objectives of this line of research is the study of the possibilities offered by the EIS technique to determine the corrosion rates of Mg alloys. In particular, the resistance and electrical capacity parameters of the materials are relevant in terms of studying their behavior.

2. What is your current area of research and why did you choose this research field?
From a technological point of view, the establishment of reliable corrosion rate values is an essential step for the estimation of the service life of structures based on materials, the comparative evaluation of the durability of different alloys, and the control of the effectiveness of protective methods. In recent years, despite the obvious practical interest in electrochemical methods to determine the corrosion rates of Mg–Al alloys, some aspects have not yet been sufficiently clarified. Numerous studies conclude that the electrochemical estimations for Mg and its alloys are unreliable and tend to underestimate the actual corrosion rates by several orders of magnitude. A recent paper stated that the issue of the accurate measurement of Mg alloys’ corrosion rates using electrochemical methods is one of the three greatest challenges in the context of the corrosion of Mg. However, the accurate assessment of the corrosion rates of Mg and Mg alloys by electrochemical methods remains a complex subject that is under active debate within the research community. As such, one of the main objectives of my current research is to confirm the utility of the EIS technique for the reliable corrosion rate estimation of Mg alloys and to study the factors affecting it, attempting to improve the reliability of the experimental results by devising better study designs. Another distinct objective of my current research is to study the composition, structure, and protective properties of the nano-layers formed on the outer surfaces of Mg–Al alloys in contact with the atmosphere or on the surfaces of the corrosion product layers formed in contact with different corrosive environments, with the aim of identifying possible relationships with the alloy’s corrosion behavior.

3. Which research topics do you think will be of particular interest to the research community in the coming years?
At present, the corrosion of metallic materials remains a major technological and economic challenge because the service lifetime of these materials is often limited by their stability or durability in more extreme environments. The field of corrosion research is dynamic and ever evolving, with ongoing efforts to develop new materials, techniques, and strategies to mitigate or prevent corrosion. Although it is difficult to predict the future, some research topics that have been of interest to the corrosion research community in recent years are likely to continue to be important in the coming years. The development of cost-effective, environmentally friendly materials with superior resistance to corrosion, such as corrosion-resistant alloys, protective coatings, and composites, is the main challenge. A novel research topic consists of using advanced computational tools, such as thermochemical computation and experimental databases, to design new materials by maximizing their resistance to corrosion, molecular dynamics simulations to study the corrosion protection mechanisms of inhibitors, and finite element analysis to establish models of failure. Another ongoing topic is the search for environmentally friendly and sustainable corrosion protection methods, including inhibitors and superhydrophobic or self-healing composite coatings, as well as the recycling of materials and reducing the environmental impact of corrosion prevention measures. From a basic corrosion research point of view, the implementation of sophisticated surface analysis techniques in universities and research centers has led to considerable progress in the understanding of the metallic surface chemistry, structure, and properties at the nanometer level, and, in combination with electrochemical methods, they will lead to an improved understanding of corrosion mechanisms. Emerging new technologies, such as renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing processes, will accelerate progress in corrosion research. Fortunately, there are many other corrosion topics to be addressed by future research.

4. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to submit your paper? What benefits do you think authors can gain when publishing their articles in Metals?
The journal Metals is interdisciplinary and covers a broad range of research topics, such as metallurgy, materials science, and corrosion. My work is primarily within the field of corrosion, which fits within the scope of the journal. Metals has a large audience that includes academic researchers and professionals in the field of metallurgy and materials science, and it benefits the authors through its visibility and recognition within the research community and industry. The journal’s impact factor is also attractive. Journals with a high impact factor often receive more attention and citations, which enhances the visibility and impact of the research. In addition, I value the rigor and transparency of the peer-review process at Metals. In my opinion, a rigorous, constructive, and fair peer-review process is essential in maintaining the quality and credibility of the research published. Metals offers open access publication, which makes the research freely accessible to a larger audience, maximizing the dissemination of the published work. Additionally, Metals aligns with the principles of accessibility and transparency, which are highly valued by several state agencies for scientific research and technological development agencies (such as the National Research Council (CSIC)). I chose this journal due to the rapid processes in the review and publication of original work, especially regarding the rapid sharing of published work with different research groups. The expertise and reputation of the editors and board members in my field are another factor. Moreover, the efficiency of all of the administrative staff results in the highly effective management of manuscripts. Metals also has an international readership and authorship, which ensures the wider distribution of research and collaboration within the scientific community. Finally, the ethical and professional publishing standards of Metals, such as transparency in authorship, conflicts of interest, and ethical guidelines, encouraged me to submit my work to the journal.

5. We are an open access journal. How do you think open access impacts authors?
Open access has significant impacts on authors, providing several benefits, advantages, and opportunities. Open access journals make research freely available to anyone with an Internet connection, democratizing knowledge and enabling authors to reach a global audience. The broader accessibility increases the impact and visibility of authors' work, making it easier for researchers, students, professionals, policymakers, and interested citizens worldwide to access and read their research. This can lead to increased opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists and outreach. On the other hand, studies have shown that open access articles tend to receive more citations than articles published in traditional, subscription-based journals. This increased visibility can lead to greater recognition and impact of the author's research. Moreover, open access accelerates the rapid dissemination of research findings. Authors can share their work more quickly, contributing to the acceleration of knowledge, dissemination, and discovery. Open access research is often easier to find and share. Authors can connect with other researchers in their field more readily, fostering collaboration and networking opportunities. Open access journals often have transparent and ethical publishing practices, emphasizing author rights, attributions, and clear licensing terms. Authors may appreciate the ethical standards upheld by open access publications. Many funding agencies and institutions require researchers to publish their work in open access formats to ensure that publicly funded research is accessible to the public. Complying with these requirements is easier when publishing in open access journals. Finally, open access publications frequently provide authors with statistics and metrics about the readership and impact of their work, allowing authors to track how their research is being used and cited.

6. As the winner of this award, is there anything you would like to express or anyone you would like to thank the most?
First, I would like to express the most heartfelt gratitude to my father, Prof. Sebastian Feliu Matas. He instilled in me a passion for corrosion science and was a continuous source of support, inspiration, and guidance throughout my scientific career. Some of his ideas were influential in the preparation of the award-winning manuscript. I would also like to thank Professors Manuel Morcillo and Jose Maria Bastidas, my thesis directors, who introduced me to the field of corrosion and impedance and helped me through my early career. I would like to thank Dr. Juan Carlos Galvan and Prof. Lucien Veleva for the fruitful exchange of ideas about the application of electrochemical methods to corrosion studies. Prof. Angel Pardo, who aroused my interest in the corrosion behavior of magnesium, is also acknowledged. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my Ph.D. students for their enthusiasm and insatiable curiosity. I am also grateful to the members of the ECORR group for their collaboration and friendship. Additionally, I thank the Department of Surface Engineering, Corrosion and Durability of CENIM; in many ways, this award is a recognition of the work of my colleagues. Furthermore, I wish to express my gratitude to CENIM and CSIC, which provided me with the economic support, resources, and facilities necessary for my research.

Furthermore, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the selection committee and the editorial team of Metals for this award. This recognition is highly appreciated and will act as a stimulus for my scientific career in corrosion research.

Finally, I would like to thank my family members for their continuous affection, support, and comprehension, especially my mother, Maria Teresa.

You can find more information about Metals Awards at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/metals/awards. To request further information, please contact the Metals Editorial Office at metals@mdpi.com.

Metals Editorial Office

We extend our sincere congratulations to the 769 Editorial Board Members of our journals – from 40 different countries/territories – who have been recognized as Highly Cited Researchers for the year 2023 by Clarivate. They are being recognized for their high-quality scientific research achievements and outstanding contributions to their professional fields, as indicated by Web of Science data.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade who stand out for their significant and broad influence in various scientific and social science domains. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 21 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

This year, 7,125 Highly Cited Researcher 2023 designations were issued to 6,849 individuals from 67 countries, representing just 1 in 1,000 researchers worldwide.

This means that these researchers have demonstrated an incredible level of significant and broad influence in their chosen field or fields over the last decade. They represent a small fraction of the researcher population whose contributions disproportionately push the boundaries of knowledge, enhancing global well-being, sustainability, and security.

Congratulations to the scholars for their noteworthy achievement – we are honored to have them on board with our journals!

MDPI has been a strong proponent of the open access publishing model right from the beginning. As one of the pioneering fully open access publishers, we firmly believe that unrestricted access to research findings forms the foundation for better transparency, efficiency, and quality control across all scientific disciplines.

In December 2022, we reached a significant milestone by surpassing one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon!

Offering free and immediate access to scientific papers empowers scientists to examine, validate, replicate, and expand upon existing results. This not only helps prevent redundancy and optimizes how resources are used but also paves the way for innovative new approaches.

The International Open Access Week takes place from 23 to 29 October 2023, providing a unique opportunity to connect the global movement towards open sharing and open science with the progress of policy transformations at the local level.

Our goal, during Open Access Week as well as throughout the year, is to offer resources for educating people about the benefits of open access publishing. The MDPI Blog offers a wealth of information around open access and open science.

Promoting the values of accessibility, transparency, and collaboration

Open access publishing embodies the fundamental values of democratizing knowledge and fostering global accessibility. It aims to break down barriers that have traditionally limited access to scholarly work, ensuring that knowledge is available to all, regardless of their financial or institutional affiliations. 

Discounts are part of our commitment to ensuring there are diverse pathways to Open Access publishing for researchers worldwide. MDPI supports scientific communities in several different ways. 

One of the key strengths of open access publishing lies in its ability to facilitate interdisciplinary research. By removing paywalls and promoting the sharing of knowledge across disciplines, OA encourages collaboration and innovation. Researchers from diverse fields can access and build upon each other's work, fostering a holistic approach to addressing complex global challenges. 

Funders' policies are getting aligned with open science

Governments, institutions, and funding agencies have recognized the transformative potential of open access and have implemented policies to promote it. These policies often mandate that publicly funded research should be made openly accessible. Such initiatives have accelerated the growth of open access repositories and journals, reinforcing the commitment to open access principles. Check our spotlights on OA policies in the US, EU and China. 

Open access publishing is continually evolving, with innovative and community-driven models and technologies shaping its future. Initiatives like "Plan S" and "cOAlition S" promote the adoption of OA publishing from the national funders’ perspective by requiring grantees to publish their research openly. A new policy announced by the US administration last year requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. 

Additionally, preprint servers such as MDPI's Preprints.org, which allow researchers to share their findings before formal peer review, have gained popularity, enhancing the speed at which new knowledge is disseminated. The rise of blockchain technology is also being explored to ensure transparency and authenticity in scholarly publishing. 

For more than twenty years, open access scholarly publishing has been revolutionizing academia by promoting the values of accessibility, transparency, and collaboration. Its support for interdisciplinary research, evolving policies, and innovative practices all contribute to its growing influence in the global research community. As open access continues to expand, it holds the potential to democratize knowledge, advance science, and drive positive societal change. 

MDPI is proud to be a leader in the transition to open access.

The “Extractive Metallurgy” Section of Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) covers the field of metal production and focuses on a deeper understanding of the extraction of metals from primary raw materials (concentrates, mining and mineral processing waste) and the recovery of metals from secondary raw materials (scrap, end-of-life products, industrial waste and intermediates) through recycling. This Section also covers not only processes based on reaction chemistry, but also special metallurgy processes, e.g., physical refining.

As all the articles published in our journal are in an open access format, you have free and unlimited access to the full texts. We welcome you to read the top ten selected papers published in 2021 listed below:

“Water Electrolysis for the Production of Hydrogen to Be Employed in the Ironmaking and Steelmaking Industry”
by Pasquale Daniele Cavaliere, Angelo Perrone and Alessio Silvello
Metals 2021, 11(11), 1816; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11111816
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/11/1816

“Improved Metallurgical Effect of Tundish through a Novel Induction Heating Channel for Multistrand Casting”
by Haiyan Tang, Kaimin Wang, Xiaosong Li, Jinwen Liu and Jiaquan Zhang
Metals 2021, 11(7), 1075; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11071075
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/7/1075

“Combined Effects of EMBr and SEMS on Melt Flow and Solidification in a Thin Slab Continuous Caster”
by Changjun Wang, Zhongqiu Liu and Baokuan Li
Metals 2021, 11(6), 948; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11060948
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/6/948

“Influence of Bio-Coal Properties on Carbonization and Bio-Coke Reactivity”
by Asmaa A. El-Tawil, Bo Björkman, Maria Lundgren, Astrid Robles and Lena Sundqvist Ökvist
Metals 2021, 11(11), 1752; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11111752
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/11/1752

“Flotation of Seafloor Massive Sulfide Ores: Combination of Surface Cleaning and Deactivation of Lead-Activated Sphalerite to Improve the Separation Efficiency of Chalcopyrite and Sphalerite”
by Kosei Aikawa, Mayumi Ito, Atsuhiro Kusano, Ilhwan Park, Tatsuya Oki, Tatsuru Takahashi, Hisatoshi Furuya and Naoki Hiroyoshi
Metals 2021, 11(2), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020253
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/2/253

“Extraction of the Rare Element Vanadium from Vanadium-Containing Materials by Chlorination Method: A Critical Review”
by Shiyuan Liu, Weihua Xue and Lijun Wang
Metals 2021, 11(8), 1301; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11081301
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/8/1301

“High- and Ultra-High-Purity Aluminum, a Review on Technical Production Methodologies”
by Danilo C. Curtolo, Neng Xiong, Semiramis Friedrich and Bernd Friedrich
Metals 2021, 11(9), 1407; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11091407
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/9/1407

“Hydrometallurgical Recycling Process for Mobile Phone Printed Circuit Boards Using Ozone”
by Silvie Brožová, Magdalena Lisińska, Mariola Saternus, Bernadeta Gajda, Gražyna Simha Martynková and Aleš Slíva
Metals 2021, 11(5), 820; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11050820
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/5/820

“Leaching Kinetics of Rare Earth Elements in Phosphoric Acid from Phosphate Rock”
by Zhili Li, Zhihao Xie, Jie Deng, Dongsheng He, Hengqin Zhao and Huan Liang
Metals 2021, 11(2), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020239
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/2/239

“Hydrometallurgical Recovery of Cu and Zn from a Complex Sulfide Mineral by Fe³⁺/H₂SO₄ Leaching in the Presence of Carbon-Based Materials”
by María Luisa Álvarez, José Manuel Fidalgo, Gabriel Gascó and Ana Méndez
Metals 2021, 11(2), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020286
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/2/286

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John D. Clayton (DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory) as Section Editor-in-Chief of “Crystallography and Applications of Metallic Materials” in Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701). The main research focus of this Section is on the magnetic and optical properties, among others, of metallic materials. Interested scholars are encouraged to join us by sending their CV to the Metals Editorial Office (metals@mdpi.com).

Name: Dr. John D. Clayton
Affiliation: Impact Physics Branch, Terminal Effects Division, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen, MD 21005 USA
Interests: continuum mechanics, crystallography, elasticity, plasticity, fracture, dislocations, shock physics, computational materials science, applied mathematics, differential geometry

Dr. John D. Clayton received his Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA, USA) in December 2002. He has been a staff scientist at DEVCOM ARL since 2023, where he presently serves as a Team Leader and Lab Fellow. Dr. Clayton’s record of peer-reviewed external publications (102 refereed journals, 41 sole-authored papers) spans topics in theoretical mechanics, mathematical physics, differential geometry, scientific computing, materials science, and the broader engineering sciences. Dr. Clayton has published three sole-authored books—Nonlinear Mechanics of Crystals (Springer, 2011), Differential Geometry and Kinematics of Continua (World Scientific, 2014), and Nonlinear Elastic and Inelastic Models for Shock Compression of Crystalline Solids (Springer, 2019). His research record also includes six book chapters, 98 government reports, and invited presentations at universities and conferences on four continents. He has served on the editorial boards of seven academic journals, currently including Metals (Section Editor), Mathematics and Mechanics of Solids, and Scientific Reports (Nature). Dr. Clayton was a member of the teaching faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park (2015–2019), where he held a graduate course on finite element analysis. Dr. Clayton was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2017 for seminal contributions to solid mechanics. Other honors include the Excellence in Federal Career Award (Silver Medalist 2016), the Civilian Service Commendation Medal (2020), the ARL Award for Science (2022), the ARL Award for Seminal Work (2020), twice ARL Publication of the Year (2011, 2017), and five ARL Director’s Research Initiative Awards (2005, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014). He was elected an ARL Fellow in 2016 and elected ARL Fellows Co-Chair for 2021–2022. He has twice lectured by invitation at Oberwolfach Mathematics Institute in Germany. Dr. Clayton served as a visiting research faculty member while on a long-term sabbatical in the spring of 2016 at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in New York City, followed by a second sabbatical in the fall of 2016 as a visiting faculty at Columbia University, where he gave invited seminars on Finsler differential geometry in solid mechanics at both institutions.

The following is a short Q&A with Dr. John D. Clayton, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views on his research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Section Editor-in-Chief?
I believe that by assuming the role of Section Editor-in-Chief, I can enable a quality forum to advance the understanding of the behavior of crystalline metallic materials among the international academic and industrial research communities. I have nearly 25 years of experience in research and publishing on mechanics of materials, with many contributions in crystalline metals. I also accepted this role to honor and continue the legacy of the former Section Editor-in-Chief, Professor Ronald W. Armstrong of the University of Maryland. Professor Armstrong was an exceptional scholar and collaborator, with a prolific research career spanning over 60 years. As Section Editor-in-Chief, he established a friendly community of researchers to share and debate new ideas and to re-evaluate old ideas. Though retired from the University, Professor Armstrong remained very active with journal activities until just before his passing.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
My vision is for the Metals journal to become more entrenched as one of the most highly regarded journals among the scientific community for interdisciplinary research on topics of metallurgy, materials science, and solid mechanics. I hope to see the journal continue to make headway in scholarly content and impact. I hope to see the journal continue to offer rapid review and article processing schedules to keep pace with the latest research developments. However, it is also essential that high standards of technical quality and equitable peer review be maintained.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
I believe that more interdisciplinary studies will emerge in the field of metals and metallic materials, to include crystallography, in the future. These may combine authors from mixed backgrounds in traditional metallurgy, manufacturing science, mechanics, thermodynamics, composite materials, and broader materials sciences. With the advent of new materials processing methods such as additive manufacturing, metallic materials with exotic structures will continue to emerge. Studies of synthesis, characterization, and modeling of the physical properties of these advanced materials will accompany the novel processing developments. Open data sharing will facilitate advancements in analysis tools that require large data depositories, for example, computational algorithms and software using machine learning and artificial intelligence. These tools, in turn, should facilitate more materials design and discovery.

4. What do you think of the development of open access in the publishing field?
I believe open access is a promising route for the future of scientific publishing. Open access articles can be viewed throughout the world, irrespective of the finances or geographic origin of the host organization of the reader. This enables the transfer of knowledge to and from a much larger scientific community than traditional subscription-based models. Researchers from less privileged societies, as well as independent researchers for whom paid journal subscriptions are not feasible, benefit from open access. Furthermore, progress of the entire community improves from the diverse ideas and contributions of a worldwide audience enabled by open access research. The drawback, as most are aware, is the publication cost, which ultimately must always be paid somehow to ensure a high-quality journal product, and it is usually borne by the authors. This model is prohibitive in some cases for the submission process.

We wish Dr. John D. Clayton every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.

The Section “Computation and Simulation on Metals” of Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) is recruiting Editorial Board Members. The Section Editor-in-Chief is Prof. Dr. Xing-Qiu Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China.

You can check out the existing Editorial Board Members by visiting the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/metals/sectioneditors/computation_simulation_metals.

The main responsibilities of Section Editorial Board Members are as follows:

• Pre-screening and taking decisions on new submissions related to their journal Section;
• Helping to edit a Special Issue on a topic related to their Section (or supervising Special Issues related to your research field);
• Providing input or feedback regarding journal policies;
• Helping to promote the journal among their peers or at conferences;
• Attending Board Meetings to suggest journal development strategies;
• Reviewing manuscripts.

The benefits of becoming a Section Editorial Board Member include the following:

• The opportunity to publish one paper, free of charge, per year in Metals, as well as receiving discounts for papers invited from your scientific network;
• A certificate recognizing you as a Section Editorial Board Member of Metals;
• Metals may offer sponsorship for conferences organized by you as well as offer you travel grants when attending related conferences;
• The term of Section Editorial Board Members is two years, after which they may be reappointed or have the chance to be selected as the Section Editor-in-Chief or Section Associate Editor.

For more information about this Section and publishing in Metals, please see the Section’s webpage:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/metals/sections/computation_simulation_metals.

To apply for this position, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact Ms. Sunny He (sunny.he@mdpi.com).

Metals Editorial Office

The Section “Welding and Joining” of Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) is recruiting Editorial Board Members. The Section Editor-in-Chief of the journal Metals is Prof. Dr. Wei Zhou from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. You can check out the existing Editorial Board Members by visiting the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/metals/sectioneditors/welding_joining.

The main responsibilities of Section Editorial Board Members are as follows:

• Pre-screening and taking decisions on new submissions related to their journal Section;
• Helping to edit a Special Issue on a topic related to their Section (or supervising Special Issues related to your research field);
• Providing input or feedback regarding journal policies;
• Helping to promote the journal among their peers or at conferences;
• Attending Board Meetings to suggest journal development strategies;
• Reviewing manuscripts.

The benefits of becoming a Section Editorial Board Member include the following:

• The opportunity to publish one paper, free of charge, per year in Metals, as well as receiving discounts for papers invited from your scientific network;
• A certificate recognizing you as a Section Editorial Board Member of Metals;
• Metals may offer sponsorship for conferences organized by you as well as offer you travel grants when attending related conferences;
• The term of Section Editorial Board Members is two years, after which they may be reappointed or have the chance to be selected as the Section Editor-in-Chief or Section Associate Editor.

For more information about this Section and publishing in Metals, please see the Section’s webpage:
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/metals/sections/welding_joining.

To apply for this position, recommend potential candidates, or request further information, please contact Ms. Sunny He (sunny.he@mdpi.com) from the Metals Editorial Office.

MDPI is committed to supporting the academic community, nurturing talent and advancing science. Awards are an important part of the research landscape and play a vital role in helping academics gain recognition, especially young researchers as they embark on new research avenues.

In 2022, our journals presented a total number of 394 Awards, including Travel Awards, Young Investigator Awards, Best PhD Thesis Awards, Best Paper Awards, and Outstanding Reviewer Awards, with several winners announced for some of the awards. The total prize sum amounted to just under 580,000 Swiss francs (CHF), or approximately 650,000 US dollars. Overall, more than 720 scholars were awarded.

The majority of the awards were dedicated to young researchers in relatively early stages of their careers. This encompassed 66 of the afore-mentioned Travel Awards, 60 Young Investigator Awards, supporting research projects and conference attendance, as well as 51 Best PhD Thesis Awards. Additionally, 113 Best Paper Awards were given by our journals. The selection committees were entrusted with identifying the most impactful and novel research and review articles published in their journal within a given year.

MDPI will continue its support and recognition for the academic community moving forward, sponsoring new awards across disciplines. To learn more about all the awardees and their research projects in your field of study, please visit the following pages:

To explore more MDPI awards, please click here.

The “Entropic Alloys and Meta-Metals” Section of Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) covers the fields of transition and rare metal extraction, purification, deformation, physical and mechanical behaviors, characterization, shaping, modeling, materials design, and medium- and high-entropy alloys.

As all the articles published in our journal are in an open access format, you have free and unlimited access to the full text. We welcome you to read the top ten selected papers published in 2021 listed below:

“Review of Recent Research on AlCoCrFeNi High-Entropy Alloy”
by Marzena Tokarewicz and Małgorzata Grądzka-Dahlke
Metals 2021, 11(8), 1302; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11081302
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/8/1302

“Grain Boundary Diffusion Sources and Their Coating Methods for Nd-Fe-B Permanent Magnets”
by Jiayi He, Jiali Cao, Zhigao Yu, Wenyue Song, Hongya Yu, Mozaffar Hussain and Zhongwu Liu
Metals 2021, 11(9), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11091434
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/9/1434

“Novel Co-Cu-Based Immiscible Medium-Entropy Alloys with Promising Mechanical Properties”
by Sujung Son, Jongun Moon, Hyeonseok Kwon, Peyman Asghari Rad, Hidemi Kato and Hyoung Seop Kim
Metals 2021, 11(2), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020238
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/2/238

“On the Microstructure and Properties of the Nb-23Ti-5Si-5Al-5Hf-5V-2Cr-2Sn (at.%) Silicide-Based Alloy—RM(Nb)IC”
by Nikos Vellios, Paul Keating and Panos Tsakiropoulos
Metals 2021, 11(11), 1868; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11111868
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/11/1868

“Full Variation of Site Substitution in Ni-Mn-Ga by Ferromagnetic Transition Metals”
by Vít Kopecký, Michal Rameš, Petr Veřtát, Ross H. Colman and Oleg Heczko
Metals 2021, 11(6), 850; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11060850
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/6/850

“An Investigation of the Miscibility Gap Controlling Phase Formation in Refractory Metal High Entropy Superalloys via the Ti-Nb-Zr Constituent System”
by Tamsin E. Whitfield, George J. Wise, Ed J. Pickering, Howard J. Stone and Nicholas G. Jones
Metals 2021, 11(8), 1244; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11081244
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/8/1244

“Manipulation of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties in N-Doped CoCrFeMnNi High-Entropy Alloys”
by Jing Zhang, Kook Noh Yoon, Min Seok Kim, Heh Sang Ahn, Ji Young Kim, Wook Ha Ryu and Eun Soo Park
Metals 2021, 11(9), 1487; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11091487
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/9/1487

“Neutron Scattering as a Powerful Tool to Investigate Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys: A Review”
by Natalia A. Río-López, Patricia Lázpita, Daniel Salazar, Viktor I. Petrenko, Fernando Plazaola, Volodymyr Chernenko and Jose M. Porro
Metals 2021, 11(5), 829; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11050829
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/5/829

“Effects of La on Thermal Stability, Phase Formation and Magnetic Properties of Fe–Co–Ni–Si–B–La High Entropy Alloys”
by Jiaming Li, Jianliang Zuo and Hongya Yu
Metals 2021, 11(12), 1907; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11121907
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/12/1907

“External-Field-Induced Phase Transformation and Associated Properties in a Ni₅₀Mn₃₄Fe₃In₁₃ Metamagnetic Shape Memory Wire”
by Zhen Chen, Daoyong Cong, Shilei Li, Yin Zhang, Shaohui Li, Yuxian Cao, Shengwei Li, Chao Song, Yang Ren and Yandong Wang
Metals 2021, 11(2), 309; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11020309
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/11/2/309

MDPI will be attending the 74th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, hosted by the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE), which will be held by the International Society of Electrochemistry from 3 to 8 September 2023, in Lyon, France. France has a strong history of electrochemistry research and has a large number of ISE members in the country, and the ISE has hosted this congress on several previous occasions: Lyon in 1982; Paris in 1997, which was the occasion of a joint meeting with the ECS; and, more recently, in Nice in 2010. Thus, after more than 40 years, the congress returns to Lyon. About 1,800 participants have registered from all regions of the world. Thus, this congress will provide an opportunity for electrochemists in Lyon to participate in fruitful discussions in an atmosphere of friendly exchange.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Coatings;
• Molecules;
• Energies;
• Materials;
• Biosensors;
• Batteries;
• Liquids;
• Crystals;
• Solids;
• Electrochem;
• Sensors;
• Metals.

If you plan on attending this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth (#09) and start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following link: https://annual74.ise-online.org/index.php.

MDPI’s Young Investigator Awards recognize promising junior researchers, acknowledge their contributions, and enhance communication among scientists. We are proud to present the winners for the year 2022 in chemistry and materials science. The winners were selected by the journals’ Award Evaluation Committee.

We warmly congratulate the awarded young investigators for their outstanding contributions. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition for the academic community.

Crystals:

• Mattia Biesuz, University of Trento, Italy

Metals:

• Yonggang Yao, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China

Molecules:          

• Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Nanomaterials:

• Liang Huang, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
• Aiping Chen, Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), USA
• Leonardo Ricotti, BioRobotics Institute of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA), Italy

About MDPI Awards:

In order to reward the academic community, especially young researchers, and enhance communication among scientists, MDPI journals regularly offer various awards to researchers in specific fields. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and are making a significant contribution to the advancement of their fields.

To see more MDPI awards, click here.

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2022 Travel Awards in chemistry and materials science for their outstanding presentations and present them with the prize.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of the 2022 Travel Awards and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Catalysts:           

• Shiva Mohajernia, University of Siegen, Germany

Chemistry:          

• Maria Antonietta Casulli, Sophia University Yotsuya Campus, Japan            

Gels:     

• Lan Xiao, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Materials:           

• Danila Merino, Smart Materials Group of the Italian Institute of Technology, Italy
• Elena Blundo, University of Rome, Italy

Nanomaterials:   

• Arun Kumar, Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, Italy
• Elena Blundo, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy            

Separations:        

• Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia

About MDPI Awards:

In order to reward the academic community, especially young researchers, and enhance communication among scientists, MDPI journals regularly offer various awards to researchers in specific fields. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and are making a significant contribution to the advancement of their fields.

To see more MDPI awards, click here.

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize the winners for the 2022 Outstanding Reviewer Awards in chemistry and materials science for their outstanding contributions among the extensive competition.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners on their achievements. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition for the academic community.

Catalysts:

• Aleksandr S. Kazachenko, Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technology Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Russia
• Ionut Banu, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Romania
• Shahid Zaman, Southern University of Science and Technology, China
• Rahat Javaid, Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, Japan

Coatings:

• Anca Mazare, Friedrich-Alexander University, Germany
• Costica Bejinariu, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania

Fibers:

• Aref Abbasi Moud, University of British Columbia, Canada
• Amit Kenny, Shamoon College of Engineering, Ashdod, Israel

Gels:

• Bapan Pramanik, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
• Mutian Hua, University of California, USA            

JFB:

• Elisa Boanini, University of Bologna, Italy

Materials:

• Alexander Sobolev, Ariel University, Israel
• Anca Mazare, Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen Nurnberg, Germany
• László Almásy, Centre for Energy Research, Hungary
• Valerio Belardi, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy
• Wenbin Zhou, Imperial College London, UK
• Piotr A. Gauden, Nicholas Copernicus University, Poland

Magnetochemistry:

• Moustafa Darwish, Tanta University, Egypt

Metals: 

• Wolfgang Löser, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW), Germany
• Weimin Wang, Shandong University, China

Nanomaterials:

• Gueorgui Gueorguiev, Linköping University, Sweden
• Tsung-Rong Kuo, Taipei Medical University, China
• Kisan Chhetri, Jeonbuk National University, Republic of Korea

Polymers:

• Yiwen Li, Sichuan University, China
• Saulius Grigalevicius, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania
• Mirela-Fernanda Zaltariov, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Romania
• Narsimha Mamidi, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
• Nikolaos Politakos, University of the Basque Country, Spain

Separations:

• Balawanthrao Jadhav, South Dakota State University, USA
• Łukasz Dąbrowski, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Poland
• Sidi Zhu, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, China

About MDPI Awards:

In order to reward the academic community, especially young researchers, and enhance communication among scientists, MDPI journals regularly offer various awards to researchers in specific fields. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and are making a significant contribution to the advancement of their fields.

For more MDPI awards, click here.

MDPI’s Best PhD Thesis Awards are presented to recognize the young scholars who are judged to have completed the most outstanding PhD thesis in their field of research, and to encourage them to continue their outstanding work and further contribution to their field.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of the 2022 Best PhD Thesis Awards and wish them success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Ceramics:

• “Metal Nanoparticle Carbon Nanocomposites to Produce Electrochemical Devices for Environmental Water Monitoring”
  by Wenchao Duan, Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) and Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC), Spain

Crystals:

• “Modeling and Design of a Phononic Crystal with Piezoelectric Defects for Broadband Energy Localization and Harvesting”
  by Soo-Ho Jo, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University, South Korea

Logistics:

• “A Decision-Support Framework for Smart and Sustainable Reverse Logistics Network Design”
  by Xu Sun, The Arctic University of Norway, Norway

Macromol:

• “Polymer Drug Carriers for Immuno-Oncotherapy”
  by Marina Rodrigues Tavares, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic

• “Design and Fabrication of Advanced Materials Obtained from Hemp Fibers and Sustainable Polymers”
  by Gianluca Viscusi, Department of Industrial Engineering-University of Salerno, Italy

Materials:

• “Ultrafast Processes in Perylene and Rubrene Systems: Singlet Fission, Excimer Formation and Charge Transfer”
  by Wenjun Ni, Dalian University of Technology, China

Metals:

• “Computational and Experimental Thermo-Mechanics of Metal Additive Manufacturing: Stress, Warpage, Cracks and Properties”
  by Xufei Lu, Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Spain

Molecules:

• “Development of Modern Sample Preparation Techniques Utilizing Novel Materials Combined with Chromatographic and Spectrometric Methods for the Determination of Environmental Pollutants in Food and Environmental Samples”
  by Natalia Manousi, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

• “Studying Protein Function with Fluorescent Nanoantennas”
  by Scott G. Harroun, University of Montreal, Canada

Nanomaterials:

• “Predictive Modelling of Ultrafast Hot Carrier Dynamics and Nonlinear Photothermal Phenomena in Designer Nanophotonic Structures”
  by Andrea Schirato, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Physchem:

• “Studying Protein Function with Fluorescent Nanoantennas”
  by Scott G. Harroun, Université de Montréal / Polytechnique Montréal, Canada

Polymers:

• “Formation, Modification and New Applications of Orderly Structured Titanium Oxide Nanostructures”
  by Simonas Ramanavicius, State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Lithuania 

Sustainable Chemistry:

• “Electrochemical Routes for Upgrading Carbon-based Greenhouse Gases”
  by Aditya Prajapati, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA

About MDPI Awards:

In order to reward the academic community, especially young researchers, and enhance communication among scientists, MDPI journals regularly offer various awards to researchers in specific fields. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and are making a significant contribution to the advancement of their fields.

To see more MDPI awards, click here.

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 have 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.

We are honored to present the winners announced in 2022 in chemistry and materials science, who were selected among an extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications. MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition for the academic community.

C:

• “Biochar and Energy Production: Valorizing Swine Manure through Coupling Co-Digestion and Pyrolysis”
  by Rubén González, Judith González, José G. Rosas, Richard Smith and Xiomar Gómez
  C 2020, 6(2), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/c6020043

Coatings:

• “Introduction to Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation—An Overview of the Process and Applications”
  by Frank Simchen, Maximilian Sieber, Alexander Kopp and Thomas Lampke
  Coatings 2020, 10(7), 628; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10070628

• “First Insights into Photocatalytic Degradation of HDPE and LDPE Microplastics by a Mesoporous N–TiO2 Coating: Effect of Size and Shape of Microplastics”
  by Brenda Estefanía Llorente-García, Juan Manuel Hernández-López, Antonio Alberto Zaldívar-Cadena, Cristina Siligardi and Erika Iveth Cedillo-González
  Coatings 2020, 10(7), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10070658

Fibers:

• “U-Jacketing Applications of Fiber-Reinforced Polymers in Reinforced Concrete T-Beams against Shear—Tests and Design”
  by Constantin E. Chalioris, Adamantis G. Zapris and Chris G. Karayannis
  Fibers 2020, 8(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib8020013

• “Laser Sources Based on Rare-Earth Ion Doped Tellurite Glass Fibers and Microspheres”
  by Elena A. Anashkina
  Fibers 2020, 8(5), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib8050030

Inorganics:

• “Magnetic Materials and Systems: Domain Structure Visualization and Other Characterization Techniques for Application in Materials Science and Biomedicine”
  by Roberto Nisticò, Federico Cesano and Francesca Garello
  Inorganics 2020, 8(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics8010006

• “Magnetic Composite Submicron Carriers with Structure-Dependent MRI Contrast”
  by Anastasiia A. Kozlova, Sergey V. German, Vsevolod S. Atkin, Victor V. Zyev, Maxwell A. Astle, Daniil N. Bratashov, Yulia I. Svenskaya and Dmitry A. Gorin
  Inorganics 2020, 8(2), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics8020011

• “A Partial Anion Disorder in SrVO₂H Induced by Biaxial Tensile Strain”
  by Morito Namba, Hiroshi Takatsu, Wataru Yoshimune, Aurélien Daniel, Shoichi Itoh, Takahito Terashima and Hiroshi Kageyama
  Inorganics 2020, 8(4), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics8040026

Magnetochemistry:

• “Magnetic Nanoparticle Systems for Nanomedicine—A Materials Science Perspective”
  by Vlad Socoliuc, Davide Peddis, Viktor I. Petrenko, Mikhail V. Avdeev, Daniela Susan-Resiga, Tamas Szabó, Rodica Turcu, Etelka Tombácz and Ladislau Vékás
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6010002

• “Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) Nanoparticles in Biomedical Application: From Synthesis to Surface Functionalisation”
  by Lokesh Srinath Ganapathe, Mohd Ambri Mohamed, Rozan Mohamad Yunus and Dilla Duryha Berhanuddin
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(4), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6040068

• “Saturation of Specific Absorption Rate for Soft and Hard Spinel Ferrite Nanoparticles Synthesized by Polyol Process”
  by Cristian Iacovita, Gabriela Fabiola Stiufiuc, Roxana Dudric, Nicoleta Vedeanu, Romulus Tetean, Rares Ionut Stiufiuc and Constantin Mihai Lucaciu
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6020023

• “False Chirality, Absolute Enantioselection and CP Violation: Pierre Curie’s Legacy”
  by Laurence D. Barron
  Magnetochemistry 2020, 6(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/magnetochemistry6010005         

Materials:

• “A Broadband Tunable Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber Based on Single-Layer Complementary Gammadion-Shaped Graphene”
  by Fu Chen, Yongzhi Cheng and Hui Luo
  Materials 2020, 13(4), 860; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13040860

• “3-D Printed Protective Equipment during COVID-19 Pandemic”
  by Christian Wesemann, Stefano Pieralli, Tobias Fretwurs, Julian Nold, Katja Nelson, Rainer Schmelzeisen, Elmar Hellwig and Benedikt Christopher Spies
  Materials 2020, 13(8), 1997; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13081997

• “On the Vibrations and Stability of Moving Viscoelastic Axially Functionally Graded Nanobeams”
  by Ali Shariati, Dong won Jun, Hamid Mohammad-Sedighi, Krzysztof Kamil Żur, Mostafa Habibi and Maryam Safa
  Materials 2020, 13(7), 1707; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13071707

• “Brief History of Early Lithium Battery Development”
  by Mogalahalli V. Reddy, Alain Mauger, Christian M. Julien, Andrea Paolella and Karim Zaghib
  Materials, 2020, 13(8), 1884; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13081884

• “Face Masks and Respirators in the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of Current Materials, Advances and Future Perspectives”
  by Kris O’Dowd, Keerthi M. Nair, Parnia Forouzandeh, Snehamol Mathew, Jamie Gran, Ruth Moran, John Bartlet, Jerry Bird and Suresh C. Pillai
  Materials 2020, 13(15), 3363; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13153363

• “Recent Trends in the Use of Pectin from Agro-Waste Residues as a Natural-Based Biopolymer for Food Packaging Applications”
  by Cristina Mellinas, Marina Ramos, Alfonso Jiménez and María Carmen Garrigós
  Materials 2020, 13(3), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030673

Membranes:

• “Membrane Technologies in Wastewater Treatment: A Review”
  by Elorm Obotey Ezugbe and Sudesh Rathilal
  Membranes 2020, 10(5), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10050089

• “Development of Hydrophilic PVDF Membrane Using Vapour Induced Phase Separation Method for Produced Water Treatment”
  by Muhammad Roil Bilad, Normi Izati Mat Nawi, Min Chean Ho, Norazanita Shamsuddin, Thanitporn Narkkun, Kajornsak Faungnawakij and Asim Laeeq Khan
  Membranes 2020, 10(6), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10060121

Molecules:

• “Polymeric Nanoparticles: Production, Characterization, Toxicology and Ecotoxicology”
  by Aleksandra Zielińska, Filipa Carreiró, Ana M. Oliveira, Andreia Neves, Bárbara Pires, D. Nagasamy Venkatesh, Alessandra Durazzo, Massimo Lucarini, Piotr Eder, Amélia M. Silva et al.
  Molecules 2020, 25(16), 3731; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25163731

• “Nanomaterials for Wound Dressings: An Up-to-Date Overview”
  by Alexandra Elena Stoica, Cristina Chircov and Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
  Molecules 2020, 25(11), 2699; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25112699

• “PROTACs and Building Blocks: The 2D Chemical Space in Very Early Drug Discovery”
  by Giuseppe Ermondi, Diego Garcia-Jimenez and Giulia Caron
  Molecules 2021, 26(3), 672; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030672

• “LncMirNet: Predicting LncRNA–miRNA Interaction Based on Deep Learning of Ribonucleic Acid Sequences”
  by Sen Yang, Yan Wang, Yu Lin, Dan Shao, Kai He and Lan Huang
  Molecules 2020, 25(19), 4372; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25194372

• “Merging Ligand-Based and Structure-Based Methods in Drug Discovery: An Overview of Combined Virtual Screening Approaches”
  by Javier Vázquez, Manel López, Enric Gibert, Enric Herrero and F. Javier Luque
  Molecules 2020, 25(20), 4723; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25204723

• “The Protective Role of Butyrate against Obesity and Obesity-Related Diseases”
  by Serena Coppola, Carmen Avagliano, Antonio Calignano and Roberto Berni Canani
  Molecules 2021, 26(3), 682; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030682

• “Cyanogenic Glycoside Analysis in American Elderberry”
  by Michael K. Appenteng, Ritter Krueger, Mitch C. Johnson, Harrison Ingold, Richard Bell, Andrew L. Thomas and C. Michael Greenlief
  Molecules 2021, 26(5), 1384; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26051384

• “Amygdalin: Toxicity, Anticancer Activity and Analytical Procedures for Its Determination in Plant Seeds”
  by Ewa Jaszczak-Wilke, Żaneta Polkowska, Marek Koprowski, Krzysztof Owsianik, Alyson E. Mitchell and Piotr Bałczewski
  Molecules 2021, 26(8), 2253; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26082253

Nanomaterials:

• “Perfect Dual-Band Absorber Based on Plasmonic Effect with the Cross-Hair/Nanorod Combination”
  by Yuan-Fong Chou Chau, Chung-Ting Chou Chao, Hung Ji Huang, Muhammad Raziq Rahimi Kooh, N. T. R. N. Kumara, Chee Ming Lim and Hai-Pang Chiang
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(3), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10030493

• “Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles: Prospects and Applications in Medicine”
  by Daniel Ziental, Beata Czarczynska-Goslinska, Dariusz T. Mlynarczyk, Arleta Glowacka-Sobotta, Beata Stanisz, Tomasz Goslinski and Lukasz Sobotta
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(2), 387; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020387

• “High Quality Factor, High Sensitivity Metamaterial Graphene—Perfect Absorber Based on Critical Coupling Theory and Impedance Matching”
  by Chunlian Cen, Zeqiang Chen, Danyang Xu, Liying Jiang, Xifang Chen, Zao Yi, Pinghui Wu, Gongfa Li and Yougen Yi
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(1), 95; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10010095

• “An Overview of Micro- and Nanoemulsions as Vehicles for Essential Oils: Formulation, Preparation and Stability”
  by Lucia Pavoni, Diego Romano Perinelli, Giulia Bonacucina, Marco Cespi and Giovanni Filippo Palmieri
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(1), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10010135

• “Making Nd³⁺ a Sensitive Luminescent Thermometer for Physiological Temperatures—An Account of Pitfalls in Boltzmann Thermometry”
  by Markus Suta, Željka Antić, Vesna Ðorđević, Sanja Kuzman, Miroslav D. Dramićanin  and Andries Meijerink
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(3), 543; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10030543

• “Metal-Based Nanoparticles as Antimicrobial Agents: An Overview”
  by Elena Sánchez-López, Daniela Gomes, Gerard Esteruelas, Lorena Bonilla, Ana Laura Lopez-Machado, Ruth Galindo, Amanda Cano, Marta Espina, Miren Ettcheto, Antoni Camins et al.
  Nanomaterials 2020, 10(2), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020292

Polymers:

• “Core–Shell Eudragit S100 Nanofibers Prepared via Triaxial Electrospinning to Provide a Colon-Targeted Extended Drug Release”
  by Yanfei Ding, Cheng Dou, Shuyue Chang, Zhengming Xie, Deng-Guang Yu, Yanan Liu and Jun Shao
  Polymers 2020, 12(9), 2034; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12092034

• “The Inhibition Property and Mechanism of a Novel Low Molecular Weight Zwitterionic Copolymer for Improving Wellbore Stability”
  by Weichao Du, Michal Slaný, Xiangyun Wang, Gang Chen and Jie Zhang
  Polymers 2020, 12(3), 708; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12030708

• “Solid Polymer Electrolytes with Flexible Framework of SiO₂ Nanofibers for Highly Safe Solid Lithium Batteries”
  by Jin Cui, Zehao Zhou, Mengyang Jia, Xin Chen, Chuan Shi, Ning Zhao and Xiangxin Guo
  Polymers 2020, 12(6), 1324; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12061324

• “Conducting Polymers in the Design of Biosensors and Biofuel Cells”
  by Simonas Ramanavicius and Arunas Ramanavicius
  Polymers 2021, 13(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13010049

About MDPI Awards:

In order to reward the academic community, especially young researchers, and enhance communication among scientists, MDPI journals regularly offer various awards to researchers in specific fields. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and are making a significant contribution to the advancement of their fields.

To see more MDPI awards, click here.

Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) is currently recruiting prominent scholars from around the world to join our Editorial Board. Metals is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal published monthly online by MDPI. The Portuguese Society of Materials (SPM) and the Spanish Materials Society (SOCIEMAT) are affiliated with Metals, and their members receive a discount on the article processing charges.

You can find some notable features of the journal below:

• High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, SCIE (Web of Science), Inspec, CAPlus / SciFinder, and other databases;
• Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed, and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 15 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 2.7 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the first half of 2023);
• Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.

Companion journals for Metals include Compounds and Alloys.

The primary responsibilities of Editorial Board Members are as follows:

• Pre-screening and making decisions on manuscripts related to their research interests;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue during their term, on a topic related to their research interests (or supervising Special Issues related to their research field);
• Providing input or feedback regarding journal policies;
• Helping to promote the journal among their peers or at conferences;
• Attending Editorial Board meetings to suggest journal development strategies;
• Reviewing manuscripts.

The benefits of becoming an Editorial Board Member include the following:

• The opportunity to publish one paper, free of charge, per year in Metals, as well as receiving discounts for papers invited from your scientific network;
• A certificate recognizing you as an Editorial Board Member of Metals;
• Metals may offer sponsorship for conferences organized by you as well as offer you travel grants when attending related conferences;
• The term of Editorial Board Members is two years, after which they may be reappointed or have the chance to be selected as Section Editor-in-Chief or Section Associate Editor.

The application criteria for becoming an Editorial Board Member include the following:

• Have a Ph.D.;
• Have knowledge and experience in editing international journals;
• Have published a certain number of research results with academic influence in related fields.

To apply for this position (in one of our Sections), please contact the Metals Editorial Office (metals@mdpi.com) with the following two files attached:

• A full academic CV;
• A short cover letter that details your interest and enthusiasm for the position.

If you have potential candidates to recommend or need further information, we would be truly grateful if you could contact us via email. Your valuable assistance would be highly appreciated. We look forward to hearing from you.

Metals Editorial Office

Conference: 18th International Conference on Molecule-Based Magnets (ICMM2023)
Date: 10–14 September 2023
Location: Nanjing, China

MDPI will be attending ICMM 2023 as an exhibitor. We welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

ICMM is a grand ceremony for all researchers working in related areas all over the world, and is the largest conference covering all topics in molecule-based magnets. The topics that will be covered at the conference will include molecular nanomagnets, spin-crossover materials, long-range ordering magnets, multifunctional and/or switchable materials, nanostructured magnetic materials, molecular spintronics, and devices, as well as other hot topics related to molecule-based magnetism. The conference is organized by the State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry and the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Magnetochemistry;
• Chemistry;
• Crystals;
• Inorganics;
• Magnetism;
• Materials;
• Metals;
• Molecules;
• Physics;
• Quantum Reports;
• Symmetry.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please do not hesitate to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://icmm2023.nju.edu.cn/.

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Prof. Dr. Ronald William Armstrong, the Section Editor-in-Chief of Metals, in May 2023.

In 2020, Prof. Dr. Armstrong demonstrated his exceptional organizational skills by successfully managing a Special Issue for the journal Metals (ISSN: 2075-4701) and subsequently publishing a Special Issue book. Recognizing his profound enthusiasm and strong academic background, we invited him to join the Editorial Board later that year. In 2022, Metals established a new Section entitled "Crystallography and Applications of Metallic Materials", and in recognition of his expertise and dedication, Prof. Dr. Armstrong was promoted to the position of Section Editor-in-Chief.

Throughout his tenure as Section Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Dr. Armstrong worked closely with the editorial members and staff, providing invaluable guidance and fostering the growth and development of the journal. He was an unwavering pillar of strength for Metals, and we were privileged to have him serve in such a prominent role. We extend our deepest gratitude for the contributions he made to the journal, and his legacy will be preserved within the journal.

Prof. Dr. Armstrong was Professor Emeritus at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and an internationally renowned materials scientist with collaborating research partners in all corners of the world on the strength of materials, poly-crystal structures, and temperature and strain influences on mechanical properties. Celebrated for his witty poems and dry humor, Prof. Dr. Armstrong had just completed editing two books and was actively working on a third while publishing additional research papers at the time of his passing. Prior to joining the faculty at Maryland, Prof. Dr. Armstrong was a tenured professor at Brown University, USA.

He was also a Life Member of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, England. With his beloved wife, Mary Ann, and daughters, Lisa and Lori, Prof. Dr. Armstrong traveled the world with stints living in New Zealand, Australia, and England, while pursuing his lifelong passion for fly fishing.

Prof. Dr. Armstrong’s clever wordsmithing and loving affection are already so greatly missed, along with his smile that showed more joy than most receive in a whole lifetime and his congenial winks that he employed often to tell us: he knows the secret and now we do too.

We wish to express our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.