We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Yuyang Li has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the “Applied Thermal Engineering” Section in Applied Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3417, IF: 2.838).

Prof. Dr. Yuyang Li received his bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2004 and 2010, respectively, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher and a faculty member at the University of Science and Technology of China between 2010 and 2015. In February 2015, he joined the School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He was promoted to full professor in 2018 and is now a vice dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering. He served as a Board Member of the Combustion Section of the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, a Board Member of the Combustion Aerodynamics Section of the Chinese Aerodynamics Research Society, a Colloquium Co-Chair of the International Symposium on Combustion, a Program Co-Chair of the China National Symposium on Combustion, and a Scientific Committee Member of the Symposium on Ammonia Energy, etc.

In terms of scientific research, he has long been engaged in the research of carbon-neutral energy and power technology, low-carbon combustion technology, combustion kinetics and dynamics, novel combustion technologies, and spray, atomization, and evaporation. He has undertaken more than 10 scientific projects and published more than 170 papers and been authorized as the owner of 7 patents.

He has been awarded the second prize of the China’s State Natural Science Award, the China Youth Science and Technology Award, the Excellent Young Scholar of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Wu Zhonghua Outstanding Young Scholar Award of the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics, the Excellent Research Award of the Combustion Institute, and the 2022 Energy and Fuel Rising Star.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Yuyang Li, who shared his vision for the journal and his views on the research area and open access publishing with us:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take on the role of its Section Editor-in-Chief?
At present, great changes are taking place rapidly in the global energy field. The subject of applied thermal engineering plays a vital role in the energy revolution, and it has been a major topic of discussion. I have carried out long-term research on the subject of applied thermal engineering, especially in the field of combustion energy and power. I really appreciate the invitation from the Applied Sciences journal to be the Section Editor-in-Chief of “Applied Thermal Engineering”, and it is my pleasure to serve the international academic field of applied thermal engineering.

2. What is your vision for the Section "Applied Thermal Engineering"?
There are currently 18 Editorial Members in the Section “Applied Thermal Engineering” of Applied Sciences. Their research directions cover combustion, engineering thermodynamics, heat transfer, renewable energy, building energy conservation, energy storage, etc. In the future, we will further expand the editorial team, cover emerging research directions, and strengthen key research directions, so as to form a high-level stable source of submissions, increase the influence of the Section, and better serve the goal of disseminating academic achievements and promoting academic exchanges in the direction of applied thermal engineering.

3. Who should contribute to this Section, and what can readers expect?
Scholars, including mature Ph.D. students and post-doc researchers in the research field of applied thermal engineering can contribute to this Section, providing innovative academic ideas and valuable research progress to our readers.

4. What does the future of this field of research look like?
The research field of applied thermal engineering is an important supporting field of energy science and technology. The research directions of low-carbon thermal engineering, renewable energy, energy storage and heat storage, and novel energy-saving technologies are on the rise. A large number of cutting-edge research hotspots have been developed, such as hydrogen and ammonia combustion, solar photothermal technology, battery thermal management, and the thermal management of electronic devices. In the future, with the strong support from government and industry and the joint efforts of scholars in this field, I believe that the research field of applied thermal engineering will develop more vigorously.

5. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
Open Access is the general trend in academic publishing. As early as 2016, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research had announced the full implementation of the open access strategy. Chinese academic institutions are also actively exploring the open access mode for academic publishing. Founded in 2012 by the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the China Open Access Promotion Week has been held ten consecutive times. I myself am also an advocate and beneficiary of the open access mode of academic publishing. This year alone, five papers by my research group have been or will be published through the open access mode.

We warmly welcome Prof. Dr. Yuyang Li to his new role as Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Applied Thermal Engineering” Section, and we look forward to his guidance in helping Applied Sciences reach new milestones.