We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Zheng Gai has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the new Section “Spin Crossover and Spintronics” in Magnetochemistry (ISSN: 2312-7481).

Prof. Dr. Zheng Gai is a senior staff scientist at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Group of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA. Before joining CNMS, she was a full professor at the Department of Physics of Peking University, China. She worked as a visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Halle, Germany; the Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan; and the State University of New York, Stony Brook. She has published over 170 peer-reviewed papers. The primary focus of her research is on understanding fundamental novel properties of quantum materials in the discipline of condensed matter physics, which includes the growth form and mechanisms, novel magnetic properties, superconductivity, and electronic properties.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Zheng Gai, who shared her vision for the journal with us, as well as her views of the 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?
The aims, scope, and fast-paced publication process of Magnetochemistry appeal to me. Magnetochemistry publishes papers of high quality on various aspects of magnetism, from fundamental research on magnetism to applications of magnetic materials, devices, and technologies in all branches of chemistry. While I was serving as the academic editor for the journal, I had the opportunity to be involved in editorial decisions on manuscript screening, reviewing, and rebuttal and appeal. New experiences not only help me in my research, but also motivate me to contribute more to the community. Taking the Editor-in-Chief role of the “Spin Crossover and Spintronics” Section will give me more chances to use my knowledge and training in this focused area.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
My vision for this rapid publication journal is to provide opportunities for the discussion and exchange of ideas across multidisciplinary scholarly opinions, to create influence on academic as well as corporate thinkers, and to promote theoretical, empirical, and comparative research on problems.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
Magnetism has been a main subject of physics. In the nanotechnology era, magnetic materials are one of the most vital and fastest-growing areas of research in the field. Magnetism has penetrated many aspects of the research area. Therefore, the future of this research field is bright. As an example, spintronics, in addition to particles’ electric charges, is an emerging technology that exploits the intrinsic quantum properties of particles’ electrons and spin. The dynamic control of the electron spin offers possibilities for creating novel quantum-mechanical devices. Lately, 2D materials and quantum materials are drawing into spintronics because of their distinctive spin‑dependent properties. The spin crossover and spintronics are at the point of becoming a mainstream technology, resembling the semiconductor-based technology of the last century.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?
Open Access publication is a natural product of the internet explosion and literature digitalization, it helps to address some of the problems that the traditional publishing model evolved with. Open Access means that anyone with an internet connection can download and read and distribute any of the publications in an Open Access journal. It is free for the readers, so the audience of the research is much bigger and wider. I believe that this model will become mainstream in the publishing field in the future.

We wish Prof. Dr. Zheng Gai every success in her new position, and we look forward to her contributions to the journal.