Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Daniele Contini has been appointed Editor-in-Chief for the journal Atmosphere (ISSN: 2073-4433).

Homepage:  https://www.isac.cnr.it/en/users/daniele-contini
Affiliation: Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council (CNR), Str. Prv. Lecce-Monteroni km 1.2, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: atmospheric composition; aerosol sources; health-related effects of aerosols; receptor models; turbulent fluxes; particle deposition; nucleation

Dr. Daniele Contini obtained his M.Sc. in physics in 1994 and his Ph.D. in energy engineering in 1999 from the University of Florence, Italy. He became a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Research Council (ISAC-CNR in Lecce) in 2001, and he is now a research director at ISAC-CNR. He is the coordinator of the macroarea of ISAC-CNR research in atmospheric composition, climate forcing, and air quality. His research activity is mainly experimental and focused on atmospheric sciences. At present, his research interests can be summarized into four main lines: (i) the identification and characterization of atmospheric particulate matter sources, using both high-resolution temporal measurements and receptor models based on the chemical composition of the particulate, and their spatial and temporal trends; (ii) health and toxicological effects of atmospheric particulate matter due to both natural and anthropogenic sources; (iii) study of atmospheric particulate dynamics in the surface boundary layer with particular attention to nucleation, emission, and deposition processes; and (iv) analysis and parameterization of the dispersion of atmospheric pollutants also using physical modeling on a reduced scale in a wind tunnel and/or in a hydraulic vein. Throughout his career, he has established numerous successful research collaborations with leading international groups in the field of atmospheric and climate sciences. He has held coordination responsibilities in a number of research projects at regional, national, and international levels. Dr. Daniele Contini has been the President of the Italian Aerosol Society (IAS) since 2018, and he has been the chair of the working group “Atmospheric Aerosol Studies” of the European Aerosol Assembly since 2022. He is the PI of the Environmental—Climate Observatory of Lecce, a regional station of the GAW/WMO-Global Atmosphere Watch network and the national facility of the ACTRIS network.

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

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take on the role of Editor-in-Chief?
I started to collaborate with the journal Atmosphere in 2012 and I appreciated its commitment to publishing high-quality papers. The journal has highly dedicated and professional support staff and an Editorial Board including very experienced researchers that allows for fast open access publication. All of this was attractive to me to become its new Editor-in-Chief.

2. What is your vision for the journal?
The journal Atmosphere has already evolved significantly, and I believe that it can continue to do so. My vision is to support this growth and to help in making Atmosphere one of the leading journals in the field of atmospheric sciences, promoting the publication of groundbreaking research and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. I strongly believe that the impact and ranking of the journal can still improve in the near future.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?
Atmospheric sciences present several great challenges in current research with interdisciplinary complexities. The atmosphere influences human life in terms of air quality and health, climate change, and extreme weather events. This pushes the research community to tackle the complexity of the atmosphere, leading to a better and deeper understanding of concepts, mechanisms, and processes and their inter-correlation driving global changes. The continuous development of large atmospheric observation networks and the application of advanced regional and global modeling, coupled with high-performance computing, will be essential instruments for researchers in the near future, allowing for innovation and the development of new ideas and approaches in the field of atmospheric sciences to improve our knowledge of the atmosphere.

4. What do you think of the development of the open access format in the publishing field?
Open access publishing is a highly positive development in the publishing field with a fast-growing trend in the last years. Open access makes knowledge and research accessible to a broad audience, including scientists, industry professionals, policymakers, and the public, leading to the accelerated dissemination of scientific results.

We wish Dr. Daniele Contini every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.