Announcements

MDPI is pleased to share a significant milestone in its mission to advance scholarly research and promote the dissemination of knowledge—300+ MDPI journals are now indexed in Web of Science (WoS). This milestone highlights the global recognition, interdisciplinary impact and enhanced visibility of our journals. It also reflects our adherence to rigorous editorial standards, scientific integrity, and our mission to foster open scientific exchange in all forms, across all disciplines. 

To explore the full list of our journals indexed in WoS, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals/wos. Beyond expanding the coverage of our publications in the leading academic databases, we are dedicated to ensuring that our journals are included in as many scope-specific databases as possible. This increases the visibility of our authors’ work and extends the reach of their significant data. 

This milestone would not have been possible without the efforts and expertise of our academic editors, reviewers and authors. Their commitment and collaboration have been instrumental in creating an inclusive, accessible, and impactful publishing platform. We also extend our gratitude to the global research community for their trust as we continue to break new ground in academic publishing. This milestone is not just a celebration of MDPI’s progress but also recognition of the collective strides made by researchers worldwide. 

As we celebrate this remarkable accomplishment, MDPI remains steadfast in its commitment to open access publishing and ensuring that high-quality research reaches and inspires a global audience.

1. “Proximal Policy Optimization for Efficient D2D-Assisted Computation Offloading and Resource Allocation in Multi-Access Edge Computing”
by Chen Zhang, Celimuge Wu, Min Lin, Yangfei Lin and William Liu
Future Internet 2024, 16(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16010019
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/1/19

2. “A Holistic Review of Machine Learning Adversarial Attacks in IoT Networks”
by Hassan Khazane, Mohammed Ridouani, Fatima Salahdine and Naima Kaabouch
Future Internet 2024, 16(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16010032
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/1/32

3. “Overview of Protocols and Standards for Wireless Sensor Networks in Critical Infrastructures”
by Spyridon Daousis, Nikolaos Peladarinos, Vasileios Cheimaras, Panagiotis Papageorgas, Dimitrios D. Piromalis and Radu Adrian Munteanu
Future Internet 2024, 16(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16010033
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/1/33

4. “A Holistic Analysis of Internet of Things (IoT) Security: Principles, Practices, and New Perspectives”
by Mahmud Hossain, Golam Kayas, Ragib Hasan, Anthony Skjellum, Shahid Noor and S. M. Riazul Islam
Future Internet 2024, 16(2), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16020040
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/2/40

5. “TinyML Algorithms for Big Data Management in Large-Scale IoT Systems”
by Aristeidis Karras, Anastasios Giannaros, Christos Karras, Leonidas Theodorakopoulos, Constantinos S. Mammassis, George A. Krimpas and Spyros Sioutas
Future Internet 2024, 16(2), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16020042
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/2/42

6. “Enhancing Urban Resilience: Smart City Data Analyses, Forecasts, and Digital Twin Techniques at the Neighborhood Level”
by Andreas F. Gkontzis, Sotiris Kotsiantis, Georgios Feretzakis and Vassilios S. Verykios
Future Internet 2024, 16(2), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16020047
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/2/47

7. “Enhancing Smart City Safety and Utilizing AI Expert Systems for Violence Detection”
by Pradeep Kumar, Guo-Liang Shih, Bo-Lin Guo, Siva Kumar Nagi, Yibeltal Chanie Manie, Cheng-Kai Yao, Michael Augustine Arockiyadoss and Peng-Chun Peng
Future Internet 2024, 16(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16020050
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/2/50

8. “A Secure Opportunistic Network with Efficient Routing for Enhanced Efficiency and Sustainability”
by Ayman Khalil and Besma Zeddini
Future Internet 2024, 16(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16020056
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/2/56 

9. “The Microverse: A Task-Oriented Edge-Scale Metaverse”
by Qian Qu, Mohsen Hatami, Ronghua Xu, Deeraj Nagothu, Yu Chen, Xiaohua Li, Erik Blasch, Erika Ardiles-Cruz and Genshe Chen
Future Internet 2024, 16(2), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16020060
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/2/60

10. “A Systematic Survey on 5G and 6G Security Considerations, Challenges, Trends, and Research Areas”
by Paul Scalise, Matthew Boeding, Michael Hempel, Hamid Sharif, Joseph Delloiacovo and John Reed
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030067
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/3/67

11. “The Future of Healthcare with Industry 5.0: Preliminary Interview-Based Qualitative Analysis”
by Juliana Basulo-Ribeiro and Leonor Teixeira
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030068
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/3/68

12. “Deep Learning for Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) in Time Series Data”
by Konstantinos Psychogyios, Andreas Papadakis, Stavroula Bourou, Nikolaos Nikolaou, Apostolos Maniatis and Theodore Zahariadis
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030073
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/3/73

13. “A Lightweight Neural Network Model for Disease Risk Prediction in Edge Intelligent Computing Architecture”
by Feng Zhou, Shijing Hu, Xin Du, Xiaoli Wan and Jie Wu
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030075
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/3/75

14. “Multi-Level Split Federated Learning for Large-Scale AIoT System Based on Smart Cities”
by Hanyue Xu, Kah Phooi Seng, Jeremy Smith and Li Minn Ang
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030082
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/3/82 

15. “An Advanced Path Planning and UAV Relay System: Enhancing Connectivity in Rural Environments”
by Mostafa El Debeiki, Saba Al-Rubaye, Adolfo Perrusquía, Christopher Conrad and Juan Alejandro Flores-Campos
Future Internet 2024, 16(3), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi16030089
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/16/3/89

We are pleased to announce that the 2nd International Conference on AI Sensors and Transducers (AIS 2025) will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 29 July to 3 August 2025. Building on the success of our previous conference in Singapore, this event promises to be an exciting platform for exploring cutting-edge advances and fostering collaboration in the rapidly evolving field of AI, sensors, and transducers. We expect that the AIS 2025 will host over 600 participants from around the world.

Conference Chairs:

• Prof. Dr. Toshihiro Itoh, Department of Precision Engineering, University of Tokyo, Japan;
• Prof. Dr. Sang-Woo Kim, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Korea;
• Prof. Dr. Chengkuo Lee, Director of Center for Intelligent Sensors and MEMS; Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.

Topics of Interest:

• S1. Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) and MicroTAS;
• S2. Biosensors and Biomedical Devices;
• S3. In-Body IoT Sensing Technology, Electroceuticals and Neural Interfaces;
• S4. Nanophotonics and Metasurface;
• S5. Acoustic, RF, THz Metamaterials and AI-Enabled Metamaterials;
• S6. Neuromorphic Computing, In-Memory Computing and Applications;
• S7. Photonics Integrated Circuits (PICs) and Novel Materials;
• S8. Enabling Technology for Photonic Neural Networks (PNNs) and Applications;
• S9. In-Sensor Computing and Enabling Technology for Edge Computing;
• S10. MEMS/NEMS Sensors;
• S11. Semiconductor Sensors, Photodetectors and CMOS MEMS;
• S12. Piezoelectric MEMS and Resonators—FBAR, SAW and pMUT;
• S13. Piezoelectric Transducers and Energy Harvesters;
• S14. Ferroelectric/Perovskite/2D Materials Thin Film and Applications;
• S15. Gas Sensors and Chemosensors;
• S16. Triboelectric Nanogenerators and Self-Powered Sensors;
• S17. Energy Harvesting Technology and Applications;
• S18. Flexible, Stretchable and Wearable Sensors;
• S19. Wearable AI Sensors;
• S20. AI-Enhanced Tactile Sensors and e-Skin;
• S21. Haptic Technology and Applications;
• S22. Advanced Sensors for Robots and Autonomous Systems;
• S23. Intelligent Sensors and AI-Enhanced Humanoids;
• S24. Enabling Technology for Digital Twin, Metaverse and Smart Sensing Systems;
• S25. AIoT Technology and Applications;
• S26. Sensors for Agriculture Applications and Harsh Environments;
• S27. Industry Forum and Commercialization of Sensors and Transducers;
• S28. Regular Symposium.

Guide for Authors:

Please click the button to submit your abstract before 3 April 2025.

Please click the button to register for this event.

For detailed information, please visit https://sciforum.net/event/AIS2025?section=#instructions.

For any enquiries regarding the event, please contact [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you at AIS 2025.

MDPI, a pioneer in scholarly open access publishing, and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), Singapore, proudly announce the successful conclusion of the first edition the MDPI Early Career Researcher Awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to medical and biomedical research, were presented to six exceptional researchers during an awards ceremony held at LKCMedicine HQ Building on 28 November 2024.

Honoring Excellence in Research

The awards recognize exceptional postdoctoral researchers and Ph.D. students who have demonstrated outstanding originality, innovation, and impact in their respective fields. We are honored to announce the winners of the 2024 edition:

Early Career Researcher (Postdoc) Award:

• Dr. Theresia Handayani Mina, “Adiposity and Metabolic Health in Asian Populations: An Epidemiological Study Using Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry in Singapore”;
• Dr. Erfan Rezvani Ghomi, “Wound Healing Improvement by Novel Aligned Antimicrobial Nanofibrous 3D Scaffolds”;
• Dr. Yadollah Ranjbar Slamloo, “Functional Alterations of The Prefrontal Circuit Underlying Cognitive Aging in Mice”.

Early Career Researcher (Ph.D.) Award:

• Pritisha Rozario, “Mechanistic Basis for Potassium Efflux-Driven Activation of the Human NLRP1 Inflammasome”;

• Michelle Law Cheok Yien, “Chikungunya Virus Nonstructural Protein 1 is a Versatile RNA Capping and Decapping Enzyme”;
• Yin Ruoyu, “The Use of Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Tools in Older Adults: A Mixed Method Study”.

Our collaboration highlights a shared commitment to recognizing exceptional talent and research within the academic community, addressing today’s healthcare challenges, and inspiring continued innovation.

Looking Ahead to 2025

Building on the success of the first edition, MDPI and LKCMedicine are excited to announce that the 2025 MDPI Early Researcher Awards will continue to celebrate excellence and innovation in medical research. The next edition promises to expand its scope, introducing new categories and providing even greater recognition for impactful research.

Further details on the 2025 awards, including nomination criteria and timelines, will be shared in the coming months. We remain committed to fostering a culture of research excellence and collaboration within the global scientific community.

Conference: 30th Annual ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces
Date: 24–27 March 2025
Location: Cagliari, Italy

MDPI will be attending the 30th Annual ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces as an exhibitor which will be held from 24 to 27 March 2025. We welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

The 30th Annual ACM Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (ACM IUI) 2025 provides an ideal platform for leading researchers and practitioners to meet and discuss the state-of-the-art advances at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and human–computer interaction (HCI). Ideal IUI submissions should address practical HCI challenges using machine intelligence and explore both the computational and human-centric aspects of such methodologies, techniques, and systems.

The theme for IUI 2025 is “sustainability”, covering a wide variety of topics, such as intelligent user interfaces allowing for social inclusion, interactive intelligent systems for environmental sustainability, human control of energy management or resource conservation, behavioral changes, and data-driven decision-making for environmental monitoring.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• MTI;
• Electronics;
• Applied Sciences;
• Computers;
• Biomimetics;
• Information;
• Sustainability;
• Robotics;
• Future Internet;
• IoT;
• Virtual Worlds;
• AI;
• MAKE;
• Algorithms;
• Digital;
• Informatics.

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://iui.acm.org/2025/index.html.

Nine new journals covering multiple subjects launched their inaugural issues in December 2024. We are excited to be able to share with you the newest research rooted in the value of open access.

We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all of the Editorial Board Members, and each journal will ensure its high-quality output by using excellent editorial and rigorous peer-review processes, to ensure that the articles achieve high impact and visibility.

Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below.

Journal	Founding Editor-in-Chief	Journal Topics (Selected)
	Prof. Dr. Zhaoyang Dong City University of Hong Kong, China Editorial | View inaugural issue	energy storage technologies; energy storage system management; energy storage applications; strategies in renewable energy generation grid integration; distributed storage systems; economics and markets for energy storage View journal scope | Submit an article
	Prof. Dr. Yang-Hui He 1. London Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Royal Institution, UK 2. University of Oxford, UK Editorial | View inaugural issue	Euclidean geometry; differential geometry; algebraic geometry; complex geometry; discrete geometry; computational geometry; geometric group theory;  convex geometry View journal scope | Submit an article
	Dr. Michel Planat Université de Franche-Comté, France Editorial | View inaugural issue	differential topology; algebraic topology; manifold topology; homology theory; low-dimensional topology; fuzzy sets View journal scope | Submit an article
	Prof. Dr. Rashid Al Abri 1. Sultan Qaboos University, Oman 2. Oman Medical Association, Oman Editorial | View inaugural issue	clinical practices as well as research and innovation in medical education, risk management in healthcare, and patient safety View journal scope | Submit an article
	Prof. Dr. Ecevit Bilgili* New Jersey Institute of Technology, USA *Prof. Dr. Ecevit Bilgili passed away before the completion of the inaugural issue. His dedication and vision for JPBI will always be remembered and serve as a guiding inspiration. Editorial | View inaugural issue	early drug discovery and development; product characterization and pre-clinical testing; drug delivery systems and drug design; active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production View journal scope | Submit an article
	Dr. Weiyong Liu Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China Editorial | View inaugural issue	theories, methodologies, technologies, and applications in the fields of laboratory medicine and clinical chemistry View journal scope | Submit an article
	Prof. Dr. Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar University of Granada, Spain Editorial | View inaugural issue	scientometrics; informetrics; bibliometrics; altmetrics; webometrics; research evaluation View journal scope | Submit an article
	Prof. Dr. Fei Fan Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China Editorial | View inaugural issue	regional growth theory and methods; regional system modeling and optimization; regional development policy; regional spatial evolution; environmental policy and instrument choice View journal scope | Submit an article
	Dr. Kevin Cianfaglione Université Catholique de Lille, France Editorial | View inaugural issue	wild species and their habitats; wild environments and biodiversity; natural environment management; wild land preservation View journal scope | Submit an article

We wish to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. You are welcome to send an application here, or contact the New Journal Committee ([email protected]) if you would like to create more new journals.

The editorial team at Future Internet extends our heartfelt thanks to the dedicated reviewers whose expertise and commitment have been key to the journal's success in 2024. Last year,  Future Internet received 2707 review reports from 1062 reviewers representing 54 countries and regions worldwide.

To recognize the invaluable time, effort, and attention to detail that each reviewer dedicates, Future Internet expresses its sincere gratitude through an annual acknowledgment of reviewers. As a further token of appreciation, all reviewers are eligible for the Outstanding Reviewer Award, which honors their essential role in enhancing the quality of our publications.

We are honored to recognize the reviewers who allowed us to publish their names each year. The names of these reviewers are listed below in alphabetical order by first name:

More than 100 German universities and research institutions have entered into a national agreement with MDPI. The publication agreement negotiated by ZB MED comes into effect on 1 January 2025 and is valid until the end of 2026. Joining the consortium is still possible until the beginning of 2025. We are delighted by the high level of interest this agreement has already garnered, reflecting the strong demand for accessible and cost-effective open access publishing solutions among German research institutions.

This new cooperation aims to make scientific gold open access publishing more affordable and less administratively burdensome for researchers in Germany. The agreement includes substantial discounts on article processing charges (APCs) for corresponding authors from participating institutions. It offers flexible payment options, including centralized invoicing or individual payment of fees by researchers or their institutions. Additionally, the agreement features a flat-fee model that enables institutions to precisely plan expenses and optimize their library budgets.

"MDPI can look back on over a decade of successful partnerships with German research institutions," says Peter Roth, MDPI Head of Publishing. "The new agreement marks another milestone in the long-standing co-operation between MDPI and the German scientific community. It emphasizes our commitment to developing up-to-date and inventive solutions for the diverse needs of scientific institutions to promote open research for the benefit of researchers."

Petra Labriga, Head of Strategic License Management at ZB MED, highlighted the agreement's significance: "As one of the world's leading Gold OA publishers, MDPI plays a central role in the German publishing landscape. We are particularly pleased that we were able to achieve considerable potential cost savings for scientific institutions and their authors at a national level through our negotiations."

The partnership reflects a common goal of advancing the idea of open access and supporting researchers in making their scientific excellence internationally visible.

"We would like to thank the ZB MED consortium team for their excellent collaboration," added Adrian Stefan Zamfir, MDPI Institutional Partnership Manager for the DACH region. "We are delighted that this agreement will give even more researchers in Germany access to our tried-and-tested and reliable publication platform."

Franziska Fischer (right), Commercial Director at ZB MED, an Peter Roth (left), Head of Publishing at MDPI, celebrate the signing of the new national open access agreement between MDPI and the ZB MED Consortium.

More Information

• Conditions and participation opportunities (German): Link
• Frequently asked questions (German): Link

Contact

• ZB MED: Team Konsortiallizenzen ([email protected]) - Website
  MDPI: Adrian Stefan Zamfir, Institutional Partnership Manager ([email protected])
  
  

About ZB MED

ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences is an infrastructure and research centre for life science information and data. Its aim is to support and strengthen research for people and the environment: from medicine to biodiversity and environmental protection.

The work of ZB MED is orientated towards the strategic guidelines:

• Research + Networking: We conduct research together with the regionally, nationally, European and globally networked research community.
• Data science: We enable data analyses and generate new knowledge through research.
• Access to information: We provide sustainable access to information, literature and data as a central information infrastructure.
• Open + FAIR: We promote open and reproducible science in line with open science and FAIR principles.
• Knowledge and skills transfer: We actively impart knowledge, competences and skills.

More information at www.zbmed.de.

About MDPI

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, MDPI is one of the world's leading open access publishers with a current portfolio of more than 440 journals in all scientific disciplines. MDPI‘s goal is to advance open science worldwide through greater transparency, efficiency and collaboration. To date, more than 3.7 million researchers have published their results in MDPI journals. The editorial process is overseen by a large network of dedicated reviewers and editors and supported by more than 6500 MDPI employees. MDPI currently works with over 800 academic institutions and 180 scientific societies worldwide, which benefit from a wide range of MDPI services and products.

We are pleased to announce a series of updates to our template, aimed at improving the readability and overall aesthetics of our publications. These changes have been meticulously designed to enhance the user experience and ensure consistency across all our publications. The updated template will be available for download from the Instructions for Authors page.

The following updates will be applied to articles published in the 2025 volumes, starting on 24 December 2024:

• Main text: The line spacing has been increased to improve the readability of publications;
• Header and footer: The link to the journal website will be removed, as a hyperlink has been integrated into the journal logo. Additionally, the DOI link will be moved from the left-hand side to the right-hand side, and both the header and footer will be slightly raised to achieve a better balance;
• Left information bar: The information provided here has been rearranged for better organization; the CC-BY logo will be removed;
• Font size: The font size used for the abstract, keywords, and first-level headings will be increased.

Furthermore, MDPI journals will continue to use article numbers. This approach enables us to maintain a rapid and efficient production process by being able to define pagination as soon as a paper is accepted.

We hope that the new version of the template will provide users with a better experience and make the process more convenient.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions or suggestions.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 685 Editorial Board Members of our journals – from 39 different countries and territories – who have been recognized as Highly Cited Researchers for 2024 by Clarivate. This distinction highlights their exceptional scientific achievements and significant contributions, which transcend academic boundaries to advance global knowledge, sustainability, security, and well-being.

Clarivate's annual Highly Cited Researcher™ list identifies the most influential scientists of the past decade, whose work has had a profound and widespread impact across various scientific and social science disciplines. Their impactful papers rank among the top 1% by citations in one or more of the 21 fields analyzed within the "Essential Science Indicators," marking them as leaders in their respective domains.

"Highly Cited Researchers have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research," according to Clarivate. In 2024, a total of 6,886 Highly Cited Researcher designations were awarded to 6,636 individuals.

The following is a list of MDPI's Editorial Board Members named Highly Cited Researchers in 2024. We congratulate them for their achievement and their contributions to advancing knowledge in their respective fields.