MDPI Reviewer Club 2025 | Chemistry, Material and Physical Sciences Session
MDPI Reviewer Club 2025 | Chemistry, Material and Physical Sciences Session
18 September 2025
Peer Review, Chemistry, Physical Sciences, Materials Science, Research Integrity, Scholarly Evaluation, Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Welcome from the Chair
Welcome to the MDPI Reviewer Club 2025 | Chemistry, Material and Physical Sciences Session
At MDPI, we recognize that peer review is the foundation of scientific progress. The integrity, transparency, and quality of our journals depend on the careful evaluations provided by our reviewers. In 2024, more than 215,000 reviewers contributed over 1.2 million reports to MDPI journals. This achievement reflects the strength of our community, and it is through the expertise and dedication of reviewers like you that scholarly communication continues to advance worldwide.
The MDPI Reviewer Club series was created to acknowledge this important role and to provide a space for sharing experiences, exchanging best practices, and building connections within our reviewer community.
If you are not yet part of this community, we warmly invite you to apply to join us as a reviewer here. For further details about reviewing with MDPI, please also visit our Guidelines for Reviewers, where you will find information on reviewer responsibilities, ethics, and the peer review process.
We also encourage you to subscribe to the Reviewer Club series to receive the latest updates and notifications about upcoming sessions by visiting this link. Each edition will spotlight a different discipline, creating opportunities to learn across fields and continue strengthening the role of peer review together.
Date: 18 September 2025
Time: 1:00 p.m. CEST | 7:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 880 1591 5415
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Event Chair
Mr. Cosmin-Iulian Artan graduated from the Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti with a master’s degree in “Reservoir Engineering”. He joined MDPI in August 2020. In January 2021, he started working as a Section Managing Editor and, in October 2021, he obtained the Group Leader position for Section Technology. Cosmin currently works as a Journal Relations Specialist for Energies, Batteries, Solar, and Pollutants.
Keynote Speakers
National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) – Brera Astronomical Observatory, Merate, Italy
Peer Review in Astrophysical Journals
Dr. P. Romano obtained their first M.S. at the University of Padova, then an M.S. and Ph.D. at The Ohio State University. In 2008 Romano joined the research staff at INAF-IASF Palermo and is currently a senior researcher at INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera in Merate. Romano has been with the Swift Team since launch and is now also involved with the ASTRI and CTAO Projects and has served as coordinator of the CTA Extragalactic Science Working Group. Romano’s interests range from HMXBs (especially SFXTs) to AGN (NLS1s and jetted sources), investigating them through optical, UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray energy band monitoring.
High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs), Supergiant Fast X-ray Transients (SFXTs), Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies (NLS1s), Jetted AGN Sources, Optical Monitoring, Ultraviolet (UV) Monitoring, X-ray Monitoring, Gamma-ray Monitoring,
Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy
Advancing Knowledge Through Peer Review: A Perspective from Chemistry, Material and Physical Sciences
Dr. Grazia Giuseppina Politano is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calabria at the Department of Environmental Engineering, focusing on light–matter interaction at the nanoscale for solar membrane distillation. She earned her master’s degree in physics (cum laude) in 2016 and a PhD in “Physical, Chemical and Materials Sciences and Technologies” in 2021, with research spanning graphene-based thin films, nanostructured materials, and advanced optical characterization techniques such as spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman spectroscopy. Her multidisciplinary expertise bridges physics, chemistry, and materials science, covering topics from two-dimensional materials and nanophotonics to functional membranes for sustainable technologies. She has been recognized with the MDPI Crystals Outstanding Reviewer Award in 2025. Dr. Politano has served as guest editor and reviewer for leading international journals and has authored numerous scientific publications on nanomaterials and functional thin films.
Light–matter interaction at the nanoscale, Solar membrane distillation, Graphene-based thin films, Nanostructured materials, Spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, Two-dimensional materials, Nanophotonics, Functional membranes for sustainable tec
Key Aspects When Reviewing Manuscripts in The Battery Field
Dr Hiroyuki Ueda is an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University. Dr Ueda is currently working on the development of advanced electrodes and electrolytes for battery applications, especially focusing on the realization of practical solid-state batteries using plastic crystals as promising solid electrolytes. He studied electrochemistry of redox-active species at ionic liquid | gold single crystal interfaces and received his Ph.D. in 2016 from Kumamoto University (Japan). After graduation, he worked as a battery development engineer in the industry for approximately four years. Since 2020, Dr Ueda has led many industry collaborations. His unique research experience in both industry and academia is key to conducting impactful studies at the Battery Research and Innovation Hub, where Dr Ueda is trying to make novel composite cathodes, anodes, and membranes using plastic crystals and to demonstrate the practical performance of solid-state batteries made from them.
Advanced electrodes, Electrolytes for battery applications, Solid-state batteries, Plastic crystal electrolytes, Electrochemistry of redox-active species, Ionic liquid | gold single crystal interfaces, Composite cathodes and anodes, Functional membranes f
Registration
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Programme
| Speaker | Presentation | Time (CEST) | Time (CST Asia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Cosmin Iulian Artan | Introduction | 1:00 – 1:10 pm | 7:00 – 7:10 pm |
| Dr. Patrizia Romano | Peer Review in Astrophysical Journals | 1:10 – 1:30 pm | 7:10 – 7:30 pm |
| Dr. Grazia Giuseppina Politano | Advancing Knowledge Through Peer Review: A Perspective from Chemistry, Material and Physical Sciences | 1:30 – 1:50 pm | 7:30 – 7:50 pm |
| Dr. Hiroyuki Ueda | Key Aspects When Reviewing Manuscripts in the Battery Field | 1:50 – 2:10 pm | 7:50 – 8:10 pm |
| Q&A | 2:10 – 2:35 pm | 8:10 – 8:35 pm | |
| Mr Cosmin Iulian Artan | Closing of Webinar | 2:35 – 2:40 pm | 8:35 – 8:40 pm |
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
