Lead of Harvest’s Africa Program To Serve as A Founding Co-Editor of New “Discoveries in Remote Sensing”

It is widely accepted that research is best performed when it is built on a platform of diversity and inclusion. Efforts to provide a range of different experiences in a team’s composition and to ensure that each member feels engaged with the team’s work is vital to the team’s success. 

To this end, Catherine Nakalembe, Lead of Harvest’s Africa Program, is co-editing a new section in the journal Remote Sensing alongside Dr. Karen Joyce [James Cook University], Ms. Morgan Crowley [McGill University], Dr. Kate Fickas [Utah State University], Dr. Cristina Gómez [Fundación Cesefor, University of Aberdeen], Dr. Meghan Halabisky [University of Washington], Dr. Michelle Kalamandeen [University of Cambridge, Laurentian University], Dr. Gopika Suresh [Nanyang Technological University] with the goal of promoting diversity in science. The section, Discoveries in Remote Sensing, is seeking innovative work on “remote sensing applications, methods, technology, theory, discussions, and ethics” produced by research teams embodying the Section’s goal of transdisciplinary research and diverse perspectives. 

The Editorial Board’s Action Plan to achieve this goal is to:

1. Publish articles that make "Discoveries" in all remote sensing themes;

2. Give preference to articles with diverse perspectives, multidisciplinary approaches, and inclusive authorships;

3. Give preference to authors from groups who are traditionally under-represented in scientific publishing; 

4. Target articles that promote transdisciplinary collaborations in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Sendai Framework; 

5. Publish articles that communicate findings and impact with clear and accessible language; and

6. Promote articles that expand the frontiers of existing techniques with reproducible and replicable methodologies.

Papers already published in the Section cover diverse topics ranging from detecting offshore oil platform spills, inundation mapping, wildlife population counts, and reservoir water quality.

In an effort to broaden the field of submitted papers, the co-editors are offering a “Get one, Give one” where they match every paid manuscript accepted in the section with a processing fee waiver for another article. Fee-paying authors will be allowed to select who their matching waiver will benefit or they can allow the Editorial Board to make the selection. The goal of this approach is to open the possibility of publication to those who would be otherwise financially disadvantaged. 

The submission deadline for the “Get one” paper is August 31, 2021 and the submission deadline for the “Give one” paper is December 31, 2021.  To get involved with the “Get one, Give one” offer, email cris.wang@mdpi.com. More information on submission can be found here.