On 5 November 2026, as part of the XJTLU Researcher Academy programme, XJTLU Library and the Academy of Life and Natural Sciences (AoLNS) jointly organised a research seminar, “Editor Talk: What Makes a Strong Materials Science Paper?”, at the University's SIP Campus, with coordination support from Ms Ruyue Gu of AoLNS. Featuring Dr Yan Li, Senior Editor of Matter and Deputy Editor of Matter & Light at Cell Press, the event attracted more than 50 faculty members and students.

Hosted by Dr Lifeng Ding, Research Centre Director of the Molecular Innovation and Advanced Materials Centre at AoLNS, the seminar focused on three key aspects of scholarly publishing: selecting suitable journals based on their scope and editorial priorities; understanding editorial evaluation and the peer-review process; and preparing and submitting manuscripts effectively. Drawing on his editorial experience, Dr Li shared insights into the considerations involved in publishing research in materials science journals. A separate lunch discussion with 15 AoLNS academic staff provided further opportunities for in-depth exchange with the guest editor.

The seminar also connected editorial expertise with practical research support. Ms Lulu Wang, Research and Instruction Librarian at XJTLU Library, introduced the Library's research support services, including the LibAI Portal, AI-powered literature discovery and anlysis and open-access (OA) publishing support. Dr Zhijie Zhang, Customer Success Consultant at Elsevier, also provided face-to-face academic consultation. By bringing together journal editorial perspectives, publisher expertise and Library research support, the seminar offered researchers a broader understanding of the academic publishing process and the resources available to support their scholarly communication.