On October 17, 2024, Dr. Lu Shi, Senior Editor of Nature Nanotechnology, was invited by Prof. Hui Huang of School of Materials Science and Optoelectronic Technology to give a lecture on “Publishing in Nature Nanotechnology: An insider’s view of the Nature journal” in Yanqihu Campus, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

 Dr. Lu Shi joined Nature Nanotechnology in April 2023 from Wiley, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of Advanced Electronic Materials and Deputy Editor of Advanced Materials. Prior to her editorial career, she worked on 2D materials growth and magnetoelectric transport behavior of van der Waals heterostructures. For her work, she received a joint PhD in Materials Science and Physics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium and Université Grenoble Alpes, France. She obtained her BEng and MSc in Materials Science and Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In the lecture, Dr. Lu Shi firstly introduced the history of the journal Nature and its research areas. Nature is a journal with significant influence and status in international science, and its research covers important research results in almost all fields of natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy and medicine. Its articles not only publish original research papers, but also include review articles, news reports, commentaries and opinions, etc., which play an important role in promoting the development of science and technology and facilitating global scientific exchanges.

Dr. Lu Shi then talked about the workflow of Nature journal editors. As one of the most influential journals, Nature receives a large number of submissions every day. The editors review more than 10 articles per day, and after reviewing the articles for innovation and breakthroughs and taking into account the reviewers' comments, about 8% of the articles will be published in the journal.

In addition, Dr. Lu Shi introduced that researchers’ work topics and article presentations should be closer to the apex of the “triangle” of advanced research mechanisms, advanced concepts, and advanced practical significance, which not only increases the appreciation of the article, but also greatly enhances the value of the research topic. A good research article should have a clear research background, research purpose, research highlights and future revelations.