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• Introduction
• Topics
• Open Materials
• Timetable
• Submission Guidelines
• Editors
• Call for Reviewers

Introduction

The exciting progress in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Analytics are unlocking new approaches, making the marine industry safer and more efficient. As an industry we are already applying a wide range of these techniques to improve design, manufacture, operation and end-of-life of our assets. To do this we are performing leading fundamental research and developing these into a range of real-world applications. To celebrate this leading research and to inspire a wider uptake of these approaches in the Marine Industry, the Data-Centric Engineering journal (Cambridge University Press) is putting together a Special Issue.

Data-Centric Engineering (DCE) is peer-reviewed, cross-disciplinary and open access journal, supported by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, situated the intersection of data science and all areas of engineering. Whilst the journal is home to research articles that demonstrate cutting-edge data science methods and models for engineering, it also aims to be a venue that engages a wider industry and policy audience interested in the impact that data-centric approaches have made in practice.

This Special Issue aims to demonstrate the link between research and practice, by encouraging interested authors to submit translational papers. Translational papers (approximately 8,000 words in length) are case studies that show the impact that data science has made in an industry or other downstream settings, ending with a set of recommendations for the future that can understood by other industry teams or managers. For instructions on how to structure this paper, see this guide to translational papers, but we welcome questions and are happy to work with authors on the format.

We also welcome shorter position papers (ethical, legal, security and policy issues) and perspectives (authoritative personal views) on data-centric engineering in the marine sector (around 3,000-4000 words).

Each paper will have a blog post written about it by the DCE journal’s Communication Editor, highlighting the innovation and benefits of the approaches developed, to publicise the research more widely to a global audience and to demonstrate the industry’s leading credentials in digitalisation. 

Note that although the journal is open access, authors without access to grant or institutional funding can still publish thanks to funding the journal received from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation. Successful authors will therefore get all of the benefits of open publication – increased visibility, potential for citations, usage and other forms of impact – without having to find funds to pay an article processing charge.

Topics

The topics of interest for this special collection include, but are not limited to:

• Surrogate modelling
• Autonomy
• Physics-based Machine Learning
• Deep learning (regression, classification and vision)
• Supervised, unsupervised or reinforcement learning
• Optimal design and/or operation of processes
• Digital Manufacturing
• Supply chain modelling/optimisation
• Lifecycle assessment
• Uncertainty quantification
• Stochastic and robust optimisation
• Real-time optimisation

Across any application in the Marine Sector.

Open Materials

Authors are encouraged make code and data that supports the findings openly available in a recognised repository and to link to them in the Data Availability Statement in the article. We recognise this may not be possible in all circumstances. See the DCE Journal’s Transparency and Openness Promotion policy. Open Data and Open Materials badges will be displayed on published articles that link to replication materials, as a recognition of open practices.

We also encourage authors to take consider enhancing their articles with additional materials.

Cambridge’s Open Engage platform is a location for sharing early research outputs and additional materials. It can, for example, be used to host working papers, pre-prints, presentations and posters. Materials uploaded to Open Engage will receive a DOI (and therefore be citable objects), allowing authors to link to them in their submitted article.

Video

We encourage authors to let us know about any video and audio content associated with their paper and intend to work with accepted authors on video abstracts to present with their paper.

Timetable

Expressions of interest

To keep track of the number of submissions and the nature of the material, we’d appreciate a short email expressing interest by May 31st. Please email dce@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com with:

• A short description of the paper to be submitted;
• The names of the authors;
• Any open materials or video that can be made available alongside the paper;

Deadline

Authors welcome to submit manuscripts as soon as they are ready, with a final deadline of September 1st, 2022.

Articles will be published as soon as possible after acceptance, in the interest of allowing authors to disseminate their work without unnecessary delay, and added to a curated page for the collection of articles. An editorial reflecting on the insights of the articles will be published later in 2022.

Submission Guidelines

Please note the following key details, with more information available in the DCE Instructions for Authors:

Templates: DCE LaTeX and Word templates are available. For initial submission, authors are able to provide a single manuscript file, if this is easier, but we will need source files for the manuscript and all figures on revision. 

Article types: Translational papers, position papers and perspectives.

Abstract and Impact Statement: Authors should provide both an abstract that summarises the paper (250 words or less) and beneath it an impact statement (120 words describing the significance of the findings in language that can be understood by a wide audience)

When submitting your contribution please select the Translational Data-Centric Engineering in the Marine Sector Special Collection in the drop down menu. Please contact dce@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com with any queries about article preparation.

Editors

• Adam Sobey, University of Southampton and The Alan Turing Institute, UK (DCE Associate Editor)
• Jeom Kee Paik, UCL, UK (DCE Guest Editor)
• Catriona Savage, BMT, UK (DCE Guest Editor)
• Paul Hess III, Office of Naval Research, US (DCE Guest Editor)

Call for Reviewers

See also this call for expert reviewers for the collection (deadline May 1st).