Bioinspiration & Biomimetics: 2016 Reviewer Awards

Reviewer of the Year: Dr Hiroto Tanaka, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

An Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, Dr Hiroto Tanaka finds the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics applicable to his field of research.

Calling his work and the published papers ‘a perfect match’, Dr Tanaka takes great pleasure in being able to contribute to maintaining the high standards of this interdisciplinary journal. One article that recently caught his attention investigated similarities between the wing motion of hummingbirds and flapping wing micro air vehicles: Experimental optimization of wing shape for a hummingbird-like flapping wing micro air vehicle.

When undertaking a review, Dr Tanaka finds it rewarding to have the opportunity to read thought-provoking studies and to contribute to their improvement. It is important to him that the papers he referees are original, clear and concise. His advice to those who are new to the review process is to first pick out the fundamental problems within the manuscript before tackling minor issues such as spelling and grammar.

Dr Tanaka encourages researchers to act as referees in order to meet the overwhelming need for high quality reviews. Although, he fears that the increasing numbers of journals and published papers are far outweighing the numbers of available volunteer reviewers.