This Topical Collection aims to explore the intersection of mathematical modeling, sustainable development, and the challenges and solutions. Rapid technological advancements and the increasing need for sustainability have created complex problems that require innovative mathematical modeling approaches to address them. This Topical Collection welcomes high-quality research papers that demonstrate the application of mathematical modeling in various domains, including but not limited to finance and economics, data science and machine learning, artificial intelligence, cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT)‎, cryptography and information security, and biomathematics. The goal is to showcase how mathematical modeling can contribute to sustainable development by providing insights, decision support, and optimization strategies for complex systems in science and information technology.

The agri-food sector is under pressure to move towards more efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly production systems capable of providing affordable, safe and high-quality food to a growing world population facing climate change and resource scarcity, but also pandemics and conflicts. Therefore, research and innovation on future-proof food production systems, including vertical and urban farming and more efficient post-harvest and processing technologies, is crucial for greater competitiveness and resilience. This topical collection aims to bring together recent advances and new concepts on sustainable food production, processing, and manufacturing, as well as on the upcycling of agri-food waste and by-products into bioactive functional ingredients in line with circular economy principles. Cutting-edge research on novel techniques for food quality assessment, authentication, and traceability is also covered in this transdisciplinary topical collection.