Twelve UMass Amherst Researchers Recognized As Among Most Highly Cited in the World

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AMHERST, Mass. – Twelve researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been recognized for being among the world’s most highly cited researchers in 2018.

The analysis by Philadelphia-based Clarivate Analytics, owner of Web of Science, serves as the basis for regular listings of researchers whose citation records put them in the top 1 percent by citations for their field and year.

These scientists are judged to be “influential,” and their citation records are seen as “a mark of exceptional impact,” the company says. This year’s list from UMass Amherst includes five more than the seven named in 2017. Placement on the list has been recognized as a significant achievement for those named, Clarivate says.

The twelve recognized for 2018 are astronomers Daniela Calzetti and Mauro Giavalisco; polymer science and engineering professor Thomas P. Russell; microbiologist Derek Lovley, environmental scientist Baoshan Xing of the Stockbridge School, chemist Vincent Rotello and his former graduate student Chaekyu Kim, and food scientists Eric Decker, David Julian McClements, Yeonhwa Park, Hang Xiao and their former graduate student Cheng Qian.

Now in its fifth year, the citation analysis identifies influential researchers as determined by their peers around the world. They have consistently won recognition in the form of high citation counts over a decade.

The new list announced today contains about 3,400 highly cited researchers in science and social science fields. The company says, it “focuses on contemporary research achievement: Only highly cited papers in science and social science journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection during the 11-year period 2005-2015 were surveyed.”

Annette Thomas, CEO of the Clarivate Analytics scientific and academic research group, warmly congratulated the researchers on their appearance in this year’s list. She said, “Congratulations to your distinguished group of researchers. The advancement of scientific endeavor represents a critical activity for individual research institutions and entire nations. The Highly Cited Researchers 2018 list helps to identify the researchers who are having the greatest impact on the research community as measured by the rate at which their work is being cited by others and that contributes so greatly to extending the frontier and gaining knowledge and innovations for society – contributions that make the world healthier, safer, richer and more sustainable.”