UTEP Researchers Join List of Top Researchers in the World
Last Updated on November 19, 2020 at 12:00 AM
Originally published November 19, 2020
By UC Staff
UTEP Communications
When The University of Texas at El Paso announced it was awarded an R1 designation from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in 2019, the distinction signaled UTEP’s arrival on the national stage as one of the premier research institutions in the country. That reputation was cemented further thanks to a recently published study of the world’s top researchers.
Sixteen UTEP current and past faculty members were included in a ranking of the world’s most cited researchers and those who are among the top 2% within their specialty areas. The ranking method is a based on standardized citation metrics developed by a group of scientists led by John P.A. Ioannidis, M.D., D.Sc., at Stanford University. The study was published in the PLOS Biology Journal in October.
“My sincere congratulations to the UTEP researchers that made the list,” said Roberto Osegueda, Ph.D., UTEP vice president for research. “They are among the most respected scientists and engineers at UTEP, and highly regarded for the quality of their scientific and scholarly work.”
The following UTEP researchers were included in the latest version of the ranking:
- Ruey (Kelvin) Cheu, Ph.D., Ph.D., College of Engineering
- Russell Chianelli, Ph.D., College of Science
- Luis Echegoyen, Ph.D., College of Science
- Jorge Gardea-Torresdey, Ph.D., College of Science
- Eli Greenbaum, Ph.D., College of Science
- William C. Herndon, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, College of Science (deceased)
- Mohamed Khamsi, Ph.D., College of Science
- Vladik Kreinovich, Ph.D., College of Engineering
- James Kubicki, Ph.D., College of Science
- Devesh Misra, Ph.D., College of Engineering
- Lawrence E. Murr, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, College of Engineering
- Mark Pederson, Ph.D., College of Science
- Jose Peralta-Videa, Ph.D., College of Science
- Chintalapalle Ramana, Ph.D., College of Engineering
- Douglas Watts, Ph.D., College of Science
- Ryan Wicker, Ph.D., College of Engineering
“I was absolutely delighted to learn that I am on Stanford University’s list of world’s top 2% scientists,” said Devesh Misra, Ph.D., professor in the College of Engineering and the top ranked UTEP researcher on the database. “This achievement was possible through collaboration with a large number of colleagues and researchers both internal and external to the institution. My sincere thanks go out to everyone who was part of the collaborative effort in the pursuit of excellence in research, including my students.”
The study that resulted in the creation of the ranking analyzed data collected during the period from 1996 to 2019, covering more than 6 million scientists in 22 major fields and 176 subfields.
The University of Texas at El Paso is one of the largest and most successful Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the country, with a student body that is 83% Hispanic. It enrolls nearly 25,000 students in 166 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in 10 colleges and schools. With more than $100 million in total annual research expenditures, UTEP is among the top 5% of universities in the country for research and sixth in Texas for federal research expenditures at public universities.
