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Oceanographers are getting trap while on a boat
Oceanographers retrieve a sediment trap at Station ALOHA as part of the Âé¶¹´«Ã½ Ocean Time Series led by David Karl. Credit: Paul Lethaby.

More than 120 University of Âé¶¹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ and UH Hilo researchers have been recognized among the world¡¯s top scientists in multiple fields, including Earth science, ecology and evolution, environmental science, chemistry and more, according to the 2023 best university rankings by .

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ as a whole ranked in the nation¡¯s top 30 in three subjects (Earth science No. 11, environmental sciences No. 21 and ecology and evolution No. 30), while several researchers ranked in the nation¡¯s top 100 in their respective fields:

firefighters putting out fire
Bin Wang’s research examines the effect of climate change on El Ni?o events and natural disasters. (Photo credit: Quarrie Photography, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
  • Bin Wang: environmental sciences, No. 5 U.S., No. 11 world
  • David M. Karl: environmental sciences, No. 13 U.S., No. 22 world
  • Klaus Keil: Earth science, No. 88 U.S., No. 152 world
  • Stephen L. Vargo: business and management, No. 100 U.S., No. 184 world

The rankings by Research.com were compiled based on citations, publications and the Discipline H-index (D-index), which is a measure that reflects the number of influential documents authored by scientists and only includes publications and citation metrics for an examined discipline. Note: not all subjects are ranked every year.

Business and management

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 109 U.S., No. 282 world

  • Stephen L. Vargo: No. 100 U.S., No. 184 world, D-index 68, citations 72,667, publications 144
  • Efraim Turban: No. 352 U.S., No. 748 world, D-index 44, citations 31,841, publications 122

Chemistry

illustration of Saturn and Titan and an addition illustration of the haze around Titan
A team led by Ralf Kaiser studied the atmospheric haze of Saturn’s moon, Titan. The haze is captured in this natural-color image. (Credits: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Science Institute, Caltech)

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 91 U.S., No. 410 world

  • Richard E. Moore: No. 665 U.S., No. 1,683 world, D-index 84, citations 20,434, publications 239
  • Ralf I. Kaiser: No. 1,331 U.S., No. 3,817 world, D-index 69, citations 15,161, publications 520
  • Michael Jerry Antal: No. 1,575 U.S., No. 4,678 world, D-index 65, citations 20,329, publications 121
  • Paul J. Scheuer: No. 1,714 U.S., No. 5,235 world, D-index 64, citations 10,701, publications 181
  • Craig M. Jensen: No. 1,837 U.S., No. 5,664 world, D-index 62, citations 13,815, publications 159
  • Shiv K. Sharma: No. 1,881 U.S., No. 5,844 world, D-index 62, citations 10,279, publications 264
  • George S. Hammond: No. 1,995 U.S., No. 6,266 world, D-index 60, citations 17,149, publications 309
  • Karl Seff: No. 2,082 U.S., No. 6,649 world, D-index 60, citations 8,777, publications 281
  • Gregory M. L. Patterson: No. 3,095 U.S., No. 11,117 world, D-index 49, citations 7,723, publications 91
  • Marcus A. Tius: No. 3,299 U.S., No. 12,049 world, D-index 47, citations 6,385, publications 177

UH Hilo: No. 192 U.S., No. 1,056 world

  • Matthew S. Platz: No. 2,033 U.S., No. 6,459 world, D-index 60, citations 11,253, publications 348

Computer science

Student looking at CyberCANOE screen
CyberCANOE, a world-class 3D visualization system is a project led by Jason Leigh

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 101 U.S., No. 374 world

  • Rick Kazman: No. 1,092 U.S., No. 2,022 world, D-index 60, citations 25,930, publications 281
  • Henri Casanova: No. 1,720 U.S., No. 3,331 world, D-index 52, citations 12,351, publications 194
  • Daniel D. Suthers: No. 2,178 U.S., No. 4,324 world, D-index 46, citations 12,926, publications 213
  • Jason Leigh: No. 2,710 U.S., No. 5,562 world, D-index 41, citations 6,395, publications 232

Earth science

flooding in India
A flooded street in India during monsoon rains. Fei-Fei Jin’s research examines climate change’s effect on the Indian Ocean. Photo credit: Carol Mitchell, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 11 U.S., No. 18 world

  • Klaus Keil: No. 88 U.S., No. 152 world, D-index 89, citations 25,821, publications 587
  • Fred T. Mackenzie: No. 140 U.S., No. 246 world, D-index 82, citations 26,268, publications 260
  • Fei-Fei Jin: No. 240 U.S., No. 436 world, D-index 74, citations 26,007, publications 217
  • Alexander N. Krot: No. 316 U.S., No. 591 world, D-index 70, citations 15,558, publications 317
  • Bruce F. Houghton: No. 331 U.S., No. 625 world, D-index 69, citations 16,077, publications 284
  • Michael O. Garcia: No. 362 U.S., No. 693 world, D-index 68, citations 11,381, publications 211
  • George P. L. Walker: No. 367 U.S., No. 705 world, D-index 67, citations 16,187, publications 114
  • Christopher L. Sabine: No. 378 U.S., No. 740 world, D-index 66, citations 37,975, publications 219
  • Paul G. Lucey: No. 390 U.S., No. 772 world, D-index 66, citations 14,551, publications 480
  • Bo Qiu: No. 391 U.S., No. 775 world, D-index 66, citations 14,363, publications 233
  • John J. Mahoney: No. 483 U.S., No. 960 world, D-index 63, citations 14,225, publications 157
  • Julian P. McCreary: No. 573 U.S., No. 1,167 world, D-index 60, citations 15,627, publications 137
  • Richard E. Zeebe: No. 678 U.S., No. 1,430 world, D-index 57, citations 18,183, publications 178
  • Christopher I. Measures: No. 692 U.S., No. 1,458 world, D-index 57, citations 11,912, publications 140
  • Gregory F. Moore: No. 708 U.S., No. 1,505 world, D-index 57, citations 9,271, publications 292
  • Gary R. Huss: No. 828 U.S., No. 1,783 world, D-index 54, citations 8,029, publications 227
  • Brian Taylor: No. 880 U.S., No. 1,933 world, D-index 52, citations 10,778, publications 159
  • Roger Lukas: No. 914 U.S., No. 2,009 world, D-index 51, citations 11,909, publications 138
  • Peter J. Mouginis-Mark: No. 949 U.S., No. 2,099 world, D-index 51, citations 5,977, publications 215
  • John M. Sinton: No. 1,034 U.S., No. 2,338 world, D-index 48, citations 8,520, publications 138
  • G. Jeffrey Taylor: No. 1,044 U.S., No. 2,354 world, D-index 48, citations 7,834, publications 125
  • Thomas W. Giambelluca: No. 1,059 U.S., No. 2,379 world, D-index 48, citations 7,032, publications 174
  • Mike Fuller: No. 1,074 U.S., No. 2,418 world, D-index 47, citations 10,585, publications 189
saildrone in water
Saildrones are part of Chris Sabine’s current research (Photo credit: Saildrone)
  • Michael J. Mottl: No. 1,084 U.S., No. 2,439 world, D-index 47, citations 8,740, publications 114
  • Klaus Wyrtki: No. 1,257 U.S., No. 2,916 world, D-index 43, citations 13,155, publications 88
  • Yuan-Hui Li: No. 1,422 U.S., No. 3,322 world, D-index 41, citations 6,549, publications 68
  • Patricia Fryer: No. 1,492 U.S., No. 3,521 world, D-index 40, citations 6,306, publications 139
  • Charles H. Fletcher: No. 1,575 U.S., No. 3,812 world, D-index 39, citations 4,990, publications 144
  • Niklas Schneider: No. 1,590 U.S., No. 3,850 world, D-index 38, citations 8,535, publications 109
  • Richard Hey: No. 1,618 U.S., No. 3,917 world, D-index 38, citations 6,141, publications 108
  • Kelvin J. Richards: No. 1,635 U.S., No. 3,974 world, D-index 38, citations 5,360, publications 110
  • Paul Wessel: No. 1,646 U.S., No. 4,030 world, D-index 37, citations 30,255, publications 109
  • Ross A. Sutherland: No. 1,761 U.S., No. 4,342 world, D-index 36, citations 6,653, publications 78
  • Kazuhide Nagashima: No. 1,914 U.S., No. 4,822 world, D-index 35, citations 4,569, publications 176
  • Eric Hellebrand: No. 1,979 U.S., No. 5,005 world, D-index 34, citations 5,446, publications 123
  • Eric Firing: No. 1,996 U.S., No. 5,058 world, D-index 34, citations 4,963, publications 66
  • Fernando Martinez: No. 2,010 U.S., No. 5,118 world, D-index 34, citations 4,552, publications 121
  • Garrett Ito: No. 2,020 U.S., No. 5158 world, D-index 34, citations 4,189, publications 117
  • Scott K. Rowland: No. 2,086 U.S., No. 5,365 world, D-index 33, citations 4,605, publications 115
  • B. Ray Hawke: No. 2,148 U.S., No. 5,623 world, D-index 32, citations 4,900, publications 84
  • Kenneth H. Rubin: No. 2,272 U.S., No. 6,096 world, D-index 31, citations 3,471, publications 136
  • George H. Sutton: No. 2,320 U.S., No. 6,272 world, D-index 30, citations 3,470, publications 107

Ecology and evolution

men holding a fish
Etelis boweni, a new fish species named after Brian Bowen for his contributions to the study of marine fishes (Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries)

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 30 U.S., No. 72 world

  • Brian W. Bowen: No. 148 U.S., No. 363 world, D-index 82, citations 23,139, publications 184
  • Craig R. Smith: No. 156 U.S., No. 390 world, D-index 81, citations 18,328, publications 250
  • Robert J. Toonen: No. 443 U.S., No. 1,152 world, D-index 63, citations 14,956, publications 234
  • Ruth D. Gates: No. 444 U.S., No. 1,153 world, D-index 63, citations 14,789, publications 179
  • Alan M. Friedlander: No. 630 U.S., No. 1,637 world, D-index 57, citations 12,974, publications 198
  • Michael G. Hadfield: No. 642 U.S., No. 1,660 world, D-index 57, citations 10,191, publications 134
  • Kim N. Holland: No. 896 U.S., No. 2,408 world, D-index 49, citations 8,692, publications 103
  • Curtis C. Daehler: No. 1,030 U.S., No. 2,710 world, D-index 46, citations 9,472, publications 122
  • Les Watling: No. 1,111 U.S., No. 2,981 world, D-index 44, citations 8,467, publications 139
  • Jeffrey Drazen: No. 1,176 U.S., No. 3,188 world, D-index 43, citations 5,964, publications 155
  • Paul L. Jokiel: No. 1,254 U.S., No. 3,397 world, D-index 41, citations 8,908, publications 91
  • Dieter Mueller-Dombois: No. 1,435 U.S., No. 3,947 world, D-index 38, citations 21,888, publications 114
  • Camilo Mora: No. 1,437 U.S., No. 3,953 world, D-index 38, citations 13,227, publications 79
two people planting breadfruit
From left: Rebecca Ostertag’s research has been integral in devising plans to preserve the lowland wet forests of Âé¶¹´«Ã½.
  • Robert H. Cowie: No. 1,456 U.S., No. 4,021 world, D-index 38, citations 7,594, publications 115
  • Joshua S. Madin: No. 1,637 U.S., No. 4,562 world, D-index 36, citations 5,134, publications 107
  • Robert H. Richmond: No. 1,878 U.S., No. 5,261 world, D-index 33, citations 5,428, publications 69

UH Hilo: No. 200 U.S., No. 668 world

  • Rebecca Ostertag: No. 1,684 U.S., No. 4,678 world, D-index 35, citations 7,754, publications 81

Economics and finance

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 104 U.S., No. 267 world

  • Inessa Love: No. 1,210 U.S., No. 2,021 world, D-index 32, citations 16,225, publications 89
  • S. Ghon Rhee: No. 1,299 U.S., No. 2,196 world, D-index 31, citations 5,353, publications 131

Electronics and electrical engineering

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 149 U.S., No. 704 world

  • Aleksandar Kavcic: No. 1,638 U.S., No. 4,392 world, D-index 32, citations 4,884, publications 116

Engineering and technology

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 126 U.S., No. 639 world

  • Wai-Fah Chen: No. 764 U.S., No. 1,977 world, D-index 50, citations 19,502, publications 225
  • Whitlow W.L. Au: No. 980 U.S., No. 2,646 world, D-index 45, citations 7,602, publications 305
  • Matthieu Dubarry: No. 1,756 U.S., No. 5,611 world, D-index 34, citations 6,270, publications 124

Environmental sciences

Brian Popp’s laboratory contributed to research into crop cultivation on Rapa Nui. Photo credit: Terry Hunt.

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 21 U.S., No. 46 world

  • Bin Wang: No. 5 U.S., No. 11 world, D-index 142, citations 83,583, publications 1,600
  • David M. Karl: No. 13 U.S., No. 22 world, D-index 130, citations 61,041, publications 512
  • Tim Li: No. 220 U.S., No. 453 world, D-index 79, citations 20,351, publications 390
  • Antony D. Clarke: No. 222 U.S., No. 457 world, D-index 79, citations 18,835, publications 247
  • Henry F. Diaz: No. 301 U.S., No. 623 world, D-index 73, citations 22,989, publications 223
  • Barry J. Huebert: No. 318 U.S., No. 677 world, D-index 72, citations 15,925, publications 156
  • Brian N. Popp: No. 345 U.S., No. 726 world, D-index 71, citations 15,544, publications 205
  • Robert R. Bidigare: No. 363 U.S., No. 764 world, D-index 70, citations 17,476, publications 146
  • Yuqing Wang: No. 451 U.S., No. 968 world, D-index 66, citations 13,324, publications 215
  • Stephen V. Smith: No. 842 U.S., No. 1,873 world, D-index 55, citations 12,011, publications 121
  • Kevin Hamilton: No. 934 U.S., No. 2,100 world, D-index 53, citations 10,015, publications 168
  • Samir Kumar Khanal: No. 1,070 U.S., No. 2,414 world, D-index 50, citations 10,490, publications 152
  • Mohammad Valipour: No. 1,294 U.S., No. 2,988 world, D-index 46, citations 6,449, publications 73
  • Steven M. Stanley: No. 1,308 U.S., No. 3,016 world, D-index 45, citations 13,558, publications 76
  • Kwok Fai Cheung: No. 1,678 U.S., No. 4,075 world, D-index 40, citations 6,384, publications 146
  • Steven G. Howell: No. 1,737 U.S., No. 4,259 world, D-index 39, citations 7,285, publications 107
  • Qi Chen: No. 2,382 U.S., No. 6,080 world, D-index 34, citations 5,972, publications 84
  • Vladimir N. Kapustin: No. 2,398 U.S., No. 6,152 world, D-index 34, citations 5,275, publications 67
  • Bruce M. Howe: No. 2,522 U.S., No. 6,549 world, D-index 33, citations 5,245, publications 197
  • Pao-Shin Chu: No. 2,779 U.S., No. 7,242 world, D-index 32, citations 4,116, publications 93
  • Margaret A. McManus: No. 2,796 U.S., No. 7,297 world, D-index 32, citations 3,885, publications 93
  • Milton Garces: No. 2,952 U.S., No. 7,736 world, D-index 31, citations 3,895, publications 104

UH Hilo: No. 177 U.S., No. 768 world

  • Shihwu Sung: No. 2,081 U.S., No. 5,218 world, D-index 36, citations 7,048, publications 79

Materials science

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 194 U.S., No. 1,056 world

  • Murli H. Manghnani: No. 2,502 U.S., No. 9,755 world, D-index 41, citations 6,931, publications 204

Microbiology

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 94 U.S., No. 329 world

  • Edward G. Ruby: No. 627 U.S., No. 1,422 world, D-index 67, citations 14,702, publications 136
  • Richard Yanagihara: No. 1,016 U.S., No. 2,488 world, D-index 57, citations 8,656, publications 164

Plant science and agronomy

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 66 U.S., No. 360 world

  • Alan Teramura: No. 252 U.S., No. 924 world, D-index 51, citations 10,817, publications 65
  • Robert E. Paull: No. 343 U.S., No. 1,276 world, D-index 44, citations 8,759, publications 161

Psychology

Couple cuddling
Elaine Hatfield?s 2020 publication looked at scientific understanding of contemporary love and sex, and projections into the future.

UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹: No. 117 U.S., No. 264 world

  • Robert J. Blanchard: No. 336 U.S., No. 526 world, D-index 95, citations 29,010, publications 245
  • Thomas Ashby Wills: No. 646 U.S., No. 1,011 world, D-index 80, citations 20,847, publications 147
  • D. Caroline Blanchard: No. 760 U.S., No. 1,221 world, D-index 76, citations 16,903, publications 189
  • Elaine Hatfield: No. 2,476 U.S., No. 4,294 world, D-index 47, citations 14,067, publications 121
  • Janet D. Latner: No. 2,495 U.S., No. 4,336 world, D-index 47, citations 10,519, publications 124
  • M.E. Bitterman: No. 2,782 U.S., No. 4,872 world, D-index 44, citations 7,331, publications 163
  • Ronald C. Johnson: No. 3,692 U.S., No. 6,610 world, D-index 37, citations 4,516, publications 125
  • Akihiko Masuda: No. 3,702 U.S., No. 6,628 world, D-index 36, citations 14,289, publications 112
  • Anthony J. Marsella: No. 3,793 U.S., No. 6,775 world, D-index 36, citations 6,481, publications 95
  • Paul Pedersen: No. 3,901 U.S., No. 6,988 world, D-index 35, citations 8,809, publications 104

UH Hilo: No. 280 U.S., No. 743 world

  • Bryan S.K. Kim: No. 4,076 U.S., No. 7,317 world, D-index 34, citations 8,297, publications 80
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