SOEST researchers recognized for global excellence
Fei-Fei Jin (l), Ruth Gates (r)
Four University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers were honored among the world’s most influential researchers of 2021. From SOEST, Atmospheric Sciences professor Fei-Fei Jin and the late Ruth D. Gates, with the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, were named to the 2021 Web of Science’s Highly Cited Researchers list.
The annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science™ citation index.
“The rankings demonstrate the superior quality of work by our faculty across many different disciplines, providing further evidence of our status as one of the world’s great research universities,” said Provost Michael Bruno. “Their research and scholarship fuels the knowledge, creation and innovation that is key to our society’s future, and we are proud to have them as part of our UH ʻohana.“
Fei-Fei Jin
Jin was named to the list in the cross-field category, which identifies researchers who have contributed highly cited papers across several different disciplines. Jin’s research interests cover a wide range of topics, including the dynamics of large-scale atmosphere and ocean circulations, and climate variability. His primary research focuses are understanding the dynamics of El Niño-Southern Oscillation, climate variability in the extratropical atmospheric circulation and global warming.
The late Ruth D. Gates
Gates, recognized in the cross-field discipline, was a tireless innovator and advocate for coral reef conservation. The focus of her most recent research efforts was creating “super corals,” coral species occurring naturally in the ocean that could be trained to become more resilient to these harsh conditions.
David Pendlebury, senior citation analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate said, “It is increasingly important for nations and institutions to recognize and support the exceptional researchers who are driving the expansion of the world’s knowledge. This list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi who are having a significant impact on the research community as evidenced by the rate at which their work is being cited by their peers.”
Read the full story on UH News for more on the two other UH honorees, Shidler College of Business Professor Stephen L. Vargo and Institute for Astronomy (IfA) Astronomer Daniel Huber.
The full 2021 Highly Cited Researchers list and executive summary can be found online here.