December Four NUI Galway Academics Feature in Top 1% of World’s Most Highly Cited Researchers

NUI Galway’s Professor Henry Curran, Professor Colin O’Dowd, Professor Donal O’Regan and Dr Derek Morris, have ranked in the top 1% of Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers for 2018.

The Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers for 2018 identifies scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated significant influence through publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Researchers are selected for their exceptional performance in one or more of 21 fields (those used in Essential Science Indicators (ESI)) or across several fields.

Approximately 6,000 researchers are named Highly Cited Researchers in 2018 — some 4,000 in specific fields and about 2,000 for Cross-Field performance. This is the first year that researchers with Cross-Field impact are identified.

Professor Henry Curran is Director of the Combustion Chemistry Centre at NUI Galway’s School of Chemistry and of the Energy Research Centre in the Ryan Institute. His research interest lies in the study of the chemistry of how fuels burn in combustors in order to increase efficiency and reduce emissions for a cleaner world.

Professor Colin O’Dowd is Director of the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies at the Ryan Institute, NUI Galway, and a Professor in the School of Physics, NUI Galway. Through his pioneering work in the field of atmospheric physics, Colin has become internationally renowned as one of the leading scientists in the field of climate change.

Professor Donal O'Regan is a Personal Professor of Mathematics at NUI Galway’s School of Mathematics, Statistics and Applied Mathematics and an internationally recognised expert in the field of Nonlinear Analysis. He has written over 1,300 peer-reviewed mathematical articles, making him one of the most prolific authors in the history of mathematics in the world.

Dr Derek Morris is a Principal Investigator in the Neuroimaging and Cognitive Genomics (NICOG) Centre and is Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science within the School of Natural Sciences at NUI Galway. His research, which began during his time in TCD (2001-2013), is based on using genetics and genomics to understand the biological basis of schizophrenia and other common psychiatric disorders.

Vice President for Research at NUI Galway, Professor Lokesh Joshi, said: “Professors’ Curran, O’Dowd, O’Regan and Dr Morris are outstanding in their fields and have deservedly earned respect and recognition globally for their research. We are proud of our colleagues and the way they reflect the vibrant and impactful research community at our university.”

The Highly Cited Researchers data from Clarivate Analytics form a key component of the Academic Ranking of World Universities, one of the longest established and most influential annual surveys of top universities globally.

For the 2018 Highly Cited Researchers analysis, the papers surveyed were those published and cited during 2006 - 2016 and which at the end of 2016 ranked in the top 1% by citations for their ESI field and year (the definition of a highly cited paper).

This is the fifth year in a row since 2014 that Professors’ Curran and O’Regan have been included in this prestigious list, the fourth year in a row for Professor O’Dowd and the first year for Dr Morris.

The 2018 Highly Cited Researchers list can be seen in its entirety by visiting: https://www.clarivate.com/

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