The University of California is North America’s leader in scientific research, according to Clarivate’s 2024 Highly Cited Researchers list, with 289 faculty and scientists from across all 10 campuses named as among the most influential in their fields.
Clarivate awarded 6,886 Highly Cited Researcher designations to scientists and researchers around the globe this year. UC accounted for 4.4 percent of the world’s most frequently cited researchers — more than any other university or university system in the United States. UC also accounted for more than half (55 percent) of the 522 Highly Cited Researchers based in California.
To receive inclusion in Clarivate’s list, a researcher must author multiple papers that rank in the top 1 percent by citations in their field over the past decade. Few of the world’s scientists and social scientists make the cut — those on the list account for 1 in 1,000 of the world’s researchers and represent those whose work is at the leading edge of their discipline.
“We celebrate these Highly Cited Researchers whose exceptional and community-wide influence shapes the future of science, technology and academia globally,” said Bar Veinstein, president of academia and government at Clarivate. “We honor not just their scientific achievement but their impact on driving innovation and addressing wider societal challenges to help transform our world.”
Highly cited campuses and faculty
Four UC campuses ranked among the top 25 institutions around the world. UC San Diego tied for the 10th-most Highly Cited Researchers, with 55 faculty and scientists affiliated with its campus. UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco tied at 12th with 52 Highly Cited Researchers apiece, and UCLA, with 43, ranked 23rd. Each of UC’s 10 campuses, along with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, contributed to UC’s total of 289 faculty and scientists.
An elite cadre of 11 UC researchers were highly cited in multiple fields, bringing UC to 300 designations across 289 faculty and researchers. Those standout faculty are:
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Jillian F. Banfield at UC Berkeley (Biology and Biochemistry; Microbiology)
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Pieter C. Dorrestein at UC San Diego (Biology and Biochemistry; Microbiology)
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Jennifer A. Doudna at UC Berkeley (Biology and Biochemistry; Molecular Biology and Genetics)
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Daniel H. Geschwind at UCLA (Molecular Biology and Genetics; Neuroscience and Behavior)
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Yu Huang at UCLA (Cross-field; Materials Science)
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Rob Knight at UC San Diego (Biology and Biochemistry; Microbiology; Molecular Biology and Genetics)
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Bjoern Peters at UC San Diego (Biology and Biochemistry; Immunology)
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Antoni Ribas at UCLA (Clinical Medicine; Molecular Biology and Genetics)
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Yang Yang at UCLA (Cross-field; Materials Science)
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Jizhong Zhou at Berkeley Lab (Environment and Ecology; Microbiology).
UC San Diego’s Rob Knight is in particularly rarified air as one of only 22 Highly Cited Researchers this year to earn the distinction in three or more fields. His groundbreaking work in microbiome research continues to reshape our understanding of the human body’s microbial ecosystems, with a growing impact on health care, biotechnology and environmental science.
“We are thrilled but not surprised to see UC San Diego once again ranked among the top institutions for Highly Cited Researchers worldwide,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “This recognition affirms the extraordinary contributions of our faculty members whose pioneering work is advancing human knowledge and addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time. Their influence extends far beyond the lab, helping to shape global innovations in healthcare, sustainability and technology.”
Many of the university’s highly cited researchers are affiliated with multiple UC campuses, and also receive support from university-wide programs or are part of the systemwide UC Health enterprise. The expertise of these highly cited scholars ranges widely, from agricultural science to clinical medicine to economics and the social sciences. (You can view a list of fields here).
First in North America, UC ranked second in the world in Highly Cited Researchers, surpassed this year by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Methodology
The Highly Cited Researchers list by Clarivate is an annual recognition of influential scientists and social scientists worldwide who have made significant contributions to their fields. This year, 6,886 Highly Cited Researcher designations were issued to 6,636 individuals. The number of awards exceeds the number of unique individuals because some researchers are recognized in more than one field of research.
Clarivate’s selection process involves rigorous evaluation and curation of data from Highly Cited Papers in trusted science and social sciences journals, like Nature and Science, during the 11-year period from 2013 to 2023. The methodology evolves every year to ensure the integrity of included research and researchers. You can read more about their selection process here.
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The University of California is once again the national leader in cited scholarship, according to Clarivate. (View or download the full-size infographic here).
