The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is home to 180 Huskers featured in the 2024 list of the world’s most influential researchers.

The Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List is a comprehensive analysis of all peer-reviewed papers across scientific disciplines. It measures the significance of the research, including how often each study is cited in the work of other scientists. The publication is the definitive list of research that has made the most significant impact across each field of study.

“This list highlights the exceptional strength of UNL faculty and the transformative impact of their groundbreaking research, both in Nebraska and globally,” said Sherri Jones, interim vice chancellor for research and innovation. “It is a recognition that underscores the significance of our university’s research efforts and serves as a cornerstone for advancing our ambitious vision for the future.”

Current and former UNL researchers on the 2024 ranking include 61 from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; 53 from the College of Arts and Sciences; 45 from the College of Engineering; 13 from the College of Education and Human Sciences; five from the College of Business; two from the College of Architecture; and one from the College of Fine and Performing Arts.

The complete list, sorted by college, is available below.

Stanford University partners with Elsevier, a Dutch publishing and analytics company, to generate the list annually. The team uses data provided by Scopus, a source-neutral abstract and citation database. 

Each scientist is assigned a score based on a variety of metrics, including h-index (a measurement of the impact and productivity of an author or group of authors) and adjusted citation counts. Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields according to the standard Science-Metrix classification. 

The most current list provides a complete overview of citation year 2023, based on an Aug. 1, 2024, data snapshot from Scopus. An overview of methodology is available here.

2024 Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists from UNL

College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

• James Alfano*, Plant Pathology
• Craig Allen, Natural Resources
• P. Stephen Baenziger, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Andrew Benson, Food Science and Technology
• Paul N. Black, Biochemistry (emeritus)
• Humberto Blanco, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Tami Brown-Brandl, Biological Systems Engineering
• Lloyd Bullerman*, Food Science and Technology
• Edgar Cahoon, Biochemistry
• Chris Calkins, Animal Science (emeritus)
• Kenneth Cassman, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Tom Clemente, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Bahman Eghball*, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Samodha Fernando, Animal Science
• Charles Francis, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Rodrigo Franco, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Hernan Garcia-Ruiz, Plant Pathology
• Yufeng Ge, Biological Systems Engineering
• Patricio Grassini, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Robert A. Graybosch, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Dee Griffin, Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (emeritus)
• Milford Hanna, Biological Systems Engineering (emeritus)
• Steven Harris, Plant Pathology
• Bethany M. Henrick, Food Science and Technology
• Gary Hergert, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Robert Hutkins, Food Science and Technology (emeritus)
• Terry Klopfenstein*, Animal Science (emeritus)
• Robert M. Koch*, Animal Science
• P. J. Kononoff, Animal Science
• Clinton Krehbiel, Animal Science 
• L. Mark Lagrimini, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• A. J. Lewis, Animal Science (emeritus)
• John Lindquist, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Jeffrey Mower, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Christopher Neale, Biological Systems Engineering
• Toshihiro Obata, Biochemistry
• James Power*, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Thomas Powers, Plant Pathology
• Sheila (Scheideler) Purdum, Animal Science
• Karl Reinhard, Natural Resources
• Devin Rose, Food Science and Technology
• Daniel Schachtman, Agronomy and Horticulture
• James Schnable, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Khem Shahani*, Animal Science
• Jim Specht, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Robert L. Spreitzer, Biochemistry (emeritus)
• Paul Staswick, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Walter Stroup, Natural Resources (emeritus)
• Xinghui Sun, Biochemistry
• Stephen Taylor, Food Science and Technology (emeritus)
• James Van Etten, Plant Pathology
• Kenneth Vogel, Agronomy and Horticulture (emeritus)
• Harkaman Walia, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Brian Waters, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Donald Weeks, Biochemistry (emeritus)
• Don Wilhite, Natural Resources (emeritus)
• Mark Wilkins, Biological Systems Engineering
• Mark A. Wilson, Biochemistry
• Richard A. Wilson, Plant Pathology
• Sam E. Wortman, Agronomy and Horticulture
• Yanbin Yin, Food Science and Technology

College of Architecture

• Zhenghong Tang, Community and Regional Planning
• Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, Architecture

College of Arts and Sciences

• Luchezar Avramov, Mathematics (emeritus)
• Zoya Avramova, Biological Sciences (emeritus)
• Alexandra Basolo, Biological Sciences (emeritus)
• Kirill Belashchenko, Physics and Astronomy 
• Rick Bevins, Psychology
• Christian Binek, Physics and Astronomy
• Brian Bornstein, Psychology (emeritus)
• Paul Burrow, Physics and Astronomy (emeritus)
• Heriberto Cerutti, Biological Sciences
• Liang Chen, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• David DiLillo, Psychology
• Peter Dowben, Physics and Astronomy
• Stephen Ducharme, Physics and Astronomy
• Patrick Dussault, Chemistry
• Lynn Erbe, Mathematics (emeritus)
• Ilya Fabrikant, Physics and Astronomy
• Sherilyn Fritz, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Alexei Gruverman, Physics and Astronomy
• David Hage, Chemistry
• Eileen Hebets, Biological Sciences
• John Hibbing, Political Science (emeritus)
• Xia Hong, Physics and Astronomy
• Margaret Jacobs, History
• Sitaram Jaswal, Physics and Astronomy (emeritus)
• Alan Kamil, Biological Sciences (emeritus)
• Rebecca Lai, Chemistry
• P. Larson, Physics and Astronomy
• Hui Li, Chemistry
• David Loope, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (emeritus)
• Svata Louda, Biological Sciences (emeritus)
• Kenneth Nickerson, Biological Sciences (emeritus)
• Allan Peterson, Mathematics (emeritus)
• Robert Powers, Chemistry
• Andrzej Rajca, Chemistry
• Suchada Rajca, Chemistry
• M. Eugene Rudd*, Physics and Astronomy
• James A. R. Samson*, Physics and Astronomy
• Philip Schwadel, Sociology
• David Sellmyer*, Physics and Astronomy
• Alexander Sinitskii, Chemistry
• Ralph Skomski*, Physics and Astronomy 
• David Stanley-Samuelson, Biological Sciences (retired)
• Anthony Starace*, Physics and Astronomy
• Jay Storz, Biological Sciences
• Norman Smith*, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Evgeny Tsymbal, Physics and Astronomy
• Kimberly Tyler, Sociology
• Donald Umstadter, Physics and Astronomy
• Peter Wagner, Biological Sciences/Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Les Whitbeck, Sociology (emeritus)
• Lynn White, Sociology (emeritus)
• Anthony Zera, Biological Sciences (emeritus)
• Vitaly Zlotnik, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (emeritus)

College of Business

• Fred Luthans, Management (emeritus)
• Janet Near, Management (emeritus)
• Jonathan P. O’Brien*, Management
• David Olson, Supply Chain Management and Analytics
• Laura Poppo, Management

College of Education and Human Sciences

• Katie Edwards, Educational Psychology
• Michael Epstein, Special Education and Communication Disorders (emeritus)
• J.B. “Birdie” Ganz, Special Education and Communication Disorders
• Mary Ann Johnson, Nutrition and Health Sciences (emeritus)
• Kenneth Kiewra, Educational Psychology (emeritus)
• John Maag, Special Education and Communication Disorders
• Ron J. Nelson, Special Education and Communication Disorders (emeritus)
• Robert Reid, Special Education and Communication Disorders (emeritus)
• Susan Sheridan, Educational Psychology
• Susan Swearer, Educational Psychology
• Richard Torraco, Educational Administration (emeritus)
• Yiqi Yang, Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design
• Janos Zempleni, Nutrition and Health Sciences

College of Engineering

• Ezekiel Bahar*, Electrical Engineering
• John Barton, Mechanical and Materials Engineering (emeritus)
• Millard Beatty, Mechanical and Materials Engineering (emeritus)
• Florin Bobaru, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Yaşar Demirel, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Jitender Deogun, Computing
• Yuris Dzenis, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Jerry Hudgins, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Qing Hui, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Jung Yul Lim, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Yongfeng Lu, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Eric Markvicka, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Mohammad Mastali, Architectural Engineering and Construction
• George Morcous, Architectural Engineering and Construction
• Emmanuel Moulay, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Nitesh Nama, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Muhammad Naveed Aman, Computing
• Shuai Nie, Computing
• Massimiliano Pierobon, Computing
• Yi Qian, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Wei Qiao, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Liyan Qu, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Kamlakar Rajurkar, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Byrav Ramamurthy, Computing
• Chittaranjan Ray, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Stephen Reichenbach, Computing (emeritus)
• Peter Revesz, Computing
• Gregg Rothermel, Computing
• Ashok Samal, Computing
• Ravi Saraf, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
• Khalid Sayood, Electrical and Computer Engineering (emeritus)
• Mathias Schubert, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Leen Kiat Soh, Computing
• Eli Sutter, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Peter Sutter, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Cho Wing Solomon To*, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Christopher Tuan, Civil Engineering (emeritus)
• Joseph Turner, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Mehmet Can Vuran, Computing
• Jian Wang, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Jun Wang, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Lisong Xu, Computing
• Jiashi Yang, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Kuan Zhang, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Tian Zhang, Civil Engineering

College of Fine and Performing Arts

• Robert Woody, Music

* Researcher has passed away.

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