Texas Tech University

Davis College Scientists Among ‘Most Highly Cited’ in the World for 2024

Norman Martin | November 19, 2024

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Two Davis College Department of Plant & Soil Science faculty members - Lam-Son Phan Tran and Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella - have again been placed among the world’s most prominent researchers in their fields, and have been named to Clarivate 2024 list of Highly Cited Researchers. It is an indication of research excellence and demonstrates significant and far-reaching influence in their field of research.

“Texas Tech is privileged to have two faculty members recognized with this honor, which recognizes the most impactful scientists in their fields.,” said Glen Ritchie, Chair and Professor of Crop Physiology within Texas Tech’s Department of Plant & Soil Science. 

Davis College Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives & Assessment Darren Hudson added, “It’s a testament to the quality of their research that it is being identified and utilized by other researchers around the world.” 

Each researcher selected has authored multiple highly cited papers, which rank in the top one percent by citations for their fields and publication year in the Web of Science Core Collection Citation Index over the past decade. However, citation activity is not the sole selection indicator. A preliminary list based on citation activity is then refined using qualitative analysis and expert judgment.

This year’s ranking of the world’s most impactful scholars from the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources included:

Lam-Son Phan Tran | Professor, Department of Plant & Soil Science. An expert in biological sciences and biotechnology, Tran obtained his M.Sc. in Biotechnology (1994) and Ph.D. in biological sciences (1997) from Hungary’s Szent Istvan University. Based in the university’s Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance, his research programs broadly focus on regulatory networks and crosstalk among signaling molecules in plant responses to environmental stresses, as well as translational genomics for improvement of crop productivity in the era of global climate change. 

Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella | President’s Distinguished Professor of Plant Genomics, Department of Plant & Soil Science. Herrera-Estrella serves as director of IGCAST and is one of the foremost plant molecular biologists in the world and is Texas Tech’s first National Academy of Sciences member. A pioneer in the development of plant genetic engineering, he came to Texas Tech in 2018 thanks to a $5 million grant from the Governor's University Research Initiative. He earned his doctoral and postdoctoral degrees in genetics from the State University of Ghent, Belgium.

According to Clarivate, the annual list identifies researchers from more than 1,200 institutions in 59 nations and regions and provides valuable insights into the global landscape of top research talent and identifies trends across countries, regions and institutions. This year analysts at the Institute for Scientific Information recognized 6,636 highly cited researchers. The evaluation and selection process drew on data from the Web of Science Core Collection Citation Index, together with qualitative analysis performed by experts at the ISI at Clarivate.

CONTACT: Glen Ritchie, Professor and Chair, Department of Plant & Soil Science Davis, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-4325 or glen.ritchie@ttu.edu 

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