Six members of Texas Tech’s Department of Plant & Soil Science has been named to the prestigious 2025 Stanford-Elsevier's List of World's Top 2% Scientists, which shows which scientists have had the biggest impact in their fields. The list highlights the world’s leading scientists who have made a substantial impact in their respective fields through their citation influence. For researchers, institutions and science enthusiasts alike, this is a resource to recognize excellence and track cutting-edge scientific contributions.
The roster of highly cited scholars, in which four of the six recipients come from Texas Tech’s Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance, is identified by a research group at Stanford University using data from Elsevier's Scopus database. The IGCAST unit focuses on using state of the art functional genomics to study processes involved in the tolerance to different types of abiotic stress – drought, salinity, heat, cold and low nutrient availability – and in the use of synthetic biology for the improvement of crop abiotic stress tolerance.
“This is an exciting honor for these six individuals to be listed among the most elite scientists in their field,” said Darren Hudson, associate dean for strategic initiatives and assessment in Davis College. “Their accomplishments speak to their own outstanding abilities in their field, but also indicate the rising prominence of Davis College in its march towards a top-ten college of agriculture in the U.S.”
Here’s a snapshot of these top scientists from Davis College’s Department of Plant & Soil Science:
- Noureddine Abidi is Texas Tech’s Interim Associate Vice President of Research & Innovation and Davis College’s Associate Dean for Research. A longtime champion of cotton fiber science, he is a noted leader in textile chemistry and applied research commercialization. In addition to his college-level leadership, he directs the university’s Fiber & Biopolymer Research Institute and holds the Leidigh Professorship in the Department of Plant & Soil Science. He has published 169 peer-reviewed papers and holds three approved patents, with more pending. He has generated more than $22M in research grants since joining Texas Tech in 1999.
- Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella, President’s Distinguished Professor of Plant Genomics and IGCAST director, is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost plant molecular biologists. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, he has been a pioneer in plant genetic engineering for more than three decades. His research interests include determining the regulatory networks that control abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms in plants, particularly drought, desiccation and nutrient deficiency. He joined Texas Tech in 2018 through a $5 million grant from the Governor’s University Research Initiative. His doctorate in genetics from the State University of Ghent in Belgium.
- Krishna Jagadish is Interim Chair of the Department of Plant & Soil Science and as a Professor and Thornton Distinguished Chair. His research program focuses on optimizing forage-based cropping systems, developing new tools to enhance water conservation and improve soil health. The goal of his program is to effectively integrate forage-crop-livestock components to enhance economic benefits and environmental sustainability in the Southern High Plains. Honors include the Kansas State Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Research Award, and International Fellow of the Indian Society of Plant Physiology. He earned his doctorate is from the University of Reading.
- Julia Shamshina is an assistant professor within the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute. Her research primarily focuses on leveraging biopolymers to create innovative, high-value products, chemicals, and fuels, and promoting their environmental and economic benefits. She has published more than 70 papers, 11 book chapters, and is a named inventor on multiple patents and patent applications. Two technologies she is an inventor of have been licensed. She earned her doctorate in organic synthesis and completed postdoctoral studies in analytical chemistry from the University of Alabama.
- Pankaj Trivedi, an associate professor in plant & soil microbiome analysis, employs data-driven biology and systems-based approaches and computational innovations to understand and predict the dynamics and systems properties of the microbiome and microbiome-host. He is interested in applying advanced biotechnological methods to control, modify, or engineer the microbiome. Honors Colorado State’s 2024 Excellence in Collaborative Research Award. Trivedi is a founding member of the Global Initiative of Sustainable Agriculture & Environment. He earned his doctorate from India’s Kumaun University.
- Lam-Son Phan Tran, a professor specializing in biological sciences and biotechnology, is based in the Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance. His research focuses on the regulatory networks that govern plant responses to environmental stresses, as well as translational genomics aimed at improving crop productivity amid global climate change. His research programs broadly center on regulatory networks and crosstalk among signaling molecules in plant responses to environmental stresses, as well as translational genomics for improvement of crop productivity. His doctorate is from Hungary’s Szent István University.
Scientists in the Stanford-Elsevier study are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields based on the standard Science-Metrix classification. The World’s Top 2% scientists list focuses on impact (citations) rather than productivity (number of publications) and uses Scopus data. In the description of its dataset, Elsevier, an academic publisher, notes that “citation metrics are widely used and misused” and that they and Stanford have “created a publicly available database of top-cited scientists that provides standardized information on citations” and additional indicators.
CONTACT: Krishna Jagadish, Interim Chair and Professor, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-7953 or kjagadish.sv@ttu.edu
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