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Oceanographers are getting trap while on a boat
Oceanographers retrieve a sediment trap at Station ALOHA as part of the Hawaiʻi Ocean Time Series led by David Karl. Credit: Paul Lethaby.

More than 120 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and UH Hilo researchers have been recognized among the world’s top scientists in multiple fields, including Earth science, ecology and evolution, environmental science, chemistry and more, according to the 2023 best university rankings by Research.com.

UH Mānoa as a whole ranked in the nation’s top 30 in three subjects (Earth science No. 11, environmental sciences No. 21 and ecology and evolution No. 30), while several researchers ranked in the nation’s top 100 in their respective fields:

firefighters putting out fire
Bin Wang’s research examines the effect of climate change on El Niño events and natural disasters. (Photo credit: Quarrie Photography, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
  • Bin Wang: environmental sciences, No. 5 U.S., No. 11 world
  • David M. Karl: environmental sciences, No. 13 U.S., No. 22 world
  • Klaus Keil: Earth science, No. 88 U.S., No. 152 world
  • Stephen L. Vargo: business and management, No. 100 U.S., No. 184 world

The rankings by Research.com were compiled based on citations, publications and the Discipline H-index (D-index), which is a measure that reflects the number of influential documents authored by scientists and only includes publications and citation metrics for an examined discipline. Note: not all subjects are ranked every year.

Business and management

UH Mānoa: No. 109 U.S., No. 282 world

  • Stephen L. Vargo: No. 100 U.S., No. 184 world, D-index 68, citations 72,667, publications 144
  • Efraim Turban: No. 352 U.S., No. 748 world, D-index 44, citations 31,841, publications 122

Chemistry

illustration of Saturn and Titan and an addition illustration of the haze around Titan
A team led by Ralf Kaiser studied the atmospheric haze of Saturn’s moon, Titan. The haze is captured in this natural-color image. (Credits: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Space Science Institute, Caltech)

UH Mānoa: No. 91 U.S., No. 410 world

  • Richard E. Moore: No. 665 U.S., No. 1,683 world, D-index 84, citations 20,434, publications 239
  • Ralf I. Kaiser: No. 1,331 U.S., No. 3,817 world, D-index 69, citations 15,161, publications 520
  • Michael Jerry Antal: No. 1,575 U.S., No. 4,678 world, D-index 65, citations 20,329, publications 121
  • Paul J. Scheuer: No. 1,714 U.S., No. 5,235 world, D-index 64, citations 10,701, publications 181
  • Craig M. Jensen: No. 1,837 U.S., No. 5,664 world, D-index 62, citations 13,815, publications 159
  • Shiv K. Sharma: No. 1,881 U.S., No. 5,844 world, D-index 62, citations 10,279, publications 264
  • George S. Hammond: No. 1,995 U.S., No. 6,266 world, D-index 60, citations 17,149, publications 309
  • Karl Seff: No. 2,082 U.S., No. 6,649 world, D-index 60, citations 8,777, publications 281
  • Gregory M. L. Patterson: No. 3,095 U.S., No. 11,117 world, D-index 49, citations 7,723, publications 91
  • Marcus A. Tius: No. 3,299 U.S., No. 12,049 world, D-index 47, citations 6,385, publications 177

UH Hilo: No. 192 U.S., No. 1,056 world

  • Matthew S. Platz: No. 2,033 U.S., No. 6,459 world, D-index 60, citations 11,253, publications 348

Computer science

Student looking at CyberCANOE screen
CyberCANOE, a world-class 3D visualization system is a project led by Jason Leigh

UH Mānoa: No. 101 U.S., No. 374 world

  • Rick Kazman: No. 1,092 U.S., No. 2,022 world, D-index 60, citations 25,930, publications 281
  • Henri Casanova: No. 1,720 U.S., No. 3,331 world, D-index 52, citations 12,351, publications 194
  • Daniel D. Suthers: No. 2,178 U.S., No. 4,324 world, D-index 46, citations 12,926, publications 213
  • Jason Leigh: No. 2,710 U.S., No. 5,562 world, D-index 41, citations 6,395, publications 232

Earth science

flooding in India
A flooded street in India during monsoon rains. Fei-Fei Jin’s research examines climate change’s effect on the Indian Ocean. Photo credit: Carol Mitchell, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

UH Mānoa: No. 11 U.S., No. 18 world

  • Klaus Keil: No. 88 U.S., No. 152 world, D-index 89, citations 25,821, publications 587
  • Fred T. Mackenzie: No. 140 U.S., No. 246 world, D-index 82, citations 26,268, publications 260
  • Fei-Fei Jin: No. 240 U.S., No. 436 world, D-index 74, citations 26,007, publications 217
  • Alexander N. Krot: No. 316 U.S., No. 591 world, D-index 70, citations 15,558, publications 317
  • Bruce F. Houghton: No. 331 U.S., No. 625 world, D-index 69, citations 16,077, publications 284
  • Michael O. Garcia: No. 362 U.S., No. 693 world, D-index 68, citations 11,381, publications 211
  • George P. L. Walker: No. 367 U.S., No. 705 world, D-index 67, citations 16,187, publications 114
  • Christopher L. Sabine: No. 378 U.S., No. 740 world, D-index 66, citations 37,975, publications 219
  • Paul G. Lucey: No. 390 U.S., No. 772 world, D-index 66, citations 14,551, publications 480
  • Bo Qiu: No. 391 U.S., No. 775 world, D-index 66, citations 14,363, publications 233
  • John J. Mahoney: No. 483 U.S., No. 960 world, D-index 63, citations 14,225, publications 157
  • Julian P. McCreary: No. 573 U.S., No. 1,167 world, D-index 60, citations 15,627, publications 137
  • Richard E. Zeebe: No. 678 U.S., No. 1,430 world, D-index 57, citations 18,183, publications 178
  • Christopher I. Measures: No. 692 U.S., No. 1,458 world, D-index 57, citations 11,912, publications 140
  • Gregory F. Moore: No. 708 U.S., No. 1,505 world, D-index 57, citations 9,271, publications 292
  • Gary R. Huss: No. 828 U.S., No. 1,783 world, D-index 54, citations 8,029, publications 227
  • Brian Taylor: No. 880 U.S., No. 1,933 world, D-index 52, citations 10,778, publications 159
  • Roger Lukas: No. 914 U.S., No. 2,009 world, D-index 51, citations 11,909, publications 138
  • Peter J. Mouginis-Mark: No. 949 U.S., No. 2,099 world, D-index 51, citations 5,977, publications 215
  • John M. Sinton: No. 1,034 U.S., No. 2,338 world, D-index 48, citations 8,520, publications 138
  • G. Jeffrey Taylor: No. 1,044 U.S., No. 2,354 world, D-index 48, citations 7,834, publications 125
  • Thomas W. Giambelluca: No. 1,059 U.S., No. 2,379 world, D-index 48, citations 7,032, publications 174
  • Mike Fuller: No. 1,074 U.S., No. 2,418 world, D-index 47, citations 10,585, publications 189
saildrone in water
Saildrones are part of Chris Sabine’s current research (Photo credit: Saildrone)
  • Michael J. Mottl: No. 1,084 U.S., No. 2,439 world, D-index 47, citations 8,740, publications 114
  • Klaus Wyrtki: No. 1,257 U.S., No. 2,916 world, D-index 43, citations 13,155, publications 88
  • Yuan-Hui Li: No. 1,422 U.S., No. 3,322 world, D-index 41, citations 6,549, publications 68
  • Patricia Fryer: No. 1,492 U.S., No. 3,521 world, D-index 40, citations 6,306, publications 139
  • Charles H. Fletcher: No. 1,575 U.S., No. 3,812 world, D-index 39, citations 4,990, publications 144
  • Niklas Schneider: No. 1,590 U.S., No. 3,850 world, D-index 38, citations 8,535, publications 109
  • Richard Hey: No. 1,618 U.S., No. 3,917 world, D-index 38, citations 6,141, publications 108
  • Kelvin J. Richards: No. 1,635 U.S., No. 3,974 world, D-index 38, citations 5,360, publications 110
  • Paul Wessel: No. 1,646 U.S., No. 4,030 world, D-index 37, citations 30,255, publications 109
  • Ross A. Sutherland: No. 1,761 U.S., No. 4,342 world, D-index 36, citations 6,653, publications 78
  • Kazuhide Nagashima: No. 1,914 U.S., No. 4,822 world, D-index 35, citations 4,569, publications 176
  • Eric Hellebrand: No. 1,979 U.S., No. 5,005 world, D-index 34, citations 5,446, publications 123
  • Eric Firing: No. 1,996 U.S., No. 5,058 world, D-index 34, citations 4,963, publications 66
  • Fernando Martinez: No. 2,010 U.S., No. 5,118 world, D-index 34, citations 4,552, publications 121
  • Garrett Ito: No. 2,020 U.S., No. 5158 world, D-index 34, citations 4,189, publications 117
  • Scott K. Rowland: No. 2,086 U.S., No. 5,365 world, D-index 33, citations 4,605, publications 115
  • B. Ray Hawke: No. 2,148 U.S., No. 5,623 world, D-index 32, citations 4,900, publications 84
  • Kenneth H. Rubin: No. 2,272 U.S., No. 6,096 world, D-index 31, citations 3,471, publications 136
  • George H. Sutton: No. 2,320 U.S., No. 6,272 world, D-index 30, citations 3,470, publications 107

Ecology and evolution

men holding a fish
Etelis boweni, a new fish species named after Brian Bowen for his contributions to the study of marine fishes (Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries)

UH Mānoa: No. 30 U.S., No. 72 world

  • Brian W. Bowen: No. 148 U.S., No. 363 world, D-index 82, citations 23,139, publications 184
  • Craig R. Smith: No. 156 U.S., No. 390 world, D-index 81, citations 18,328, publications 250
  • Robert J. Toonen: No. 443 U.S., No. 1,152 world, D-index 63, citations 14,956, publications 234
  • Ruth D. Gates: No. 444 U.S., No. 1,153 world, D-index 63, citations 14,789, publications 179
  • Alan M. Friedlander: No. 630 U.S., No. 1,637 world, D-index 57, citations 12,974, publications 198
  • Michael G. Hadfield: No. 642 U.S., No. 1,660 world, D-index 57, citations 10,191, publications 134
  • Kim N. Holland: No. 896 U.S., No. 2,408 world, D-index 49, citations 8,692, publications 103
  • Curtis C. Daehler: No. 1,030 U.S., No. 2,710 world, D-index 46, citations 9,472, publications 122
  • Les Watling: No. 1,111 U.S., No. 2,981 world, D-index 44, citations 8,467, publications 139
  • Jeffrey Drazen: No. 1,176 U.S., No. 3,188 world, D-index 43, citations 5,964, publications 155
  • Paul L. Jokiel: No. 1,254 U.S., No. 3,397 world, D-index 41, citations 8,908, publications 91
  • Dieter Mueller-Dombois: No. 1,435 U.S., No. 3,947 world, D-index 38, citations 21,888, publications 114
  • Camilo Mora: No. 1,437 U.S., No. 3,953 world, D-index 38, citations 13,227, publications 79
two people planting breadfruit
From left: Rebecca Ostertag’s research has been integral in devising plans to preserve the lowland wet forests of Hawaiʻi.
  • Robert H. Cowie: No. 1,456 U.S., No. 4,021 world, D-index 38, citations 7,594, publications 115
  • Joshua S. Madin: No. 1,637 U.S., No. 4,562 world, D-index 36, citations 5,134, publications 107
  • Robert H. Richmond: No. 1,878 U.S., No. 5,261 world, D-index 33, citations 5,428, publications 69

UH Hilo: No. 200 U.S., No. 668 world

  • Rebecca Ostertag: No. 1,684 U.S., No. 4,678 world, D-index 35, citations 7,754, publications 81

Economics and finance

UH Mānoa: No. 104 U.S., No. 267 world

  • Inessa Love: No. 1,210 U.S., No. 2,021 world, D-index 32, citations 16,225, publications 89
  • S. Ghon Rhee: No. 1,299 U.S., No. 2,196 world, D-index 31, citations 5,353, publications 131

Electronics and electrical engineering

UH Mānoa: No. 149 U.S., No. 704 world

  • Aleksandar Kavcic: No. 1,638 U.S., No. 4,392 world, D-index 32, citations 4,884, publications 116

Engineering and technology

UH Mānoa: No. 126 U.S., No. 639 world

  • Wai-Fah Chen: No. 764 U.S., No. 1,977 world, D-index 50, citations 19,502, publications 225
  • Whitlow W.L. Au: No. 980 U.S., No. 2,646 world, D-index 45, citations 7,602, publications 305
  • Matthieu Dubarry: No. 1,756 U.S., No. 5,611 world, D-index 34, citations 6,270, publications 124

Environmental sciences

Brian Popp’s laboratory contributed to research into crop cultivation on Rapa Nui. Photo credit: Terry Hunt.

UH Mānoa: No. 21 U.S., No. 46 world

  • Bin Wang: No. 5 U.S., No. 11 world, D-index 142, citations 83,583, publications 1,600
  • David M. Karl: No. 13 U.S., No. 22 world, D-index 130, citations 61,041, publications 512
  • Tim Li: No. 220 U.S., No. 453 world, D-index 79, citations 20,351, publications 390
  • Antony D. Clarke: No. 222 U.S., No. 457 world, D-index 79, citations 18,835, publications 247
  • Henry F. Diaz: No. 301 U.S., No. 623 world, D-index 73, citations 22,989, publications 223
  • Barry J. Huebert: No. 318 U.S., No. 677 world, D-index 72, citations 15,925, publications 156
  • Brian N. Popp: No. 345 U.S., No. 726 world, D-index 71, citations 15,544, publications 205
  • Robert R. Bidigare: No. 363 U.S., No. 764 world, D-index 70, citations 17,476, publications 146
  • Yuqing Wang: No. 451 U.S., No. 968 world, D-index 66, citations 13,324, publications 215
  • Stephen V. Smith: No. 842 U.S., No. 1,873 world, D-index 55, citations 12,011, publications 121
  • Kevin Hamilton: No. 934 U.S., No. 2,100 world, D-index 53, citations 10,015, publications 168
  • Samir Kumar Khanal: No. 1,070 U.S., No. 2,414 world, D-index 50, citations 10,490, publications 152
  • Mohammad Valipour: No. 1,294 U.S., No. 2,988 world, D-index 46, citations 6,449, publications 73
  • Steven M. Stanley: No. 1,308 U.S., No. 3,016 world, D-index 45, citations 13,558, publications 76
  • Kwok Fai Cheung: No. 1,678 U.S., No. 4,075 world, D-index 40, citations 6,384, publications 146
  • Steven G. Howell: No. 1,737 U.S., No. 4,259 world, D-index 39, citations 7,285, publications 107
  • Qi Chen: No. 2,382 U.S., No. 6,080 world, D-index 34, citations 5,972, publications 84
  • Vladimir N. Kapustin: No. 2,398 U.S., No. 6,152 world, D-index 34, citations 5,275, publications 67
  • Bruce M. Howe: No. 2,522 U.S., No. 6,549 world, D-index 33, citations 5,245, publications 197
  • Pao-Shin Chu: No. 2,779 U.S., No. 7,242 world, D-index 32, citations 4,116, publications 93
  • Margaret A. McManus: No. 2,796 U.S., No. 7,297 world, D-index 32, citations 3,885, publications 93
  • Milton Garces: No. 2,952 U.S., No. 7,736 world, D-index 31, citations 3,895, publications 104

UH Hilo: No. 177 U.S., No. 768 world

  • Shihwu Sung: No. 2,081 U.S., No. 5,218 world, D-index 36, citations 7,048, publications 79

Materials science

UH Mānoa: No. 194 U.S., No. 1,056 world

  • Murli H. Manghnani: No. 2,502 U.S., No. 9,755 world, D-index 41, citations 6,931, publications 204

Microbiology

UH Mānoa: No. 94 U.S., No. 329 world

  • Edward G. Ruby: No. 627 U.S., No. 1,422 world, D-index 67, citations 14,702, publications 136
  • Richard Yanagihara: No. 1,016 U.S., No. 2,488 world, D-index 57, citations 8,656, publications 164

Plant science and agronomy

UH Mānoa: No. 66 U.S., No. 360 world

  • Alan Teramura: No. 252 U.S., No. 924 world, D-index 51, citations 10,817, publications 65
  • Robert E. Paull: No. 343 U.S., No. 1,276 world, D-index 44, citations 8,759, publications 161

Psychology

Couple cuddling
Elaine Hatfieldʻs 2020 publication looked at scientific understanding of contemporary love and sex, and projections into the future.

UH Mānoa: No. 117 U.S., No. 264 world

  • Robert J. Blanchard: No. 336 U.S., No. 526 world, D-index 95, citations 29,010, publications 245
  • Thomas Ashby Wills: No. 646 U.S., No. 1,011 world, D-index 80, citations 20,847, publications 147
  • D. Caroline Blanchard: No. 760 U.S., No. 1,221 world, D-index 76, citations 16,903, publications 189
  • Elaine Hatfield: No. 2,476 U.S., No. 4,294 world, D-index 47, citations 14,067, publications 121
  • Janet D. Latner: No. 2,495 U.S., No. 4,336 world, D-index 47, citations 10,519, publications 124
  • M.E. Bitterman: No. 2,782 U.S., No. 4,872 world, D-index 44, citations 7,331, publications 163
  • Ronald C. Johnson: No. 3,692 U.S., No. 6,610 world, D-index 37, citations 4,516, publications 125
  • Akihiko Masuda: No. 3,702 U.S., No. 6,628 world, D-index 36, citations 14,289, publications 112
  • Anthony J. Marsella: No. 3,793 U.S., No. 6,775 world, D-index 36, citations 6,481, publications 95
  • Paul Pedersen: No. 3,901 U.S., No. 6,988 world, D-index 35, citations 8,809, publications 104

UH Hilo: No. 280 U.S., No. 743 world

  • Bryan S.K. Kim: No. 4,076 U.S., No. 7,317 world, D-index 34, citations 8,297, publications 80
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