The University of Hawaiʻi’s standing as a premier global research institution has been further solidified with the release of the ScholarGPS 2025 Highly Ranked Scholars list, which features nearly 60 of the university’s top faculty and researchers at UH Mānoa and UH Hilo. This elite designation honors scholars who rank in the top 0.05% of all researchers worldwide based on lifetime achievement and significant impact within their specialties.
From pioneering work in climate dynamics and volcanology to breakthrough discoveries in cancer research, these honorees represent the pinnacle of academic productivity and quality. ScholarGPS algorithms categorize a wide range of scholarly research into 14 fields, which are subdivided into 177 distinct disciplines. Research is further categorized into a dynamic list of many niche specialties.
“To have our researchers ranked among the top 0.05% in the world is a remarkable achievement that reflects our institution’s legacy of excellence,” said Chad Walton, UH interim vice president for research and innovation. “These scholars are not only leaders in their respective fields—from the depths of our oceans to the far reaches of space—but they are also the engine driving innovation that directly benefits the people of Hawaiʻi and our global community.”
Highly ranked scholars:
- 1. Bin Wang, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), UH Mānoa
- 2. David M. Karl, SOEST
- 3. Brian Bowen, SOEST
- 4. Julian McCreary, SOEST
- 5. Edward S. Fisher, UH Mānoa
- 6. Richard E. Moore, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, UH Mānoa
- 7. Bruce Houghton, SOEST
- 8. Robert E. Paull, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), UH Mānoa
- 9. Helen H. Yu, Department of Public Administration, College of Social Sciences, UH Mānoa
- 10. Takie Sugiyama Lebra, UH Mānoa
- 11. Weilin Qu, College of Engineering, UH Mānoa
- 12. Bo Qiu, SOEST
- 13. Ryuzo Yanagimachi, UH Mānoa
- 14. Henri Casanova, Department of Information and Computer Sciences, College of Natural Sciences
- 15. Yuqing Wang, SOEST
- 16. Raymond B. Cattell, UH Mānoa
- 17. Michele Carbone, UH Cancer Center, UH Mānoa
- 18. Richard M. Manshardt, CTAHR
- 19. Rick Kazman, Shidler College of Business, UH Mānoa
- 20. John M. J. Madey, UH Mānoa
- 21. John A. Shepherd, UH Cancer Center
- 22. Manfred B. Steger, Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences
- 23. Klaus Wyrtki, UH Mānoa
- 24. Stephen N. Haynes, Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences
- 25. Daniel D. Suthers, Department of Information and Computer Sciences, College of Natural Sciences
- 26. Margaret J. McFall-Ngai, SOEST
- 27. Barbara Watson Andaya, College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL), UH Mānoa
- 28. Dru C. Gladney, UH Mānoa
- 29. Murli H. Manghnani, SOEST
- 30. Elaine Hatfield, Department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences
- 31. Theodore S. Rodgers, UH Mānoa
- 32. Craig Smith, SOEST
- 33. Edward F. DeLong, UH Mānoa
- 34. Karl Seff, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences
- 35. Roger Lukas, SOEST
- 36. Russell H. Messing, CTAHR
- 37. Efraim Turban, UH Mānoa
- 38. Leonard Y. Andaya, Department of History, CALL
- 39. Masayoshi Yamaguchi, UH Cancer Center
- 40. Richard L Rapson, Department of History, CALL
- 41. Thomas A. Wills, UH Cancer Center
- 42. Andrew E. Christie, UH Mānoa
- 43. Dieter Mueller-Dombois, CTAHR
- 44. Wai-Fah Chen, College of Engineering
- 45. Garry A Rechnitz, Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences
- 46. Michael J. Antal, UH Mānoa
- 47. Curtis C. Daehler, School of Life Sciences, College of Natural Sciences
- 48. Paul J. Scheuer, UH Mānoa
- 49. George S. Hammond, UH Mānoa
- 50. Ronald H. Heck, College of Education, UH Mānoa
- 51. Loic Le Marchand, UH Cancer Center
- 52. Victor M. Lubecke, College of Engineering
- 53. Robert S. Desowitz, John A. Burns School of Medicine, UH Mānoa
- 54. Adrian Dunn, SOEST
- 55. Alan H. Teramura, College of Natural Sciences
- 56. J. Patrick Henry, Institute for Astronomy, UH Mānoa
- 57. Laurence N. Kolonel, UH Cancer Center
- 58. Naoto T. Ueno, UH Cancer Center
- 59. Anthony D. Wright, UH Hilo
There are some researchers on the list who have retired or passed away.
