Each year, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science identifies the world’s most influential and exceptional researchers. The 2019 list of Highly Cited Researchers includes four University of Texas at Dallas faculty members from multiple disciplines.

The list is determined by the number of times a particular scholar’s published studies are cited in papers by other researchers. This citation rate is one way to measure the significance of a scholar’s work and its impact over the last decade.

“University of Texas at Dallas researchers aim to ask important questions and perform research to address questions that have significance across a wide range of disciplines,” said Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, professor of bioengineering and vice president for research at UT Dallas.  “We are proud of our colleagues who, by the objective measure of impact through citation counts, contribute to the frontiers of knowledge.”

Individuals included on the list rank in the top 1% by citations for a specific field and year.

A total of 21 research fields were considered in the analysis. Two of the four UT Dallas professors are in the cross-field category, which applies to researchers who produced papers in several fields, while the other two were included in the categories of social sciences and economics and business.


Dr. Luigi Colombo, a Texas Instruments retiree and an adjunct professor of materials science and engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, is listed among the 2,491 researchers in the cross-field category.


Dr. Mike W. Peng, the O.P. Jindal Distinguished Chair; professor of organizations, strategy and international management; and executive director of the Center for Global Business in the Naveen Jindal School of Management, is listed among 113 scholars in economics and business. Peng has been on this list every year since 2014.


Dr. Alex Piquero, Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology in the School of Economics, Political and Policy Sciences and director of social impact research in the Office of Research, is listed among 204 researchers in social sciences.


Dr. Robert Wallace, who holds the Erik Jonsson Distinguished Chair and is a professor of materials science and engineering in the Jonsson School, is also listed among the scholars in the cross-field category.