Professor Zhifeng Ren, shown in a 91猎奇 lab in October, is one of two UH researchers who were honored by Clarivate鈥檚 Highly Cited Researchers program for the broad and lasting impact of their work from 2014-24.
Key Takeaways
- 91猎奇 professors Zhifeng Ren and Yan Yao have been named Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate for their far-reaching contributions to global energy research.
- Their influential work puts them among the top 1% of cited scientists worldwide and highlights UH鈥檚 growing impact in superconductivity and energy innovation.
- This recognition underscores the national and international significance of UH鈥檚 research leadership, driven by breakthroughs in superconductivity, electrochemistry and next-generation energy technologies.
Two 91猎奇 scientists have once again been recognized among the world鈥檚 elite researchers for their significant scientific influence and highly cited contributions to energy research.
Professors Zhifeng Ren, Department of Physics, and Yan Yao, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, were honored by program for the broad and lasting impact of their work from 2014-24. Both are core members of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the 91猎奇 (TcSUH), the nation鈥檚 leading center for superconductivity and energy research.
Ren and Yao 鈥� who have now received this recognition eight and two times, respectively 鈥� are part of a distinguished group of 10 UH researchers who collectively have earned this recognition nearly 40 times since 2014, placing them in the top 1% of cited scientists worldwide.
鈥淚 congratulate Professors Zhifeng Ren and Yan Yao for earning recognition as Highly Cited Researchers,鈥� said Claudia Neuhauser, UH vice president of research. 鈥淭his distinction reflects the excellence of their research and the impressive impact of their work in areas of national interest.鈥�
From left: Professors Zhifeng Ren, Department of Physics, and Yan Yao, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, were honored by Clarivate鈥檚 Highly Cited Researchers program for the broad and lasting impact of their work from 2014-24.
Understanding the Recognition
Each year, the Highly Cited Researchers program identifies global researchers and social scientists whose published work is most frequently cited by peers 鈥� 7,131 individuals this year. Frequent citations signal that a researcher鈥檚 findings are shaping their field and driving future discoveries.
Clarivate鈥檚 Institute for Scientific Information identified this year鈥檚 honorees using data from the Web of Science, a leading publisher-independent citation database. The platform also calculates an h-index, which is a single number that shows how many of a scientist鈥檚 papers were widely used or cited by others.
According to the Web of Science:
- Ren鈥檚 h-index is 116, based on 354 indexed publications with 69,303 citations. His work was cited 952 times in patents.
- Yao has an h-index of 77, based on 189 indexed publications with 33,618 citations. His work was cited 406 times in patents.
鈥淐ongratulations to Zhifeng Ren and Yan Yao on being named among this year鈥檚 Highly Cited Researchers. Their work pushes the boundaries of innovation and reflects the extraordinary scholarship happening across our campus.鈥�
鈥擠iane Z. Chase, UH senior vice president of academic affairs and provost
Digging Into the Research
Both scientists are widely recognized leaders in their fields, contributing transformative work at UH and beyond.
鈥淭his year鈥檚 Clarivate rankings highlight the influential, impactful and inspiring research underway at UH,鈥� said Diane Z. Chase, UH senior vice president of academic affairs and provost. 鈥淐ongratulations to Zhifeng Ren and Yan Yao on being named among this year鈥檚 Highly Cited Researchers. Their work pushes the boundaries of innovation and reflects the extraordinary scholarship happening across our campus.鈥�
Ren, who has been recognized for this award consecutively since 2018, serves as director of TcSUH and holds the Paul C. W. Chu and May P. Chern Endowed Chair in Condensed Matter Physics. His research spans superconductivity for energy storage, thermoelectric materials and devices, catalysts for hydrogen production through water electrolysis, advances in boron arsenide crystal for ultrahigh thermal conductivity and carrier mobilities, and battery-recycling technologies.
鈥淭he work my group has been doing for many years has been leading each of the fields,鈥� Ren said. 鈥淧eople have been continuously working on the topics we have started that are potentially very important to either understand the physics or for practical applications.鈥�
Yao, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor and co-founder of Li-Beyond, focuses on tackling fundamental questions in electrochemistry and materials science that informs the next generation of energy-storage technologies.
鈥淏eing recognized again as a Highly Cited Researcher is an affirmation that our work is resonating with the scientific community and helping shape the field,鈥� Yao said.
Contributing author is Susan Butler.