Purdue faculty named in Clarivate’s prestigious 2025 Highly Cited Researchers list across several fields

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ten Purdue University researchers were named in Clarivate’s 2025 list of Highly Cited Researchers, demonstrating research excellence and influence in their fields. The selected researchers have authored multiple papers that rank among the top 1% in citations in their respective fields, as recorded in the Web of Science from 2014-24.

From engineering and plant and animal science to pharmacology, psychological sciences and mathematics, the Purdue faculty on the list joined nearly 7,000 researchers from more than 1,300 institutions in 60 countries on Clarivate’s prestigious most cited list. The rigorous evaluation and selection process draws on Web of Science Core Collection data and uses quantitative metrics and qualitative analysis to identify individuals whose work has had a genuine global influence on their fields.

“These Purdue researchers listed in Clarivate’s latest ‘Highly Cited’ report are part of an elite group of experts who rank in the top 1% in their field for the number of citations based on their impressive body of work,” said Dan DeLaurentis, Purdue’s executive vice president for research. “They illustrate what a consequential research university looks like and continue to innovate and push boundaries in their collective work in seeking solutions to address the world’s most challenging questions of our day.”

The list offers valuable insights into the global landscape of top research talent and identifies trends across countries, regions and institutions. Purdue faculty recognized in Clarivate’s 2025 list of Highly Cited Researchers are:

• Babak Anasori, materials science, the Reilly Rising Star Associate Professor of Materials and Mechanical Engineering
• Letian Dou, multidisciplinary, the Charles Davidson Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Natalia Dudareva, plant and animal science, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry
• Scott McAdam, plant and animal science, associate professor of botany and plant pathology
• Jeffrey T. Miller, multidisciplinary, professor of chemical engineering
• Kinam Park, pharmacology and toxicology, the Showalter Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy, College of Engineering, College of Pharmacy
• Jie Shen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, College of Science
• Kevin Kam Fung So, social sciences, the C.B. Smith Endowed Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, College of Health and Human Sciences
• Louis Tay, psychiatry and psychology, the William C. Byham Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, College of Health and Human Sciences

Former Purdue postdoctoral scholar Ali Behnood, who also earned his PhD in civil engineering as a Boilermaker, made Clarivate’s latest list of most cited researchers for his multidisciplinary research efforts at the Big Ten university. Behnood is now an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Mississippi.

Professor Dou, who made the 2025 Highly Cited list for his research during this time at Purdue, was named a chemistry professor at Emory University in Atlanta last fall.

According to Clarivate, these researchers contribute “disproportionately to extending the frontiers of knowledge and contributing to innovations that make the world healthier and more sustainable and drive societal impact.”

Bar Veinstein, Clarivate president of Academia & Government, added, “We celebrate the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 for advancing innovation and inspiring the global research community to tackle society’s greatest challenges with creativity and ingenuity.”

A snapshot of the global research landscape in 2025 shows:

• The U.S. led globally with 2,670 awards, making up 37% of the global total — a modest increase from last year that reverses a previous downward trend.
• This year’s Highly Cited Researchers worked in 60 countries and regions, yet 86% of the awards are concentrated in just 10 of them — and 75% in the first five. This highlighted a remarkable concentration of top global research talent.
• Among the 3,562 researcher awards in the 21 Essential Science Indicators (ESI) fields, 227 individuals appear in two or more ESI fields, and 31 appear in three or more fields. This year, there were 3,569 recipients of cross-field awards.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.