NREL: Seven NREL Scientists Named to List of Highly Cited Researchers

Seven researchers affiliated with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are on this year’s list of Highly Cited Researchers, with many familiar names from the 2020 list.

Clarivate PLC, the London-based company that released the list on Nov. 16, selected 6,602 researchers around the world—including 2,622 in the United States—based on the number of highly cited papers they produced between January 2010 and December 2020.

The affiliated researchers from NREL are Matthew Beard, Joe Berry, Keith Emery, Joseph Luther, Michael McGehee, Mengjin Yang, and Kai Zhu. Michael McGehee, of the University of Colorado-Boulder, is affiliated with NREL and also made the list.

“The impactful research done by these NREL researchers is evidenced in their work being so widely cited by other scientists,” said Bill Tumas, associate laboratory director at NREL. “It is great to see their inclusion on the Highly Cited Researchers list, which clearly demonstrates the importance and relevance of R&D being done at NREL.”

Beard, Emery, Luther, McGehee, Yang, and Zhu also appeared on last year’s list.

This year marks the first time Berry has been included. A senior research fellow, Berry’s expertise lies in the fast-growing research field of perovskite solar cells.

“I tend to think of science as a team game, and this type of recognition is more a personal one, which doesn’t mean much if your team is not winning—really advancing the technology,” Berry said. “To the extent that it shows that the team is addressing important science and that our work is advancing the field, it is gratifying.”

The list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence through the publication of highly cited papers published in journals that rank in the top 1% by citations. Clarivate’s complete list can be found here.

The list recognized researchers in specific fields or for cross-field impact. Emery was singled out for his work in engineering; McGehee, for materials science. Zhu’s listing came in the fields of chemistry and materials science.