UMass Amherst Researchers Featured in Research.com’s 2024 Top Scientists List

Nine UMass Amherst faculty members representing eight disciplines have been named among the nation’s top 100 researchers and scholars in their fields, according to the latest edition of Research.com’s Best Scientists by Discipline rankings.

Two UMass Amherst researchers were ranked in the top 20 in the U.S. for in their respective disciplines. Baoshan Xing, Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Soil Chemistry and director of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, made three discipline lists. Xing ranks No. 12 in the U.S. and No. 48 in the world in plant science and agronomy; No. 17 in the U.S. and No. 28 in the world in environmental sciences; and No. 92 in the U.S. and No. 169 in the world in chemistry.

Joining Xing as a top researcher was David Julian McClements, Distinguished Professor of Food Science, who ranks No. 16 in the U.S. and No. 22 in the world on the Best Chemistry Scientists list.

Xing’s research focuses on protecting the environment through maintaining and improving soil and water quality. He and a team were the first to show that nanoplastics – known to pollute oceans, surface waters and soils – also are internalized by plants and reduce lipid digestion in a simulated human gastrointestinal system. Another line of his research involves the application of nanomaterials in sustainable agriculture.

McClements, author of the 2023 book “Meat Less: The Next Food Revolution,” is known globally for his pioneering work in food design and nanotechnology. He and a multidisciplinary team at UMass Amherst explore the science and technology—including protein chemistry, soft matter physics, food engineering, sensory science, gastrointestinal fate and gut microbiome effects—behind the design and fabrication of environmentally friendly, plant-based foods that are fortified with nutraceuticals, vitamins, minerals or probiotics to address malnutrition and combat chronic disease.

Based on its scientific rankings methodology, Research.com ranks scientists in various fields using multiple bibliometric data sources, among other metrics collected in November 2023 for the 2024 edition. Thousands of researchers are analyzed and ranked based on the Discipline H-index (D-index) metric, which includes papers and citation values, contributions made within their discipline, and awards and achievements.

In other Research.com scientist rankings, three UMass Amherst researchers in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences are named among the nation’s top 80 Best Computer Science Scientists. Donald Towsley, Distinguished Professor, whose wide-ranging research ranges from quantum and classical networking and secure communications to distributed learning and inference, ranks No. 24 in the U.S. and No. 38 in the world. W. Bruce Croft, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, former dean and former director of the Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval, ranks No. 63 in the U.S. and No. 99 in the world; and Andrew McCallum, Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Data Science, ranks No. 80 in the U.S. and 119 in the world.

Thomas Russell, Distinguished Professor of Polymer Science and Engineering and director of Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Polymers, ranks No. 30 in the U.S. and No. 53 in the world among the Best Materials Science Scientists. Vincent Rotello, Distinguished Professor in Chemistry, places No. 99 in the U.S. and No. 223 in the world in the same discipline.

Derek R. Lovley, research professor of microbiology, ranks No. 32 in the U.S. and No. 37 in the world for Best Biology and Biochemistry Scientists.

Muzzo Uysal, Carney Family Endowed Professor of hospitality and tourism management at the Isenberg School of Management, is ranked No. 56 in the U.S. and No. 100 in the world among the Best Business and Management Scientists.