Prestigious list shows global impact of research

Eight University of Auckland researchers, including two honorary academics, have been named in the prestigious Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers List for 2023.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Frank Bloomfield said the annual Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers List acknowledged researchers who had demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field.

“These researchers are a great example of how New Zealand’s research sector has global value and impact. Their work has extended the frontiers of knowledge and by doing so supports the work to make the world healthier, more sustainable and more secure.”

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland Highly Cited Researchers List 2023

Professor Andrew Allan, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science
Professor Allan works on aspects of fruit biology to better understand the production of fruit health and colour compounds, such as red anthocyanin, yellow and orange carotenoids and green chlorophylls, as well as the colourless flavonoids.

Professor Brent Copp, School of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science
Professor Copp investigates New Zealand marine organisms as sources of new compounds with potential applications against human diseases including cancer, inflammation and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.

Adjunct Professor Ed Gane, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor Gane has made an outstanding contribution in the fields of hepatology and gastroenterology. He led drug trials to develop an anti-viral that can cure 95 percent of patients with chronic Hepatitis C. He is highly regarded as a researcher into liver disease, and as a leader and mentor.

Professor Ajit Sarmah, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Professor Sarmah is a researcher in civil and environmental engineering. His focus is on green technologies to reduce the carbon footprint in the construction sector worldwide and he is working on trials with biochar additives to reduce the carbon content of concrete.

Dr Kevin Trenberth, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science
Dr Trenberth is an honorary academic in the Department of Physics and a Distinguished Scholar at the National Center of Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. He was lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007 Scientific Assessment of Climate Change Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Professor Geoffrey Waterhouse, School of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science
Professor Waterhouse has authored seminal works on thermal catalysis, photocatalysis and more recently electrocatalysis, combining experiment and theory in novel ways to greatly improve mechanistic understanding of reactions such as electrocatalytic water splitting to generate hydrogen fuel, carbon dioxide reduction to commodity chemicals, and other selective chemical transformations.

Dr Fan Zhu, School of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science
Dr Zhu’s prime interest is in the chemistry of starch. His work looks at developing and adding value to the processing of grains like quinoa and amaranth. His interests include functional foods, including plants with natural antioxidants.

Dr Tommi Vatanen, University of Helsinki, formerly of the Liggins Institute
An honorary academic at the Liggins Institute, Dr Vatanen is focused on state-of-the art infant gut microbiome research. His goal is to assemble a high-impact microbiome research programme that uses the microbiome as a therapy to improve human health.

Each researcher selected has authored multiple Highly Cited Papers™ which rank in the top one percent by citations for their field (s) and publication year in the Web of Science over the past decade.

Of the world’s population of scientists and social scientists, Highly Cited Researchers are one in 1,000. Citations are not the sole indicator, with the list refined using further qualitative analysis and expert judgement.

For 2023 6,849 individual researchers from institutions in 67 countries and regions have been named Highly Cited Researchers.