Each year, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science identifies the world’s most influential and exceptional researchers. The 2020 list of Highly Cited Researchers includes three University of Texas at Dallas faculty members from multiple disciplines.

The list is determined by the number of times a particular scholar’s published studies are cited by other researchers. This citation rate is an objective way to measure the significance of a scholar’s work and its impact over an 11-year period (from January 2009 through December 2019).

The annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. In total, 6,167 researchers from more than 60 countries and regions were recognized this year.

A total of 21 research fields are considered in the analysis. Two of the three UT Dallas professors are in the cross-field category, which applies to researchers who produced papers in several fields, while the other one is included in the category of economics and business.


Dr. Luigi Colombo, an adjunct professor of materials science and engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, is listed among the 2,493 researchers in the cross-field category. Colombo has been on this list since 2018.


Dr. Mike W. Peng, the O.P. Jindal Distinguished Chair; professor of organizations, strategy and international management; and executive director of the Center for Global Business in the Naveen Jindal School of Management, is listed among 101 scholars in economics and business. Peng has been on this list every year since the list’s inception in 2014.


Dr. Robert Wallace, who holds the Erik Jonsson Distinguished Chair and is a professor of materials science and engineering in the Jonsson School, is also listed among the scholars in the cross-field category. Wallace has been on this list since 2018.