UAlbany Climate Scientists Among World’s Most Highly Cited Researchers
By Mike Nolan
ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 18, 2025) — A new report has listed Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences Professors Aiguo Dai and Liming Zhou among the world’s most-cited researchers.
Clarivate, a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, recently unveiled its 2025 “Highly Cited Researchers.” The annual report celebrates individuals who have demonstrated considerable influence in their field through publication of academic papers cited by a significant number of peers.
This year’s report identifies scientists who produced multiple papers over the last decade that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for their field in the Web of Science citation index, the world’s largest publisher-neutral citation index and research intelligence platform. Of the world’s population of scientists, highly cited researchers are 1 in 1,000.
Dai and Zhou are among 6,868 researchers from 60 countries and regions who were recognized.
“This prestigious recognition for professors Dai and Zhou underscores the many contributions that each has made to the areas of environmental and climate sciences,” said Jeanette Altarriba, dean of UAlbany’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Work that is highly cited is an indicator of its impact in the field and its value as important, novel, and significant in advancing research theories and findings. The fact that both individuals stem from the same department within the College of Arts and Sciences is notable and a source of great pride.”
“These selections are a strong testament to the high-impact scientific research that professors Dai and Zhou conduct,” said Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences Chair and Professor Kristen Corbosiero. "I congratulate them both on being among the most influential scientists in our field. The department is very fortunate to have them as colleagues, educators and mentors.”
Dai’s research focuses on Arctic climate change, natural climate variability, future climate change, the global water cycle, hydroclimate, drought, Asian monsoons and climate data analysis. He is the most cited scholar at UAlbany, according to Google Scholar, with a total of more than 70,000 citations, including 32,974 in the last five years.
Zhou studies how changes in land surface impact weather and climate patterns and ecosystems. His research uses satellite data, computer models and statistical tools to understand how the land, vegetation and atmosphere interact and how human activities contribute to climate change and vegetation dynamics. He has been cited more than 24,000 times since 2001, according to Google Scholar.
Both are among dozens of researchers from UAlbany who currently rank in the world’s top 2 percent of scientists, according to a report published annually by Stanford University and Elsevier.