Dozens of UAlbany Researchers Named Among World’s Top 2% of Scientists for 2025

A chemistry student holds a gold balloon while conducting research in the Life Sciences Research Building.
Faculty members at UAlbany were ranked across two dozen disciplines in the annual study. (Photo by Patrick Dodson)

By Mike Nolan

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 5, 2026) — Dozens of faculty from the University at Albany have once again been named among the world’s top 2 percent of scientists, according to the latest Stanford University report published through Elsevier.

The annual report highlights top-cited researchers and creates a public database of about 250,000 scientists across 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields.

To produce the report, the authors examined the work of more than 6 million researchers worldwide and ranked them according to their overall career output and performance in a single year (as of 2025). The database includes standardized information on the number of publications and various citation metrics that measure the impact of a researcher’s work. 

In the single-year report, 59 current and emeritus faculty members at UAlbany were ranked across two dozen disciplines.

“Year after year, our faculty rank among the world’s most-cited scientists. That kind of consistency doesn’t happen by accident,” said Thenkurussi "Kesh" Kesavadas, vice president for research and economic development. “This honor reflects a community of researchers across many fields at UAlbany that is committed to asking big questions, advancing discovery and addressing global challenges, all while inspiring the next generation of scientists.”

Identified as UAlbany’s most influential researcher is SUNY Distinguished Professor Aiguo Dai of the Department of Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences at the College of Arts and Sciences.

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 80,000 citations, including 34,318 in the last five years. 

See all of UAlbany’s active faculty members who made the top 2% list:

  • Jeanette Altarriba (College of Arts and Sciences / Psychology) 
  • Heidi L. Andrade (School of Education / Educational & Counseling Psychology) 
  • Victor Asal (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Political Science / International Affairs) 
  • James Boswell (College of Arts and Sciences / Psychology) 
  • Robert Brainard (College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering / Nanoscale Science & Engineering)
  • Shawn Bushway (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Public Administration & Policy) 
  • David O. Carpenter (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Environmental Health Sciences) 
  • Arun Richard Chandrasekaran (College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering / Nanoscale Science and Engineering / The RNA Institute) 
  • Daniele Cherniak (Ion Beam Lab) 
  • Aiguo Dai (College of Arts and Sciences / Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences) 
  • David Yun Dai (School of Education / Educational & Counseling Psychology) 
  • George Donati (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Environmental Health Sciences) 
  • Joanna Dreby (College of Arts and Sciences / Sociology) 
  • Mitch Earleywine (College of Arts and Sciences / Psychology) 
  • Hany Elgala (College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering / Electrical & Computer Engineering)
  • Ashley Fox (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Public Administration & Policy) 
  • Mila Gascó-Hernandez (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Public Administration & Policy / Center for Technology in Government) 
  • J. Ramon Gil-Garcia (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Public Administration & Policy / Center for Technology in Government) 
  • Youqin Huang (College of Arts and Sciences / Geography, Planning, and Sustainability) 
  • David A. Lawrence (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Environmental Health Sciences) 
  • Igor Lednev (College of Arts and Sciences / Chemistry / The RNA Institute) 
  • Xin Li (College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering / Computer Science)
  • Yanna Liang (College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering / Environmental & Sustainable Engineering)
  • Shao Lin (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Environmental Health Sciences) 
  • Luis Felipe Luna-Reyes (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Public Administration & Policy) 
  • Oleg Lunin (College of Arts and Sciences / Physics) 
  • Jennifer Manganello (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Health Policy, Management and Behavior) 
  • Mariola Moeyaert (School of Education / Educational & Counseling Psychology) 
  • Paul Morgan (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Health Policy, Management and Behavior / Institute for Social and Health Equity) 
  • Mark B. Muraven (College of Arts and Sciences / Psychology) 
  • Theresa A. Pardo (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Public Administration & Policy / Center for Technology in Government) 
  • Marina Petrukhina (College of Arts and Sciences / Chemistry) 
  • Justin Pickett (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Criminal Justice) 
  • Greg Pogarsky (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy / Criminal Justice) 
  • Carol Richardson Rodgers (School of Education / Educational Theory & Practice) 
  • Robert M. Rosenswig (College of Arts and Sciences / Anthropology) 
  • Peter Shea (School of Education / Educational Theory & Practice) 
  • Jeannette Sutton (College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity / Emergency Management and Homeland Security) 
  • Tomoko Udo (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Health Policy, Management and Behavior / Epidemiology & Biostatistics) 
  • Alex Valm (College of Arts and Sciences / Biological Sciences / The RNA Institute) 
  • Mathias Vuille (College of Arts and Sciences / Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences) 
  • Michael Weitzman (College of Integrated Health Sciences / Environmental Health Sciences) 
  • Zheng Yan (School of Education / Educational & Counseling Psychology) 
  • Fangqun Yu (Atmospheric Sciences Research Center) 
  • Weilan Zhang (College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering / Environmental & Sustainable Engineering)
  • Liming Zhou (College of Arts and Sciences / Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences)

Note: This list is compiled from data published by Elsevier and relies on the faculty affiliations listed in the dataset. If you believe you have been omitted, email [email protected]