Six University of Auckland academics feature in the prestigious 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list.
University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater has offered her congratulations to the University’s researchers who feature in the 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list, released on 19 November.
The Vice-Chancellor said, “Our overarching goal is for Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland to be a world-leading university. The annual Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list is one part of the story we want to tell. Those who feature in the list are demonstrating real excellence in research and their efforts deserve our congratulations.”
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Professor Frank Bloomfield said, “We celebrate these researchers for their achievements. Each has made significant contributions to their field with real impact.
“It’s gratifying to see the breadth of research disciplines recognised, from health and medical research to plant and animal science and the impact of climate change.”
To be selected, each of the researchers has authored multiple papers which rank in the top one percent by citation for their field and publication year in the Web of Science citation database.
In total, about 4,000 scientists in the world feature as Highly Cited Researchers each year, each a member of a select group comprising just one in every 1,000 academics. Alongside citations, further qualitative analysis and expert judgement is applied to create the annual list.
The University of Auckland academics featured in the 2024 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list are:
Professor Andrew Allan
Professor Andrew Allan holds dual roles, as a professor of plant science in the Faculty of Science and as a lead researcher at the Crown Research Institute Plant and Food Research. He and his team have worked on many high-value crops such as apples, berries and kiwifruit.
With the University, he and his then doctoral candidate Richard Espley conclusively determined the gene that decides the red colour in apples. He is working on a five-year Endeavour funded project: ‘The flowering crisis: confronting a changing climate’s threat to New Zealand’s tree crops’.
Professor Brent Copp
Professor Brent Copp, Faculty of Science, studies small pharmaceutical-like molecules from New Zealand marine organisms as inspiration for the development of new treatments for cancer and multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections.
Adjunct Professor Ed Gane
Adjunct Professor Ed Gane, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, has made an outstanding contribution in the fields of hepatology and transplant medicine. He led drug trials to develop an anti-viral that can cure 95 percent of patients with chronic Hepatitis C and is now working on developing a finite cure for patients with chronic Hepatitis B.
Dr Kevin Trenberth
Dr Kevin Trenberth, CNZM, from the Faculty of Science, 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 reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Dr Ziyun Wang
Dr Ziyun Wang, from the Faculty of Science, is a computational chemist specialising in theoretical catalysis and machine learning. His research group is at the forefront of exploring surface reactions in electrocatalysis, with a particular focus on carbon dioxide conversion to fuels and green hydrogen production from water. This work not only advances the understanding of elementary steps and reaction mechanisms, but also pioneers new avenues in renewable energy storage.
Dr Fan Zhu
Dr Fan Zhu is a senior lecturer in chemical sciences in the Faculty of Science. His research sits at the intersection of chemistry and food science, with a focus on the chemistry of starch and its role in food quality, grain science, functional foods and moisture management to enhance food safety and quality.
