Six researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden have been recognized on this year’s Highly Cited Researchers list. This marks the seventh consecutive year for one researcher on the list. The list, compiled annually by Clarivate’s Web of Science Group, identifies individuals whose research papers are most frequently cited by other scientists. This year, 6,636 researchers were included, with 2,507 based in the United States.
The NREL researchers named this year are Matthew Beard, Gregg Beckham, Joe Berry, Joey Luther, Xiaopeng Zheng and Kai Zhu. NREL had seven representatives on the 2023 list and eight the previous year. Only one in 1,000 scientists globally made this year’s cut, based on citation frequency over the past decade.
“I want to congratulate our researchers. The continual presence of NREL researchers on this list illustrates NREL’s impact on the Department of Energy and influence driving science,” said Bill Tumas, associate laboratory director for the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science (MCCS) directorate. Five of the six NREL researchers are affiliated with MCCS.
Clarivate defines a highly cited researcher as someone “who has demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research.” Luther, a senior research fellow, has made the list seven times. Beard and Zhu, senior research fellows, are recognized for the sixth time. Beckham, a senior research fellow, is included for the third time, while Berry, another senior research fellow, appears on the list for the fourth time. Zheng is noted for three appearances related to his work at NREL before moving to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“It’s great to be recognized for the impact of NREL research,” Beard said. “It’s a team effort, and these recognitions reflect on the dedicated contributions from the many NREL researchers and postdocs as well as outside collaborators which I have the honor to be a part of.” Luther expressed that he was “truly honored” to be included, stating, “I think much of the work done at NREL is to advance the most critical energy technologies and that might be the reason behind high citation count. I really hope that it has long-term impact rather than simply high citations.”
