(Moscow, ID) University of Idaho has more scientists at the top of their field than all other Idaho research institutions and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) combined, according to the 2024 version of the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List. In it, 54 U of I researchers were named.
“The number of researchers that were included in this recent study demonstrates the historical and growing research expertise here at University of Idaho,” said Christopher T. Nomura, vice president for research and economic development.
Researchers from across the world are categorized into 22 broad scientific fields and 174 sub-fields. Only those who rank in the top 2% of their sub-field are included. The cumulative list started in 1960. Of the 54 U of I researchers on the list, more than half are still actively employed and conducting research at U of I in the colleges of Agricultural and Life Science, Natural Resources, Engineering and Science, as well as at Idaho WWAMI, the state’s medical school. These leaders in their fields also help train the next generation of scientists, which has created a culture in which more than half of the university’s undergraduates participate in research.
“The breadth and depth of this research expertise helps our institution serve Idaho, the U.S. and the world,” Nomura said. “This is a testament to the U of I’s commitment to research and is demonstrative of our push toward Carnegie Classification as an R1 institution. These activities place us among the top research universities in the country.”
Idaho’s other universities and INL had a combined 47 researchers on the list.
U of I also boasts the state’s researcher with the most published papers: Jean’ne Shreeve, U of I distinguished professor of chemistry and the university’s longest-serving employee. In her more than six decades at U of I, she published 717 papers, going back to the nearly the beginning of the list.
For more information about research at U of I, visit uidaho.edu/research.