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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Search done for most influential scientists; 8 found in Richland

A basalt rock core sample is seen Nov. 30, 2005, at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. Eight scientists at PNNL have made the latest list of scientists whose research has the most influence worldwide in their fields of expertise. (JACKIE JOHNSTON / Associated Press)
By Annette Cary Tri-City Herald

Eight scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland have made the latest list of scientists whose research has the most influence worldwide in their fields of expertise.

Clarivate Analytics, formerly part of Thomson Reuters, tracks the number of times scientists are cited in others’ research papers to find the top 1 percent of influential scientists. The most recent analysis was for publications from 2005-15.

Having many citations by other experts in a scientific field is an indication of the quality and value of research by a scientist, according to Clarivate Analytics.

PNNL said citations are evidence that work is considered important by peers, providing a building block for other scientists to build on to make discoveries.

One PNNL scientist who made the list, Steven Ghan, has been cited more than 11,000 times, the lab said.

Ghan and Philip Rasch of PNNL were recognized for their climate change-related research to improve understanding of the effect of clouds and small particles on the environment.

Four PNNL scientists made the list of most influential researchers in the field of energy storage.

Jin Liu has been on the list since 2014 and leads the Department of Energy’s Battery500 Consortium, a collaboration developing smaller, lighter and less expensive electric vehicle batteries.

Yuyan Shao, Jie Xiao and Ji-Guang “Jason” Zhang also made the latest list for research that ranges from developing microbatteries for tags used on endangered fish to electrochemical energy storage and conversion.

The other two PNNL scientists on the list were recognized in the field of chemistry for their contributions in pharmacology and toxicology with implications for human health.

Yuehe Lin, a Washington State University professor who holds a joint appointment at PNNL, is developing technologies that can detect important molecules and deliver drugs to fight diseases like cancer.

Justin Teeguarden, who holds a joint appointment at Oregon State University, specializes in exposure science.