UTEP faculty ranked in the top 2% worldwide
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Twenty current and former faculty members from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), were listed amongst the top 2% most-cited researchers in the world.
The list is a prestigious study known as the Stanford-Elsevier ranking, which relies on standardized citation metrics developed by a team of scientists at Stanford University.
Professor and chair of the Physics Department at UTEP Mark Pederson, had the highest number of citations amongst his colleagues.
Pederson explained the significance of being recognized on the Stanford-Elsevier list.
“We are bringing in a lot of research dollars for the university that transfers to work opportunities for students that come to the university. And as I stated, we have some of the best, strongest scientists in the areas of magnetism, condensed matter physics,” said Pederson.
One of the unique aspects of performing his work at UTEP is that it offers many opportunities to first-generation students, according to Pederson.
He reflected on his career as a scientist, and what meaning he hopes his work carries.
“To be able to have that time to work on very hard problems that are important to society. It is a privilege to scientists. And one just hopes that ends up having an impact,” said Pederson.
Pederson explained that physics is a great field for young scientists to “gravitate” to, as there are seemingly more problems to work out than ever before.
Having achieved such prestigious recognition, the Department of Physics at UTEP looks to expand the opportunities available to its students.
“We are trying to add a new Ph.D. program in physics, which will actually focus initially on quantum computing. We have some of the best quantum computing people here at UTEP as well. So this is going to help us achieve those goals. It’s going to give our students opportunities to get Ph.D. programs here,” said Pederson.
The three colleges representing UTEP on the list were the College of Science, Engineering and Liberal Arts.
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