Current and emeritus faculty members affiliated with the University of South Carolina were honored in a recent list of the world’s top-cited researchers in their field.
The annual study, conducted by Stanford University and Elsevier, an academic publishing company, identifies the world’s most-cited researchers. The University of South Carolina had 174 faculty members representing 10 colleges and schools named to the list – the highest number among universities in South Carolina.
“I am thrilled to see so many of our outstanding faculty members recognized for the quality and influence of their research,” says Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, USC’s executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Their work reflects the depth of expertise across our university and is making a meaningful impact in South Carolina and throughout the world.”
The McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, USC’s largest college, had the highest representation with 69 faculty members, followed by Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing (43), the Arnold School of Public Health (20) and the Floyd School of Medicine (16).
Other areas represented include: Darla Moore School of Business (9); College of Pharmacy (8); College of Hospitality, Retail and Sports Management (3); College of Education (2); College of Nursing (2) and the School of Medicine Greenville (2).
“Looking at this list of top-cited experts, I see so many names of faculty members who have established themselves as pillars of research and scholarship at USC,” says Julius Fridriksson, USC’s vice president for research. “It is wonderful to see these scholars recognized for their contributions to their fields and to know it is inspiring for those following in their footsteps.”
The latest study incorporates research citation data from 2025 and presents a combined score for each individual researcher. The top 100,000 researchers by score are included on the list as well as those who scored inside the top 2 percent in their specific subfield of work.
Top 5 global-cited researchers at the University of South Carolina:
Xiaoming Li - Arnold School of Public Health (807)
Donna Arnett - Arnold School of Public Health (755)
Hans Congrad Zur Loye - McCausland College of Arts and Sciences (578)
Charles Bennett - College of Pharmacy (568)
Amit Sheth - Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing (568)