AUS researchers named among top two percent of global scientists

For 25 years, faculty members at American University of Sharjah (AUS) have been developing novel innovations and engaging in exciting collaborations, while enriching and achieving their scholarly pursuits. Once again AUS has gained global recognition for these endeavors, with 21of its researchers and faculty members listed among the world’s top two percent of researchers for 2021 in a study led by Professor John Ioannidis from Stanford University and published by Elsevier BV.

Using several metrics, the study systematically ranks the most influential researchers across many fields, as measured by citations in 2021. The study includes two lists, with a list of researchers who have had a career-long impact. On this first list 9 AUS faculty members were featured. The second list measured impact over a single recent year and featured 19 AUS faculty members.

AUS faculty members on the two lists focus on a wide variety of research areas including, but not limited to, structural engineering, management and entrepreneurship, mathematics and Commutative Ring Theory, supply chain management, brand management and luxury, privatization and corporate governance, cosmic-ray acceleration, psychology of language learning and teaching, construction and project management, cyber-physical systems, digital video coding and machine learning, genetics and immunology, computational solids and structural mechanics, earthquake engineering and structural dynamics and materials, IoT and deep learning, polymeric and liposomal drug delivery, fuel cell technology, modeling and simulation of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), cyber security, and inventory control.

From the College of Engineering (CEN), the first list focusing on career-long impact featured Dr. Fadi Aloul, Dean of CEN; Dr. Mohamed Ben-Daya, Professor in Industrial Engineering; Dr. Moncer Hariga, Professor in Industrial Engineering; Dr. Rami Hawileh, Professor in Civil Engineering; Dr. Samir Emam, Professor in Mechanical Engineering; Dr. Tamer Shanableh, Professor in Computer Science and Engineering; and Dr. Ghaleb Husseini, Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering and Dana Gas Chair in Chemical Engineering. The second list on single recent year impact featured Dr. Sameh El-Sayegh, Professor in Civil Engineering and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering and MSCM Program Academic Coordinator; Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Ali, Professor in Computer Science and Engineering; Dr. Farid Abed, Professor in Civil Engineering; Dr. Jamal Abdalla, Professor in Civil Engineering and Riad T. Sadek Chair in Civil Engineering; Dr. Imran Zualkernan; Professor in Computer Science and Engineering and Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Dr. Amani Al-Othman, Associate Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering; and Dr. Mehdi Ghommem, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Hawileh, Dr. Ben-Daya, Dr. Emam, Dr. Shanableh and Dr. Husseini are also featured on the second list.

From the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the first list included Dr. Yousef Salamin, Professor in Physics, and Dr. Ayman Badawi, Professor in Mathematics and Statistics, who also featured on the second list along with Dr. Tammy Gregersen, Professor in English; Dr. Amin Majdalawieh, Professor in Biology and Head of the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences; and Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui, Professor of Practice in the Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences.

From the School of Business Administration (SBA), the second list featured Dr. Narjess Boubakri, Dean of SBA; Dr. Rodrigo Basco, Professor of Management and Sheikh Saoud bin Khalid bin Khalid Al-Qassimi Chair in Family Business; and Dr. George Christodoulides, Professor in Marketing and Information Systems and Chalhoub Professor in Luxury Brand Management.

"AUS has built a strong reputation as a hub for research, scholarly and creative activities in the region. The study is a clear recognition of the caliber of faculty at AUS and further evidence of the global, national and regional impact of their research,” said Dr. Juan Sanchez, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at AUS.

AUS has succeeded in building a regional and global reputation thanks to its high achieving students, whose work has been featured in international exhibitions and scientific conferences; its global alumni network of successful entrepreneurs, government officials, and industry professionals; and its diverse and experienced faculty, whose research has been cited all over the world.

AUS has 322 full-time undergraduate and graduate faculty members representing 46 nationalities, and the university is committed to promoting and supporting their research, scholarship, and creative activities.

This review of the research work conducted by AUS faculty members reflects attentiveness to community engagement where both basic and applied research aligns with national and regional needs. This is particularly strengthened through collaborations between AUS and government and industrial entities, which sustain research in fields ranging from engineering to mathematics and physics to business and the social sciences.