During the past five years, UC Davis was the most published research university in the nation in the areas of ecology and environmental sciences, and food science and nutrition, according to a survey by the private organization, the Institute for Scientific Information.
In the area of ecology and the environment, UC Davis researchers published the most academic papers, followed by UC Berkeley and Colorado State University. And in food science and nutrition, UC Davis researchers ranked first ahead of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Cornell University.
From 1996 to 2000, papers published by UC Davis researchers were referenced in scientific journals covering ecology and the environment and food science and nutrition more than papers from any other research institution in the nation, according to the Institute for Scientific Information.
Listed as a "highly cited" researcher in the area of ecology and the environment was Andrew Sih of the UC Davis Environmental Science and Policy department. This places him among the most cited one percent of all researchers publishing in this field.
Environmental research at UC Davis takes place in many schools and colleges including the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Division of Biological Sciences, College of Engineering, and the schools of law and veterinary medicine.
In a decade-long survey, UC Davis researchers also led the nation in agricultural sciences citations. From 1991 to June 2001, 1,520 papers published by UC Davis researchers were referenced in 10,602 other journal articles. Following UC Davis in the agricultural sciences were the University of Wisconsin and Cornell University.
In this 10-year survey, three UC Davis food scientists were ranked among the top 20 most referenced of more than 1,500 agricultural science researchers. They are Edwin Frankel, second; Bruce German, 16th; and the late John Kinsella, 17th.
"It is gratifying for our faculty to learn from such a reputable organization as the ISI that our research programs in the areas of environmental sciences and ecology, agriculture, and food science and nutrition are the most productive university-based programs in the world," said Dean Neal Van Alfen, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "This reaffirms our belief that research in the college and elsewhere on campus has impact and is a good investment in advancing the frontiers of knowledge.
"Breaking new ground in research is the key to economic prosperity, environmental quality, and the quality of life in general," he added. "When legislators and citizens ask us what we are doing for California, I believe that we can honestly answer that we are providing a quality of service and research that is unrivalled in the world. Taxpayers can feel confident that the state’s investment in the University of California system is returning substantial dividends."
The rankings announced by the Institute for Scientific Information were based on surveys of citations for the top 100 federally funded U.S. universities.