Swinburne highly cited researchers reach the top in 11 fields

Eight academics at Swinburne University of Technology have been named on Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list for 2024, appearing across 11 fields of research.

The influential Swinburne researchers are ranked in the top one per cent in the world by citations for their fields over the past decade. 

Each researcher has authored multiple highly cited papers and has received extensive recognition from a wide-ranging, international network of citing authors. 

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Karen Hapgood, celebrated the researchers’ contributions on the world stage.

“Congratulations to Swinburne’s exceptional Highly Cited Researchers, who have received recognition for their significant contributions across 11 research fields. Among the network of scientists and social scientists analysed, Clarivate has highlighted these researchers as being one in 1,000 in their fields,” Professor Hapgood said.

“Their achievements in computer science, space science and engineering demonstrate Swinburne’s research excellence on the world stage. Their place in Clarivate’s list underscores the global influence of their work – not just in 2024, but also over the past decade.”

Swinburne researchers on the 2024 list

This year, several Swinburne researchers have been recognised for their outstanding performance in multiple fields of research, alongside specialists in singular research fields:

Professor Jinjun Chen has been cited for computer science. His research spans cloud computing, distributed systems and algorithms, mobile computing, hardware security, system and network security, data security and protection, and software and application security.

Dr Xiaohua (Jamie) Ge has been cited for computer science and engineering. Dr Ge’s research is oriented towards networked control systems, multi-agent systems and cyber-physical systems, with real-world applications in mobile robots, electric vehicles, autonomous road and rail vehicles, connected vehicles and intelligent transportation systems.

Distinguished Professor Qing-Long Han, Swinburne’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Quality), has been cited for computer science and engineering. An internationally recognised leader in control theory and control engineering, Distinguished Professor Han was recently awarded the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Industrial Electronics Society Dr -Ing. Eugine Mittelmann Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to industrial electronics.

Associate Professor Ivo Labbé, an astrophysicist and Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow, has been cited for space science. His research interests span the formation, development and demise of first-generation galaxies. He was awarded precious time in the first observation cycle of the James Webb Space Telescope, and has since helped reveal never-before-seen details in a region of space known as Pandora’s Cluster (Abell 2744).

Distinguished Professor Neville Owen has been cited for cross-field research. A health sciences researcher, Distinguished Professor Owen’s work informs the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, through understanding and influencing physical activity and sedentary behaviours.

Associate Professor Chenghua Sun has been cited for cross-field research. Associate Professor Sun’s research focuses on catalyst design for clean energy and environment applications, particularly for ammonia synthesis at room temperature, efficient methane combustion and biomass conversion.

Professor Yang Xiang, Director of Swinburne’s Digital Capability Research Platform, has been cited for cross-field research. His main research interest is cyber security, including network and system security, AI, data analytics, distributed systems, and networking.

Dr Xian-Ming Zhang has been cited for computer science and engineering. His research interests include security control, event-triggered control, networked control systems, H∞ filtering and estimation, robust control, time-delay systems, stochastic system, neural networks and offshore structure control.

About Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers 2024

The Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher 2024 list recognises individuals from over 1,200 institutions in 59 countries and regions. Data is drawn from science and social sciences journals in the Web of Science Core Collection citation index, corresponding to an 11-year period from 2013 to 2023.

In 2024, Australia is ranked fifth globally for world share of Highly Cited Researchers, with a 4.5 per cent share.