News Release
UC San Diego Engineers on Thomson Reuters list of Highly Cited Researchers
San Diego, Calif., September 24, 2015 -- Three professors from the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering have earned a spot on the Thomson Reuters list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2015 for exceptional impact in their fields. The three professors, Yuri Bazilevs, Bernhard Palsson and Joseph Wang are among 22 professors and researchers from UC San Diego named to the prestigious Highly Cited Researchers list.
The list recognizes some of the most influential scientific minds throughout the world. Researchers earned this distinction by writing the greatest number of reports officially designated by Essential Science Indicators as Highly Cited Papers. They rank among the top 1 percent of the most cited thought leaders in their fields.
Jacobs School Highly Cited Researchers
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| Yuri Bazilevs, Department of Structural Engineering, specializes in complex simulations depicting the interaction of several elements. His lab has produced simulations of everything from airflow for wind turbine blades to air flow and water interacting with the hulls of high-speed ships. Photo credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. |
Yuri Bazilevs
Professor, Department of Structural Engineering
Associate Faculty Director, Center for Extreme Events Research (CEER)
Research categories: Computer Science, Engineering
Yuri Bazilevs is an expert in computational simulation, in particular finite element analysis and isogeometric analysis. He works on problems ranging from the simulation of offshore wind turbines in rough sea conditions to modeling of cardiac assist devices that save patients’ lives. A recent research interest lies in the modeling of blast-structure interaction events, which is a highly complicated problem. It involves dynamic interaction between structures that fracture and disintegrate and the surrounding air flow containing shock waves and turbulence. Such phenomena are difficult to accurately model on a computer but are addressed by the interdisciplinary expertise of the members of the Center for Extreme Events Research at UC San Diego, where Bazilevs is an Associate Faculty Director.
“The unique expertise of the center faculty enables us to offer an array of graduate-level courses in experimental and computational methods that are unparalleled in any other institution,” Bazilevs said. “This, in turn, attracts top graduate students to our graduate programs and greatly enhances the quality of research work coming out of the Center for Extreme Events Research.” [Read the full story on the launch of the Center for Extreme Events Research.]
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| Bernhard Palsson, the Galletti Professor of Bioengineering, uses experimental and computational models to study cellular life, using high-powered computing to build interactive databases of biological information. Photo courtesy of the Systems Biology Research Group. |
Bernhard Palsson
Department of Bioengineering
Pierre Galletti Chair in Bioengineering Innovation
Director, CHO Systems Biology Center
Research category: Biology & Biochemistry
Bernhard Palsson's Systems Biology Research Group in the bioengineering department at the Jacobs School uses experimental and computational models to study cellular life. Systems biology leverages high-powered computing to build vast interactive databases of biological information.
In 2013, Palsson’s group analyzed metabolic pathways of 55 strains of E. coli, work that could prove useful in developing ways to control deadly E. coli.
In August 2015, a team led by Palsson published a paper describing the core set of genes and functions that a bacterial cell needs to sustain life. The research, which answers the fundamental question of what minimum set of functions bacterial cells require to survive, could lead to new cell engineering approaches for E. coli and other microorganisms.
Earlier this year, his group published the first comprehensive assessment of the mechanisms of off-target drug effects.
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| Joseph Wang, professor and chair, Department of NanoEngineering, wearing a simple latex glove printed with a "forensic finger" sensor that can detect gun powder and explosives in real time and at the crime scene. Photo credit: UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. |
Joseph Wang
Professor and Chair, Department of NanoEngineering
SAIC Endowed Chair Professor
Director, Center for Wearable Sensors
Research category: Chemistry
Joseph Wang was recognized for his work in the field of chemistry. Wang's work in nanobioelectronic sensors, for example, is enabling research in the field of wearable sensors for applications in medicine, military, security, preventive health and fitness.
Examples of wearable sensors that Wang developed are non-invasive tattoo-based glucose sensors, which offer a needle-free way for diabetes patients to monitor their glucose levels, and biofuel cells that harvest energy from sweat. Recently, Wang co-led a team that developed a mouth guard prototype that monitors health markers in saliva, including lactate, cortisol and uric acid, and transmits the information wirelessly to a smartphone, laptop or tablet.
Wang’s research group is also a pioneer in nanomotors research. Their work has led to advanced nanomachines for biomedical, environmental and security applications. In January 2015, he co-led a team that demonstrated the first applications of nanomachines in living animals. Recently, his team demonstrated the use of nanorobots for environmental cleanup and tackling climate change, and published work on nanomotors for cleaning up carbon dioxide pollution in water.
A recent collaboration with NanoEngineering professor Shaochen Chen led to the manufacture of fish-shaped microrobots that swim in liquids and are capable of diverse functionalities such as toxin removal and sensing.
Agile Research Centers
Each of the Jacobs School faculty on the Highly Cited Researchers list from Thomson Reuters happens to also hold a leadership position in a new research center of excellence created at the Jacobs School. Each Center is designed to encourage industry, faculty and students to collaborate and innovate to tackle tough, important problems.
“A great engineering school is a relevant engineering school. Our faculty are working together like never before to address crucial issues that advance the public good and cannot be tackled by research labs working independently,” said Albert P. Pisano, Dean of the Jacobs School.
Center for Extreme Events Research
Yuri Bazilevs
Associate Faculty Director, Center for Extreme Events Research
The Center for Extreme Events Research leverages UC San Diego’s expertise in experimental and computational methods to develop better ways to protect entire built infrastructures, as well as bio-systems, from extreme events such as blasts from terrorist attacks and mining explosions, car crashes, sports collisions, and natural disaster such as landslides.
Bernhard Palsson
Director, CHO Systems Biology Center
The CHO Systems Biology Center generates and harnesses big data to advance CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cell-line engineering for drug development. Working at the frontiers of systems biology, genomics and CHO research, Center researchers develop — and then convert — large data sets into biological knowledge to advance cell-line engineering for biopharmaceutical development and production.
Joseph Wang
Director, Center for Wearable Sensors
The Center for Wearable Sensors accelerates the pace of innovation in wearable sensor systems by tackling the toughest research challenges and technical bottlenecks. Center researchers are creating a series of the world’s most advanced “lab on the body” systems. The work is carried out through close collaborations between world-renowned faculty, students and industry partners.
Media Contacts
Daniel Kane
Jacobs School of Engineering
858-534-3262
dbkane@ucsd.edu