Two Social Scientists named Top Global Researchers
November 19, 2025 - Michigan State University
Two College of Social Science faculty were among the eight researchers and professors from Michigan State University to be recognized in the “2025 Highly Cited Researchers” list, a ranking organized annually by Clarivate Analytics.
The national list recognizes research scientists from across the globe who have offered expertise and significantly influenced their respective fields of research. The list is created from highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% of citations for field and publication year in Clarivate’s Web of Science citation index. Of the world’s population of scientists and social scientists, highly cited researchers are one in 1,000.
The release of the list is highly anticipated by hundreds of organizations and institutions every year. MSU researchers continue to make the list, with three of this year’s awardees also having been included in the 2024 list. Their extensive expertise ranges from sustainability to human medicine to environmental science, among other disciplines.
The two Social Science researhers on the list are:
David P. Roy is a professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences in the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. He is also the director of MSU’s Center for Global Change and Earth Observations. His research interests include the development of remote sensing and advanced computational methods to map and characterize the Earth system as well as terrestrial global change. His long-term research goal is to enable the provision of information and science to monitor and model the Earth system.
Jeffrey M. Wooldridge is a Walter Adams Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Economics and a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics in the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. His research focuses on econometrics and microeconometrics, primarily studying methods for cross-sectional data and panel data.
Other faculty on the list include:
Kalyanmoy Deb is a University Distinguished Professor and Dr. Herman E. and Ruth J. Koenig Endowed Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering at Michigan State University. His main research interests include development and application of computer-aided algorithms for solving different types of optimization problems.
G. Tomas M. Hult is a professor in the Department of Marketing in the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. He has been recognized as a thought leader in international marketing, marketing strategy, customer satisfaction, supply chain management and international business.
Morteza Mahmoudi is an associate professor in the Department of Radiology and the Precision Health Program at Michigan State University. His research focuses on investigating overlooked factors in nanomedicine and academic bullying and harassment.
Hamidreza Modares is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University. His current research interests include control and security of cyber-physical systems, machine learning in control, distributed control of multiagent systems, and robotics.
Robert A. Quinn is an associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Department of Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology and the BioMolecular Science Gateway at Michigan State University. He uses multiomics methods including metagenomics, metabolomics and classic microbiology approaches to understand the causes of dysbiosis in host-associated microbial communities.
James M. Tiedje is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University. He is also the director of MSU’s Center for Microbial Ecology. His research focuses on microbial ecology, physiology and diversity, especially regarding the nitrogen cycle, biodegradation of environmental pollutants and use of molecular methods to understand microbial community structure and function.
This story was originally published in MSU Today.