No. 19 in the World for High-Impact Research

The University of Texas at Austin is ranked No. 19 in the world for high-impact science, according to the Nature Index, which tracks publication in the world’s top research journals — the latest in a series of global rankings that recognize UT Austin among the world’s elite research universities.

UT Austin ranks No. 8 among all U.S. universities.

The productivity of the top 50 institutions is also evaluated in four specialty subject areas, three of which list UT Austin as:

• No. 12 in Earth and Environmental Sciences (No. 4 among U.S. universities)
• No. 19 in Chemistry (No. 6 among U.S. universities)
• No. 20 in Physical Sciences (No. 8 among U.S. universities)

“The natural sciences have been an area of strength at UT for many decades,” said UT Austin President Gregory L. Fenves. “I am very proud that we rank in the world’s top 20 in natural sciences research and that we are among the top 10 nationally in key areas. Our prominence in these fundamental fields will help us focus our energies even more intensely on excellence in research and education of leaders.”

The Nature Index, which includes nonacademic institutions in addition to universities, draws upon author affiliations for nearly 60,000 scientific articles published per year in 68 elite natural science journals identified through an independent survey of researchers and scientific experts. The list of journals includes prestigious publications in chemistry, life sciences, physical sciences, and earth and environmental sciences, including Science and Nature. Editors counted the number of times each institution’s authors appeared in the journals, adjusting fractionally for co-authorship.

Other Texas schools listed in the overall ranking include: Texas A&M University at No. 73, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at No. 83, Rice University at No. 111 and Baylor College of Medicine at No. 137.

The Nature Index also analyzes top scientific productivity by world region. North America has the highest output in the most reputable journals, followed by China and Germany.

UT Austin has been ranked near the top globally in other recent publications, including:

• No. 28 in the world by Times Higher Education (United Kingdom).
• No. 29 in the world by the Center for World University Rankings (Saudi Arabia).
• No. 30 in the world in U.S. News Global University Rankings (United States).
• No. 39 in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, which is compiled by the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China).

To view the Nature Index ranking tables, visit: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v522/n7556_supp/full/522S34a.html

Tags: Austin, ChE, chemical engineering, Gregory Fenves, high-impact science, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Nature Index, Texas, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, UT