The 2017 list, which includes 3,400 Highly Cited Researchers in 21 fields of the sciences and social sciences, focuses on contemporary research achievement. Only Highly Cited Papers in science and social sciences journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection during the 11-year period 2005-2015 were surveyed. Highly Cited Papers are defined as those that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science.

Ng, an associate professor, studies aerosol chemistry, air quality, and health effects. Her research focuses on both laboratory experiments and field measurements to understand the formation and evolution of atmospheric nanoparticles (aerosols).

Xia, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry (who holds a joint appointment in ChBE), holds the Brock Family Chair and is a GRA Eminent Scholar in Nanomedicine. He studies nanocrystal synthesis, nanomedicine, structure-property relationship of shape-controlled nanocrystals, and catalysis.