URI business professor recognized among top scientists on Stanford’s Top 2% list

KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 30, 2024 – Mahtab Kouhizadeh, assistant professor of supply chain management at the University of Rhode Island, has been recognized among the top scientists around the globe by Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists list, recognizing the most influential researchers across a broad range of fields.

The Stanford list, considered the most prestigious in the world, is based on bibliometric factors contained in the Scopus database provided by Elsevier, a global information analytics company and academic publisher. The rankings consider scholars who have published multiple highly cited papers and uses various metrics to evaluate the citation impact of researchers’ work over their career and a single year. The rankings are based on citations from 2023.

“This ranking identifies top scientists with a percentile of 2% or higher in all fields and within the subfield of business and management—so being included among this group is a great honor,” said Kouhizadeh. “It’s encouraging to gain recognition from fellow scholars, especially at an early stage in my career.”

Kouhizadeh, who earned her Ph.D. in operations management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2021, has focused her research on supply chain management, blockchain technology, network optimization, and sustainability. In selecting her research topics, she chooses to explore issues that impact businesses, along with emerging technologies, such as blockchain, and their implications on supply chain management and sustainability.

“Supply chain management fascinates me because it connects a network of organizations involved in delivering products and services to customers,” she said. “Every product you buy from a store has a journey to get there, involving various logistics, operations, and scheduling. I focus on network optimization to improve supply chain networks by reducing costs and increasing efficiency.”

That includes integrating sustainable practices in supply chain management to mitigate negative environmental impacts and promote long-term viability for businesses and society, she said.

Kouhizadeh’s research has been published in such peer-reviewed journals as Production Planning and Control and Industrial Management and Data Systems, and garnered more than 6,800 citations since her first paper was published in 2018, according to Google Scholar.

Her most cited papers have been on timely topics and published in leading journals in the field: “Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management,” published in the International Journal of Production Research in 2019, has been cited 3,518 times; and “Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers,” published in the International Journal of Production Economics in 2021, has garnered 1,068 citations.

“Having my work cited means that other scholars use and reference my research, ideas, or findings in their own work,” she said. “It shows that my research is being recognized and my insights are contributing to the advancement of the scholarly field and influencing new research developments.”

Kouhizadeh, who joined URI in fall 2021 after earning her Ph.D., says she was attracted by URI’s strong supply chain management program, which includes numerous faculty who have worked professionally in the field. “The College of Business stands out for its supportive and collegial environment, which I truly appreciate,” she said. “I enjoy working with passionate supply chain students who thrive in this collaborative environment.”

In her journey as a professor, she says her teaching and research are connected and she finds working with student researchers rewarding, allowing her to mentor students while including their perspectives in her research.

“I view my research as a means to support my teaching by offering students current knowledge and real-world applications,” she said. “My goal is to create a synergistic relationship where my research informs my teaching and my teaching, in turn, inspires new avenues of research.”