Sankar Das Sarma, Richard E. Prange Chair and Distinguished University Professor was included on Thomson Reuter's newly launched list of Highly Cited Researchers, a compilation of influential names in science.

The list includes 3,215 authors from 21 science disciplines. These researchers earned the distinction by writing the greatest numbers of reports officially designated by Essential Science Indicators as Highly Cited Papers—ranking among the top 1 percent most cited for their subject field and year of publication—between 2002 and 2012. The listings of Highly Cited Researchers feature authors whose published work in their specialty areas has consistently been judged by their peers to be of particular use and significance.

The Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers list is one of several criteria used by the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to determine the Academic Ranking of World Universities.