Six LAU Faculty Listed Among the World’s Top 0.05 Percent by ScholarGPS
The scholarly analytics platform attests to LAUers’ academic contributions to their fields and specific disciplines.
ScholarGPS, a leading scholarly analytics platform, has ranked six LAU faculty members among the top 0.05 percent of all scholars due to either their lifetime or the past five years of scholarly contributions.
Associate Professor of Biology Ralph J. Abi-Habib, Professor of Finance Elie Bouri, Associate Professor of Marketing Omar S. Itani, Associate Professor of Economics Dervis Kirikkaleli, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Zulqurnain Sabir and Associate Professor of Finance Muhammad Umar have been designated “Highly Ranked ScholarsTM” on the platform.
According to its website, ScholarGPS combines artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced data analysis “to map global research with unmatched precision.” The platform has identified more than 30 million scholars from 120,000+ institutions and analyzed 200 million publications linked to three billion citations to produce its data, which is categorized by 14 fields, 177 disciplines and 350,000+ specialties.
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Samer Saab underscored how the rankings reflect LAU’s deep commitment to research excellence and global relevance.
“Our faculty are not only educational leaders—they are shaping the future of their disciplines,” said Dr. Saab, adding that having six professors ranked among the top 0.05 percent of scholars worldwide “is a powerful testament to the caliber of scholarship at LAU. Their contributions across diverse fields—from cryptocurrency, sustainability, and consumer behavior to cancer research and mathematics—highlight the university’s active role in addressing today’s contemporary global challenges.”
At the LAU Adnan Kassar School of Business, four of its faculty raised the bar, topping the ranks in their areas of specialty. Dr. Bouri ranked third globally for his expertise in Cryptocurrency. A prolific researcher on Consumer Behavior, Dr. Itani ranked fifth globally under the Sales specialty. Dr. Kirikkalelli ranked first in Wavelet, second in Pollution and Sustainability research, third in Globalization and Partnership and fifth in Technological Innovation. Dr. Umar also ranked first in Finance and Social Change, and fourth in Environmental Resource Management.
From the LAU School of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Abi-Habib earned his ranking for his contribution to cancer cell research, and Dr. Sabir for his scholarly input to the field of Physical Sciences and Mathematics.
