Professor in electrical and computer engineering among Clarivate’s "Highly Cited Researchers" for 2025
Published: Nov 20, 2025 4:10 PM
By Joe McAdory
Shiwen Mao’s research has been cited more than 34,000 times — including more than 8,500 citations in the past two years.
It’s no wonder that Mao, professor and Earle C. Williams Eminent Scholar Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been named one of Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers for 2025 in the field of computer science.
Clarivate, a global leader in transformative intelligence, identifies “Highly Cited Researchers” by analyzing citation data across thousands of publications. Those selected have authored multiple papers that rank among the top 1% most cited for their field and publication year in the Web of Science Core Collection over the past 11 years.
“Being named a Highly Cited Researcher means that the ideas my students, collaborators and I have worked on are making a meaningful contribution to the global research community,” said Mao, also director of Auburn’s Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center. “It shows that the problems we chose to study are relevant and useful to many others around the world. Research is a team effort, and I see this honor as a reflection of the hard work of my students and colleagues, as well as the support I’ve received from Auburn.”
Mao, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) fellow, joins Dave Ketchen, Harbert Eminent Scholar in the Harbert College of Business’ Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, as Auburn University’s only faculty members recognized in 2025 by Clarivate.
Mao’s research spans critical areas of wireless engineering and computer science, from multimedia transport over wireless networks to cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence (AI).
His early work introduced the concept of path diversity for real-time multimedia traffic, earning the 2004 IEEE Communications Society Leonard G. Abraham Prize. Since 2014, Mao has pioneered the integration of deep learning into wireless engineering, producing widely cited work on sensing and localization. These efforts have garnered multiple awards, including the IEEE Internet of Things Journal Best Paper Award and the IEEE Communications Society Outstanding Paper Award.
More recently, Mao’s group was among the first to explore generative AI for wireless data augmentation, with a 2025 paper ranked among the Top 5 Most Popular in the IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society.
“Wireless engineering is a rapidly evolving field with no shortage of meaningful research challenges,” Mao said. “As systems advance from 5G to future generations, there is a continuing need for fundamental research at all layers of the technology stack. At the same time, wireless communication has become critical infrastructure, creating rich interdisciplinary opportunities across healthcare, agriculture, transportation and more. AI is also having a profound impact, influencing both research directions and educational practices.”
Mao credited Auburn for providing an environment that “fosters innovation and collaboration.”
“The university has supported me with strong institutional backing, exceptional students and a collaborative environment across engineering and related fields,” he said. “I’ve benefited from departmental leadership that encourages ambitious ideas and from colleagues who are open to interdisciplinary work and new directions. Auburn gives faculty the freedom and the patience to explore big problems, along with the resources needed to pursue them. That combination has played a major role in the success of my group’s research.
“I am also deeply grateful to Mr. Samuel Ginn and the Ginn Family Foundation, Mr. Earle C. Williams, McWane, Inc. and the McWane family, and the Alabama Power Foundation for their generous support of my research.”
Media Contact: , jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447
Shiwen Mao’s research spans critical areas of wireless engineering and computer science, from multimedia transport over wireless networks to cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence.
