Professor Theodore “Ted” S. Rappaport is named one of the most influential researchers in the world for the fifth year in a row

Each year Clarivate Analytics releases a list of researchers who have published papers that rank in the top 1% by citations in their fields over the past decade. According to the company, only one in 1,000 of the world’s scientists and social scientists is named a highly cited researcher — a population that “contributes disproportionately to extending the frontiers of knowledge and gaining for society innovations that make the world healthier, more sustainable and more secure.” 

In 2023, Theodore “Ted” S. Rappaport, Tandon’s David Lee/Ernst Weber Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and founding director of NYU WIRELESS, was named to the list for the fifth year in a row. 

Rappaport pioneered the use of millimeter-wave spectrum for telecommunications. His paper “Millimeter Wave Mobile Communications for 5G Cellular: It Will work!” was a clarion call demonstrating the value — and necessity — of exploiting this underutilized region of the electromagnetic spectrum for future wireless. He is now focused on the tantalizing possibilities of sub-terahertz spectrum radio, key to 6G wireless — and NYU WIRELESS's current area of focus.

Rappaport, who also holds faculty positions at NYU Courant and in radiology at NYU School of Medicine, is among the almost two-dozen NYU professors honored by Clarivate this year.