Reuters announced The Reuters Hot List 2021 which includes the world's top 1000 climate change scientists. According to the Reuters Hot List 2021, Prof. Dr. Shabbir H. Gheewala, Head of the Research Center on Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Development, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), was ranked 552nd on the Reuters Hot List 2021 and 1st in Thailand. The criteria of the ranking are based on how many research papers scientists have published on topics related to climate change; how often those papers are cited by other scientists in similar fields of study, such as biology, chemistry or physics; and how often those papers are referenced in the lay press, social media, policy papers and other outlets. The information of research impact assessment is provided by Digital Science, UK, which has compiled the research information since 1988 until the present time. The Reuters Hot List 2021 relied on the information gathered until December 2020.
Contributions on The Reuters Hot List 2021
Prof. Dr. Shabbir H. Gheewala is a lecturer at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment and Head of the Research Center on Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Development, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT). He is recognized worldwide as an expert on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). As of December 2020, he published a total of 236 research papers, of which 5,649 citations were made by other scientists. He obtained the NSTDA Chair Professor Fund from the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) in 2016. His previous research focused on the assessment of impacts of energy and food production systems on the environment, society, and economy by employing the principle of life cycle assessment to support the policy decision of the public sector and support sustainable production and consumption in the sectors of agriculture, industry, and energy. In addition, he has conducted research to develop the country's environmental database, e.g., the databases of waste management, sugar cane manufacturing, and Thailand's provincial manufacturing system.
Sustainable Development-Oriented Research
It has been over 20 years that Prof. Dr. Shabbir H. Gheewala has conducted research on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment for energy, food, and environmental systems in order to make industrial, social and economic development sustainable by applying scientific and engineering knowledge to give information and create awareness on the impacts which may arise throughout the product's life cycle, particularly on climate change. His previous research is nationally and internationally recognized and capable of further development to become guidelines for sustainable development.
With reference to the operations for sustainable development, climate change-related research is essential in creating proper recommendations to effectively apply to society. KMUTT has recognized this importance and thereby promoted the operations for sustainable development under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by cooperation among various units in KMUTT and with outside agencies. This cooperation gave an opportunity for lecturers and various units at KMUTT to work with other organizations nationally and internationally. The Reuters Hot List 2021 indicates that KMUTT research outputs between 2015-2021 were relevant to SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy, and KMUTT came second in Thailand for the making research contribution in this area. That is the period in which contributions were made by Prof. Dr. Shabbir H. Gheewala, especially the research on biofuels, biomass, and solar energy. Additionally, he also made a contribution to research related to SDG12: Consumption and Production that focuses on assessment of product's life cycle across the production processes. Furthermore, he has also conducted research involved with SDG 13: Climate Action focusing on carbon footprint, water footprint, and circular economy and how to mitigate the impacts from climate change including the promotion to maximize resource utilization.