FAU Engineering Celebrates Journal of Big Data’s Decade of Excellence
The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University is marking a decade of global impact and excellence of the peer-reviewed Journal of Big Data, a pioneering open-access publication. The journal was co-founded by two of FAU’s highly accomplished faculty researchers and editors-in-chief, Borko Furht, Ph.D., professor and director of the NSF-sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center on Advanced Knowledge Enablement; and Taghi M. Khoshgoftaar, Ph.D., Motorola Professor, both within the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
In commemoration of this important milestone, Furht and Khoshgoftaar provide an editorial in the current issue of the Journal of Big Data titled, “.”
Launched in 2014 in collaboration with SpringerOpen, the journal was among the first dedicated scholarly platforms focused exclusively on the transformative field of big data. Today, the Journal of Big Data stands as a world-leading publication, ranked No. 1 globally among peer journals and conferences in the domain.
According to the latest Google Scholar metrics, the journal boasts an impressive h5-index of 79 and h5-median of 191, surpassing many long-established venues in the fields of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. These rankings underscore the journal’s global influence, rigorous editorial standards, and continued relevance in one of the fastest-evolving areas of science and engineering.
“When we founded the Journal of Big Data, our goal was to create a scholarly home for the future of data-driven discovery,” said Furht. “More than a decade later, the journal has become a global destination for breakthrough research – from Nobel laureates to Turing Award recipients. Its success is a testament to the strength of our vision, the caliber of our contributors, and the impact Florida Atlantic University continues to make on the world stage.”
Since its founding, the Journal of Big Data has published hundreds of high-impact research articles by leading academics, industry scientists, and global innovators. Its 2024 two-part special issue, titled “Computationally Intensive Problems in General Math and Engineering,” showcased contributions across a range of scientific domains, including genomics, earthquake engineering, aerospace, geophysics, and nature-based construction.
The special issue featured lead articles by three Nobel Prize winners: Jean-Marie Lehn, Ph.D.; Konstantin Novoselov, Ph.D.; and Dan Shechtman, Ph.D., demonstrating the journal’s role as a nexus for breakthrough interdisciplinary collaboration. It also emphasized cutting-edge methodologies such as Tensor Calculus, Partial Differential Equations, AI-based algorithms, and mathematical logic, demonstrating how big data research intersects with applied mathematics and real-world engineering challenges.
“The Journal of Big Data has grown into a premier platform for cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research that addresses some of the world’s most complex challenges,” said Khoshgoftaar. “Its rise reflects the confidence the global research community has placed in our editorial leadership, and the strength of FAU’s position in the data science and AI landscape. It has been incredibly rewarding to see the journal evolve into a hub for impactful discovery, and I look forward to continuing to shape its future.”
The journal’s success mirrors the accomplishments of its founders – both widely recognized as leaders in their fields.
Furht has had a distinguished career as a researcher, academic, and industry consultant. His research expertise spans multimedia systems, cloud computing, wireless technologies, and social networks, and he has been principal investigator or co-PI on research projects totaling more than $30 million in funding from federal agencies and industry giants including NSF, NIH, NASA, Office of Naval Research, IBM, Google, and Apple. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Multimedia Tools and Applications (Springer) and serves as special advisor for technology and innovation to the United Nations Global Millennium Development Foundation. In 2024, Furht received the FAU President’s Award for Career Achievements.
Khoshgoftaar is one of the most highly cited computer scientists in the State University System of Florida, with more than 76,000 citations and an h-index of 101 on Google Scholar. His prolific contributions to AI, machine learning, and big data analytics include more than 900 peer-reviewed publications. He founded FAU’s Big Data Training and Research Lab with NSF support, introduced new graduate coursework in Hadoop and deep learning, and has advised more than 100 graduate theses and dissertations. His research has addressed pioneering domains such as health care informatics, cybersecurity, fraud detection and bioinformatics.
Both scholars have been instrumental in building FAU’s global research profile, serving as keynote speakers, advisors and conference chairs at major international forums.
“The Journal of Big Data’s extraordinary success is a reflection of the innovation, leadership and global influence of our faculty,” said Stella Batalama, Ph.D., dean of the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science. “Professors Furht and Khoshgoftaar had the foresight to launch a journal that now shapes the direction of an entire field. Their achievement speaks volumes about the strength of our research enterprise and our college’s commitment to producing knowledge that drives technological progress and meaningful societal impact.”
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