Author Identifiers
Researchers (faculty, staff, and students) are encouraged to establish researcher profiles/identifiers. This is a key step to establish your identity and maximize the visibility of your research outputs.
ORCID 
Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is a persistent digital identifier for researchers. This unique ID allows you to distinguish yourself from other researchers with similar names, and claim all of your research activity under one profile. It is now required by many funders and publishers, and your new work will automatically be associated with your ORCID profile. You can also claim your older work, to ensure you have a complete profile. We also encourage you to associate your ORCID with UVA, using the UVA-ORCID Connector.
You can find a more in depth guide to ORCID use on the ORCID at UVA research guide.