Wed 23 May 2007
Thought I’d let you know that the h-index chemistry league table which Chemistry World published last month has now been updated with another 30 or so chemists.
(To remind you, the h-index is a number invented by physicist Jorge Hirsch in 2005 in an attempt to fairly measure research impact. A scientist’s h-index is the highest number of papers they have published which have each amassed at least that number of citations from other authors: at number one on the list, E J Corey, with an h of 132, has published 132 papers which have each received at least 132 citations, for example.)
Thanks to all who’ve contacted Henry Schaefer and Amy Peterson at the University of Georgia, US, to suggest additions. You can see the original story and updated list here.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
[…] The RSC recently published a league table showing the top-ranking, living chemists. The league is based on the so-called h-index. This parameter was devised by Jorge Hirsch in 2005 in order to measure the impact of an individual chemist’s research. Put simply, the h-index is equal to the highest number of papers that chemist has published which have gained at least that number of citations from other authors. According to the Chemistry World Blog today, thirty more chemists have been added to the league. Hirsch argued that the h-index avoids bias by combining total published papers with a citation parameter it does not reward the prolific but mediocre. The original league was created by Henry Schaefer and colleagues manually by trawling ISI citation data, but I am sure an intrepid chemical web student could create a suitable script to do the job automatically. […]
June 6th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Thank you for the updated chemists rankings. Enjoy reading your blog. Katie