Influencers are actually Instagram or Tiktok stars and have many followers. There is also something similar in science. Science “influencers” are scientists and their research and
The results are cited by other scientists around the world. The American analysis firm Clarivate identifies the world’s most influential scientists each year by cross-referencing nearly 160,000 publications from 21 fields in the natural and social sciences. In the end, the works cited most frequently include only 0.05 percent.
Switzerland participates, in the top ten worldwide – even if it is “only” in tenth place after the USA, China, England and others. However: With 102 researchers on the list, small Switzerland is impressive, we make up 1.5 percent of the most important scientists worldwide. They work on things as diverse as infectious diseases, nanotechnology, and photovoltaics. We bring you three of the most cited.
The Swiss climate researcher is one of the best in the world
ETH Professor Sonia Seneviratne (47) is often cited in two areas:
in earth sciences as well as in the field of ecology and the environment. The Lausanne-born climatologist studied biology at the University of Lausanne and then environmental physics at ETH in Zurich. She chairs the Earth Dynamics and Climate Chair at the ETH Institute for Atmospheric and Climate. It deals mainly with the causes of heat waves and droughts and uses and develops climatic models for this. She has received many international awards and honors for her work. She is also the lead author of several reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an intergovernmental organization of the United Nations, also known as the Climate Change Council.
Solar cells that work with little light
Swiss Michael Gretzel (77) is one of the most cited researchers in three research areas: in chemistry, materials research, and engineering. The world-renowned scientific journal “Scientific American” has also counted the German language among the world’s 50 best researchers several times. The Professor of Chemistry at ECAL in Lausanne is also the Director of the Laboratory of Photonics (Lab-waves) and Interfaces. He has been a contender for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for years, thanks in part to his development of a solar cell (the Grätzel cell) that operates under weaker lighting conditions than conventional solar cells. But this is only one of his inventions: Grätzel owns a total of more than 50 patents.
One of the most pressing medical problems of our time
Microbiologist Patrice Nordman is also one of the world’s most cited researchers in two fields: in pharmacology and toxicology as well as in immunology.
The professor at the Department of Oncology, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Freiburg deals primarily with the increasing resistance of various bacterial strains to antibiotics – one of the biggest medical problems that will confront humanity in the coming decades.
“Alcohol buff. Troublemaker. Introvert. Student. Social media lover. Web ninja. Bacon fan. Reader.”
More Stories
University development: DHV positions itself to address the challenges facing science
Your most successful tips and tricks
Black Hole: A powerful, organized magnetic field discovered at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy