Eight University of Nottingham academics are among the world’s most highly cited researchers. 

The prestigious 2023 Highly Cited Researcher list is collated by Clarivate from Web of Science data to celebrate scientists and social scientists who demonstrate significant influence through publication of multiple papers. 

Each researcher selected has authored multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for their field(s) and publication year over the past decade. However, citation activity is not the sole selection indicator. A preliminary list is then refined using qualitative analysis and expert judgement. 

Professor Tom Rodden, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, said:  

“Of the world’s population of scientists and social scientists, the Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers are 1 in 1,000. I am delighted that the influence of our social scientists and scientists has been recognised in this way and it demonstrates the excellence of the research we do at Nottingham. It’s worth highlighting that while individuals are named this also recognises the work of substantial research teams, all of whom have contributed to the production of word-class outputs. 

“While celebrating this success, I am mindful that citations are only one indicator of research excellence, and we need to understand them with care.

“The university is a signatory of DORA – the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – and is committed to changing culture around publication metrics and supporting diversity, with the value and impact of all research outputs and a broad range of impact measures taken into account beyond journal-based metrics.  

“Requirements from external funders are also changing, focusing on the impact of the research output rather than which journal a researcher has published in.

Nevertheless, it is tremendous to see our academics recognised by Web of Science and Clarivate as an indicator of the quality of the work at Nottingham.” 

Clarivate’s 2023 Highly Cited Researchers from the University of Nottingham are: 

Gerardo Adesso, Professor of Mathematical Physics, School of Mathematical Sciences 

Morgan Alexander, Professor of Biomedical Surfaces, School of Pharmacy 

Stephen Alexander, Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, School of Life Sciences 

Malcolm Bennett, Professor of Plant Sciences, School of Biosciences 

Simon Gosling, Professor of Climate Risks & Environmental Modelling, School of Geography 

Tomas Jungwirth, Research Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy (and also Czech Academy of Sciences) 

Stamatios Sotiropoulos, Professor of Computational Neuroimaging, School of Medicine 

Ana Valdes, Professor of Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology, School of Medicine. 

In addition, Jonathan Lynch of Pennsylvania State University, a former Professor of Root Biology in the School of Biosciences, who has a research affiliation with Nottingham, makes the 2023 list. 

Seven of the Nottingham researchers have featured a number of times in the annual highly cited researcher lists, with Professor Malcolm Bennett achieving 10 successive appearances. Professor Ana Valdes makes her debut for 2023.  

Professor Gerardo Adesso, who makes the list for the third successive year, said: “It is wonderful to see inspirational research at the University of Nottingham being recognised around the world.  

“This could not have been possible without the crucial contribution of my colleagues and junior group members in the School of Mathematical Sciences and across the university, and of many international researchers with whom I have enjoyed discussing and doing science in recent years.

Working as a team and across boundaries is challenging, stimulating and ultimately essential to the delivery of high-quality research. I would like to share this recognition with all my co-authors and collaborators.”  

Find out more about DORA and the use of responsible publication here.