Prior to citation analysis, original publications were classified and assigned, together with their authors, to one of 22 different subject areas. A new feature of this year’s ranking is the inclusion of a new category referred to as Cross Field, in which researchers who have published significant work in several distinct thematic areas. Among the most highly cited of these interdisciplinary authors are Professor Dr. Thomas Bein (Chair of Physical Chemistry and Functional Nanosystems, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy), Professor Dr. Joachim Heinrich (Leader of the Research Group in Global Environmental Medicine, LMU Medical Center) and Professor Dr. Christian Weber (Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (IPEK), LMU Medical Center). Professor Dr. Immanuel Bloch (Chair of Experimental Physics – Quantum Optics, Faculty of Physics) and Professor Dr. Ferenc Krausz (Chair of Experimental Physics – Laser Physics, Faculty of Physics) are among the world’s most highly cited physicists. Among those listed in the subject area “Neuroscience and Behaviour” are Professor Dr. Christian Haass (Chair of Metabolic Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine) and Professor Dr. Hans Kretzschmar. Prof. Kretzschmar was a member of the Faculty of Medicine, and served as Director of the Center for Neuropathology and Prion Research (ZNP). He died in 2014. The most influential immunologists include Professor Dr. Veit Hornung (Chair of Immunobiochemistry, LMU Gene Center). Geneticist Dr. Silke Robatzek(Institute of Genetics, Faculty of Biology) is listed under Plant & Animal Sciences. Professor Dr. Hans-Jürgen Möller (formerly Chair of Psychiatry at LMU and Director of its Psychiatric Clinic, now retired) is listed in the section devoted to Psychiatry/Psychology, and he is joined in this category by Professor Dr. Hans-Ulrich Wittchen. Formerly at the Technical University of Dresden, the latter was appointed to lead a research group in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at LMU in June 2017, and holds a Visiting Professorship at the LMU Medical Center.
In all, “Highly Cited Researchers 2018” lists the names of some 6000 investigators. The annual ranking is compiled by Clarivate Analytics, whose headquarters are located in Philadelphia. The data used in the analysis are derived from the Web of Science, which contains comprehensive citation records of all research publications. Citation frequency serves as an indicator of the quality of a researcher’s publications and their impact on the work of others in the corresponding field. The analysis takes into account the citation records of research papers published over the course of 11 years. The publications examined for the 2018 list appeared in the period from 2006 to 2016. Importantly, in this ranking exercise, only the top 1% of publications (as gauged by citation frequency) in each subject area are taken into consideration.
LinksHighly Cited Researchers 2018Further information on methodology