Astrophysicist featured in top 1% of world’s most highly cited researchers

Professor Mark Sullivan has been listed in Clarivate Analytics’ Highly Cited Researchers 2018 for the significant influence of his career over the past decade.

The prominent member of the Southampton Astronomy Group is one of 11 academics from the University of Southampton to be highlighted by the report, which recognises exceptional research performance from multiple papers that rank in the global top 1% by citations.

Mark is among just 12 researchers based in the United Kingdom and only 120 worldwide included specifically for the field of Space Science.

He has built an international reputation for his pioneering research in supernova cosmology and physics, and was recently announced as the new Head of Physics and Astronomy at Southampton.

Mark says: “I was very pleased to be named in the Highly Cited Researchers list. This inclusion reflects the outstanding researchers that I have collaborated with, and the world-leading teams and consortia that I have been able to be part of, over the last ten years.”

The Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers for 2018 identified scientists and social scientists across 21 fields used in Essential Science Indicators (ESI). The report surveyed papers published and cited between 2006 and 2016, ranking entries in the top 1% by citations for their ESI field and year.

The 2018 list contains 6,078 Highly Cited Researchers, including 2,020 researchers identified as having exceptional performance across several fields.

There are two other researchers from Mark’s Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences that appear in the list. Professor Lajos Hanzo is featured in the field of Computer Science, while Professor Nikolay Zheludev is honoured for his cross-field expertise within the Zepler Institute for Photonics and Nanoelectronics.

Mark is the Principal Investigator of the STFC Centre for Doctoral Training in Data Intensive Science (DISCnet), a postgraduate training centre led by Southampton and involving partners from across the South East Physics Network (SEPnet). He will formally become the new Head of Physics and Astronomy early in 2019, replacing Professor Jonathan Flynn who has completed his three and a half year term.