RESEARCHERS from Durham University have been named in a globally influential list.

Cosmologists Carlos Frenk, Adrian Jenkins and Tom Theuns were recognised in the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2021 list.

Professors Frenk, Jenkins and Theuns’ listing puts Durham joint first in the UK and joint second in Europe for the strength of our research in Space Science.

The Clarivate list identifies scientists and social scientists who have published multiple research papers that rank in the top one per cent in their field in the Web of Science citation index.

This demonstrates the significant influence that Durham research has among fellow academics worldwide who have referenced the University’s findings in their own studies.

Professor Frenk, Ogden Professor of Fundamental Physics and founder and former Director of the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC), is one of the original proponents of the theory of cold dark matter which has now become the standard model of cosmology. He is one of world’s foremost researchers in this field.

This year, he was awarded the Rumford Prize for Physics from the Royal Society. Last year he was awarded the Paul Dirac Medal and Prize by the Institute of Physics, as well as being named “Nobel Class” by Clarivate for his fundamental studies of galaxy formation and evolution, cosmic structure, and dark matter halos.

Professor Jenkins is a leading expert on cosmological simulations and the nature of dark matter, and has pioneered techniques that are now in widespread use across the world.

Professor Theuns is a foremost expert on cosmological simulations of the formation of galaxies and has carried out ground-breaking investigations of the evolution of gas – the raw material of stars in the universe. Both Prof Jenkins and Theuns are also members of the ICC.

Professor Colin Bain, Vice-Provost (Research), at Durham University, said: “At Durham University, we strive to produce research that is among the very best in the world. The Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list shows how highly our research is regarded by fellow researchers globally.

“To be among the top one per cent of researchers on the planet is a fantastic feat and I congratulate Carlos, Adrian and Tom for the extremely high quality of their research work which has underpinned this outstanding achievement.”

In total, 6,602 researchers from more than 70 countries and regions have been recognised by Clarivate this year. Analysis was performed by experts at Clarivate’s Institute for Scientific Information.

Since 2015, Durham University has seen at least six papers in the top 0.1 per cent of the most cited papers in astronomy, which is out of nearly 460,000 papers.

David Pendlebury, Senior Citation Analyst at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate said: “It is increasingly important for nations and institutions to recognize and support the exceptional researchers who are driving the expansion of the world’s knowledge.

“This list identifies and celebrates exceptional individual researchers at Durham University who are having a significant impact on the research community as evidenced by the rate at which their work is being cited by their peers. The research they have contributed is fuelling the innovation, sustainability, health and security that is key for our society’s future.”

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