23 November 2020
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Story Leonie Bolleurs
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Photo Sonia Small
Prof Abdon Atangana was listed among the top 1% of scientists in mathematics as well as the cross-fields category on the Clarivate Web of Science.
Less than 6 200 or 0,1% of the world's researchers enjoying international recognition were included on this list in 2020, with no more than 10 of the scientists hailing from South Africa. They formed part of “the select few who have been most frequently cited by their peers over the last decade”.
Earning exclusive distinction
Prof Atangana is counted among an elite group recognised for their exceptional research influence, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly cited papers ranking in the top 1% of citations for field and year in the Web of Science citation index.
This list of the top 1% of world-renowned researchers is based on contributions in the field of science that spans a period of ten years. Prof Atangana is ranked on this illustrious list owing to his cross-fields contribution, which includes Mathematics and applications in real-world problems. This is quite remarkable, given that he has only been an academic researcher for seven years.
He received acknowledgement for his work in mathematics in 2019 and moved to the cross-fields category in 2020.
The Clarivate Web of Science contains a record of the world’s most influential researchers, and the list is updated annually. This year, scientists in 21 research fields and across multiple fields have earned this exclusive distinction of featuring on the Clarivate Web of Science list.
Publons, which is part of the Web of Science Group and contains a database of more than 2 million researchers, determines the scholarly impact of researchers as authors, editors, and peer reviewers. According to their website, Prof Atangana is a highly cited researcher and top peer reviewer with 690 verified reviews.
New fractional operator
He is known for his work in developing a new fractional operator that is used to model real-world problems arising in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. According to an article in the Alexandria Engineering Journal and the exponential growth of papers, the use of Atangana-Baleanu operators is a diverse and flourishing discipline.
Prof Atangana became editor of more than 20 top-tier journals of applied mathematics and mathematics, and for some of these journals he was the first African to be selected as editor.
Publications include the American Institute of Mathematical Sciences Journal, the European Physical Journal Plus, the Chaos, Solitons & Fractals Journal, the Results in Physics Journal, the Journal of Thermal Science, and the Fractals: A Complex Geometry, Patterns, and Scaling in Nature and Society Journal.
Being one of the leaders in the field of mathematics, the publishers and editor-in-chief of the Fractal and Fractional Journal also approached him to join the editorial board as sectional editor-in-chief and adversary.