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ScholarGPS honours Prof Hendrik Swart as highly ranked scholar

04 June 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Kaleidoscope Studios

ScholarGPS awarded Prof Hendrik Swart, Senior Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS), Highly Ranked Scholar status.

ScholarGPS celebrates Highly Ranked Scholars™ for their performance in various fields, disciplines, and specialties. Prof Swart’s prolific publication record, the high impact of his work, and the outstanding quality of his scholarly contributions have placed him among the top 0,05% of all scholars worldwide.

Prof Swart received Highly Ranked Scholar status (Lifetime) for ranking 16th in the discipline of Phosphor. Highly Ranked Scholars™ – Lifetime refers to distinguished authors, including those who are currently active, retired, or deceased. These scholars are recognised for their exceptional lifetime scholarly contributions, placing them in the top 0,05% of all scholars. Their achievements are evaluated across four categories: overall (across all fields), within their specific field of study, within their particular discipline, and across all specialties they are associated with.

Additionally, Prof Swart received Highly Ranked Scholar status (prior five years) for ranking first in Condensed Matter Physics, 42nd in Physics, 155th in Sensor, 207th in Physical Science and Mathematics, and 969th in all fields.

Scientific profile and credibility

ScholarGPS is a California-based company that applies artificial intelligence, data mining, machine learning, and other data science techniques to its massive database of more than 200 million publications and 3 billion citations to rank more than 30 million scholars and 55 000 institutions worldwide. They categorise more than 200 million scholarly publications into specific academic specialties. These specialties are further organised into 177 disciplines and 14 overarching fields. As a result of this extensive classification effort, scholars who are considered highly ranked within their respective fields can now be identified with greater precision. This identification is done not only within each academic specialty, but also across disciplines and fields, providing a comprehensive view of scholarly achievement and expertise. This system allows for the identification of top scholars within various areas of academic research in a way that was not possible before.

Prof Swart, who is an NRF B1-rated researcher, currently also holds the SARChI Research Chair: Solid-state Luminescent and Advanced Materials (2023-2027). On receiving this award from ScholarGPS, he says it is always a privilege to be recognised as one of the top scholars in your specific field, especially at this late stage of his career.

Professionally, Prof Swart says this award may boost his scientific profile and credibility in the academic community, potentially leading to more collaborations and partnerships.

In the field of condensed matter physics, the impact of his work is specifically noteworthy in the study of defects and impurities within semiconductors, along with their practical applications in optoelectronic devices. Moreover, his significant contributions extend to understanding optical and electronic properties at the nanoscale, bearing implications for the development of semiconductor technology, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photovoltaic cells, and quantum dots.

Primarily focused on mentorship

He believes his successes in physics and advances in understanding the universe are the result of a combination of variables, including innovative research, collaboration and networking, mentorship, effective communication, persistence, and resilience. “I am primarily focused on mentorship, which is critical to developing the next generation of physicists and creating a supportive environment for learning and discovery, as well as conducting groundbreaking research and making novel discoveries that are critical to pushing the boundaries of physics. I am always searching for opportunities to collaborate with other scholars, both inside and outside my discipline, which will result in constructive exchange of ideas, interdisciplinary discoveries, and collective problem solving.”

News Archive

From wheat protein to perfect pizza

2017-09-26

Barend Wentzel received his PhD at the Department
of Plant Sciences during the university’s
winter graduation ceremony.
He is pictured here with Prof Maryke Labuschagne,
professor in Plant Breeding at the UFS.
Photo: Charl Devenish

Barend Wentzel, an alumnus of the University of the Free State’s Department of Plant Sciences, is passionate about plant breeding.

He literally eats and lives wheat proteins. In 1989 he initiated a breeding programme on arum lilies. “This breeding programme is at an advanced stage,” he said. Besides reading, playing the piano and accordion, Barend, due to the nature of his research at the Agricultural Research Council, also experiments with different types of ciabatta recipes made from sour dough. “I usually make my own pizza on Saturday evenings,” he said.

He is working at the Agricultural Research Council – Small Grain (ARC-SG) at the Wheat Quality Laboratory where he established a Cereal Chemistry Laboratory.

Complexity of flour quality
He explains that the focus of his research is on wheat protein composition. “The research conducted for my PhD study explains the complexity of flour quality to a certain extent, and it further emphasises the influence of the environment and genetic composition on selected baking characteristics.

“Wheat protein can be divided into different types of protein fractions. These protein fractions contribute differently to dough properties and baking quality and the expression is affected by different components in the environment, including locality, rainfall and temperature.

“Protein content alone does, however, not explain the variation in baking quality parameters, such as mixing time, dough strength and extensibility, and loaf volume.

“Several methods can be applied to quantify the different protein fractions. I am using high-performance liquid-chromatography (HPLC). The procedure entails the separation of a wheat protein extract through a column with chromatographic packing material. The injected sample is pumped through the column (known as the stationary phase) with a solvent (known as the mobile phase). The specific procedure, size-exclusion high-performance liquid-chromatography (SE-HPLC), is also used by the university’s Department of Plant Breeding, as well as in several international Cereal Chemistry Laboratories,” said Barend.

Dough strength and to loaf volume
“One of the highlights from the study was the positive contribution of the albumin and globulin protein fractions to dough strength and to loaf volume. The findings were wheat cultivar specific and the growing environment influenced the expression. The contribution of these protein fractions was much larger than previously reported for South African wheat cultivars,” said Barend.
“Previous reports indicated that these protein fractions had a non-specific contribution to the gluten network during dough formation. The findings from this PhD justify further research on albumins and globulin proteins.”

The Cereal Chemistry Laboratory at ARC-SG is involved in postgraduate student training under Barend’s guidance. He serves as co-promoter for several MSc and PhD students. He is also a collaborator on an international project with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico. Barend is furthermore working on improving wheat quality for processing and health purposes as a member of the expert working group of the International Wheat Initiative.

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