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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

School of Medicine not closing

2009-10-22

There is no immediate threat that the University of the Free State’s (UFS) School of Medicine will be closing.

This was confirmed by Prof. Gert van Zyl, Head of the UFS’s School of Medicine and acting Dean of the Faculty of Health Science, following media reports that Prof. Andries Stulting has indicated in a meeting with other medical schools and parliamentary standing committee members that the School will have to close due to the serious problems in the health sector.

“This discussion should be seen in context. Prof. Stulting, in his capacity as acting Head of the School of Medicine, and on behalf of the School and the Faculty, sent a proactive warning to the Free State Health Department, the Member of the Executive Committee and the Premier of the Free State regarding the long-term consequences of the health crisis. This statement was not interpreted correctly. Everything that Prof. Stulting said has already been included in the position statement that the School released in May 2009. What is urgent, though, is that the problems that were identified at especially Pelonomi Hospital in May this year were still not addressed,” said Prof. Van Zyl.

According to Prof. Van Zyl, problems at Pelonomi Hospital include not enough beds, lack of funding for the health sector in the Free State and in some instances problems with filling vacant positions.

“Some of these problems have already been addressed by the Free State Department of Health. Our training platform includes not only Pelonomi Hospital, but also Universitas Hospital, National Hospital, the Free State Psychiatric Complex and several clinics in the Bloemfontein area. This means that there are other facilities available that function in order to provide appropriate training to undergraduate students. Therefore, training is not in immediate danger and the School will definitely not be closing,” he said.

“New first-year students will start their studies in 2010 and I can assure you that there will be adequate training opportunities to take in and train students. However, we do struggle with a bigger intake as requested by Government. I want to put Prof. Stulting’s remark in context: He referred to postgraduate students and therefore the specialists who are in training,” said Prof. Van Zyl.

According to Prof. Van Zyl the specialists in training is a problem that was discussed with the Free State Health Department – with specific reference to less time in operating theatres and the number of beds at Pelonomi Hospital. “We are of the opinion that, should the Department address this problem as a matter of urgency, there will be no long-term damage to the training of these specialists in training. These are the students that Prof. Stulting was referring to,” he said.

The School received more than 1 500 applications for undergraduate studies in 2010 – all of these applications met the minimum selection requirements for the 140 available places. “Our current undergraduate students are therefore not influenced and they will continue to receive the quality training for which the School is renowned,” he said.

Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-chancellor of the UFS, is aware of this and he satisfied himself as to the situation when he visited the hospitals in Bloemfontein on Friday, 9 October 2009. The national Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, was also informed of the School’s concerns when he visited the UFS in September 2009.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

22 October 2009

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