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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

Johann Naudé talks at first Beyers Naudé lecture for 2012

2012-08-02

At the event were, from the left: Ms Bontle Senne, Managing Director for the PUKU Children’s Literature Foundation, Mr Sipho Hlongwane, writer and columnist for the Daily Maverick, Prof. Nicky Morgan, Vice-Rector: Operations at the UFS, Mr Themba Mola, Chief Operations Officer at Kagiso Trust, Mr Johann Naudé, son of Dr Beyers Naudé, and Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector: External Relations.
Photo: Stephen Collett
2 August 2012

The University of the Free State (UFS) together withKagiso Trust, presented the first Beyers Naudé lecture for 2012 on its South Campus in Bloemfontein last week. Speakers like Dr Wilmot James, Member of Parliament, Mr Johann Naudé, son of Dr Beyers Naudé, Mr Sipho Hlongwane, writer and columnist for the Daily Maverick and Ms Bontle Senne, Managing Director for the PUKU Children’s Literature Foundation, all gave a lecture around this year’s theme: Collaborative partnerships for social cohesion: Building a nation with ethics.

Dr Beyers Naudé played a major role in the formation of Kagiso Trust. His contribution to the trust and the fight against oppression in South Africa, as well as his challenging of the establishment from which he came, makes him one of South Africa’s courageous heroes. Kagiso Trust thus saw it fit to celebrate the life of this clerical activist through a Memorial Lecture The Beyers Naudé Memorial Lecture is an effort by the Trust to engage South Africans into a dialogue about issues affecting our nation.

Mr Johann Naudé talked about the lessons they as children learnt from their parents as well as his father’s decision to respond to the needs of the people in South Africa. Even before the Sharpeville Massacre, Dr Naudé began a self-transformation that led to his rejection of apartheid. “Apartheid had no theological or scriptural grounds and my father decided to resign from the church. After that, he started to talk openly against apartheid and he also paid the price for that. For seven years he was under house arrest and we as his children also felt the effect of his decision. At the University of Pretoria in a residence where I stayed as a student I was called in and told that I would be treated as an outcast. Loans and jobs were also closed for us as children and as a result, we all started our own businesses,” Mr Naudé said.

“Furthermore, our parents taught us to believe in ourselves. He also said we have rights and we can only demand those rights if we take the responsibility that goes with it. My father also taught us to honour and to respect our fellow men, elderly people and the culture of people different from us. We were also taught to apologise for the wrongs to our fellow men and to acknowledge earnestly that we were wrong.”

Dr Wilmot James said that there were two things consistent in the life of Dr Beyers Naudé, namely justice and fairness. “There are many Nelson Mandelas and Beyers Naudés out there. It is the responsibility of political parties and institutions to motivate such leadership. We must ask ourselves: Are my actions and decisions ethical and will they have fair consequences?” Dr James said.

Mr Hlongwane focused his presentation on the ethics part of the theme. He said: “We in South Africa fall very short of ethics. We can start by respecting each other and taking care of one another. The Constitution will not mean a thing if we fail to respect and trust one another. We will have no cohesive society if we continue to treat those different from us like dirt. It is also our ethical duty to build up the disadvantaged.

In her discussion, Ms Senne emphasised the role of the youth in South Africa. “Our youth is failing our state because our state is failing our youth. Their role is to bring cohesion and acts of courageousness to the table. For them to contribute in a practical and sustainable manner, they need to start making the changes they want to see in society. They are young people and they can make it work because they do have access to the necessary means (social networks) to get things done. They must get involved,” she said.

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