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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

Lessons of The Spear

2012-08-16

Discussing weighty issues at the UFS were from left: Prof. Jonathan Jansen; Vice-Chancellor and Rector; Nic Dawes, Editor-in-Chief, Mail & Guardian; Max du Preez: Investigative journalist and political columnist; Ferial Haffajee: Editor, City Press; and Justice Malala: Political commentator and newspaper columnist.
Photo: Johan Roux
14 August 2012

Podcast (MP3)

What were South Africans left with after The Spear? More importantly, what did we learn from The Spear?

These were the issues discussed at a seminar, Beyond the Spear, on the controversial Brett Murray painting at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) on Monday 13 August 2012.

The university hosted this seminar, Beyond the Spear, in conjunction with acclaimed journalists, to look deeper into the lessons that South Africans learnt from this painting and the reaction from the public and politicians following soon after it went on display at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg.

The four panellists, Mr Justice Malala (political analyst, journalist and host of the news show, The Justice Factor), Mr Nic Dawes (editor in chief of Mail & Guardian), Mr Max du Preez (investigative journalist and political columnist) and Ms Ferial Haffajee (editor of City Press), all presented their views and experiences on the public’s perceptions of this artwork.

In his opening remarks, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, said the purpose of the seminar was to help us make sense of what happened. Prof. Jansen also chaired this seminar.

“This being South Africa, there will be more ‘Spears’. More public crises will unfold that divide the nation and that will stir the emotions. We need to understand what happened so that we are better prepared to deal with the coming ‘Spears’.”

Issues on leadership, South Africa’s hurtful past and the freedom of expression were some of the topics raised by the panellists.

“This has taught us that South Africans – especially the older generation – still need to vent their anger… White South Africa must be patient and allow black citizens to shout at them,” said Mr Du Preez. He warned that this anger should serve a constructive purpose. In reaction to a question if Brett Murray did not disrespect Pres. Jacob Zuma’s dignity with his controversial painting, he said that this painting was “…rude and disrespectful.”

“It was meant to be. It was not honouring him.” He said that politicians will do anything, including messing with the country’s stability, to further their own interests. “From now on we need to be far more alert, far more cynical about our politicians.”

Mr Dawes shared his experience and said that the debates around The Spear were very painful considering where the nation has come from. He said the painting opened up painful pasts and difficult spaces. “It is up to the media to open up these difficult spaces.” He said the painting also brought up questions of how South Africans deal and live with pain. “South Africa must live with its past. The debate should now be how to preserve space for the country’s ghosts and how its citizens could get the resilience to deal with it.”

Ms Haffajee, who was caught in the crossfire between freedom of expression and human dignity and who refused to remove a picture of the painting from the City Press website, said that the media was viciously played by politicians.

“This had shown that achieving freedom took many lives, but it took very little to kill it.” She said The Spear is art that it is part of a rich cultural heritage of protest art.

Mr Malala said with the debates around The Spear painting, something died in South Africa. “The debate was taken away from us. We let politicians get to us.”

After the panellists delivered their presentations, Prof. Jansen led a discussion session between the audience and the panellists.

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