Ten PIK researchers among the most influential scientists in the world

29/11/2018 - Ten scientists, coming from different research domains from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) are among the most highly cited researchers worldwide, according to a new ranking just published. Therewith, they are among the most influential scientifists in the world, their studies among the top 1% of scientific literature. Whether natural sciences or social sciences, PIK is one of the most renowned research institutions in Germany and worldwide, as the now published ranking once again shows.
Ten PIK researchers among the most influential scientists in the world

For the first time, ten scientists from across all research domains of PIK were honoured as the most highly cited scientists worldwide: Stefan Rahmstorf, Co-Chair of research domain Earth System Analysis, in the field of geosciences, Jürgen Kurths, Co-Chair of Transdisciplinary Concepts and Methods in engineering as well as physics. PIK performed particularly strong in the crossfield category proving that interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are at the heart of PIK's research: Both Ottmar Edenhofer and Johan Rockström, Directors Designate of PIK, were honoured in the category cross-field as well as Dieter Gerten, head of the research group 'Planetary Opportunities and Planetary Boundaries', Elmar Kriegler, interim Chair of research domain 'Sustainable Solutions', Hermann Lotze-Campen, Co-Chair of Climate Impact and Vulnerability, Wolfgang Lucht, Co-Chair of Earth System Analysis, Christoph Müller, group leader of the project 'Multi-sector impacts and climate extremes', and Alexander Popp, Head of the Land-use Management Group. This makes PIK one of the most renowned research institutions in Germany, alongside the Max Planck Society, Ruprecht Karl University Heidelberg, Goethe University Frankfurt, and the Helmholtz Association.

The ranking by Clarivate Analytics identifies the influence of the scientific work done and the extent to which it has inspired or challenged other research. For the ranking, data from the Web of Science, a literature and citation database, was analysed. With the vast store of citation statistics, the Web of Science stands as the authoritative compendium for impact and relevance in worldwide research. This year, for the first time, not only the impact within a research area but also the cross-field impact was analysed. A total of about 6,000 researchers was honoured as highly cited this year.

Weblink to the Clarivate ranking of the most cited scientists: https://hcr.clarivate.com/