Seven Birzeit University professors named among top 2% most impactful scientists in their fields in 2021

Seven of Birzeit University’s academics and researchers have been recognized among the top two percent of the world’s most-cited scientists in their fields and sub-fields according to a comprehensive study on citation metrics led by experts from Stanford University and Elsevier, one of the top global publishing houses.

The ranking included two lists: the career-long list includes two Birzeit University researchers out of seven Palestinian scholars: Dr. Talal Shahwan, of the Faculty of Science, and Dr. Afif Akel, of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology.

The second list, which presents the most-impactful researchers in the 2020 calendar year, includes seven researchers and professors from Birzeit University, out of 22 Palestinian researchers who appeared in the rankings: Dr. Majdi Mafarja and Dr. Afif Akel, of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology; Dr. Talal Shahwan, of the Faculty of Science; and Drs. Rita Giacaman, Niveen Abu Rmeileh, Rasha Khatib and Abdel Latif Husseini, of the Institute of Community and Public Health.

The ranking is based on a consistent citation metric based on multiple factors, such as the total number of citations, the Hirsch or h-index; the Schreiber hm-index, and the number of citations to papers as single, first, or last author.

The updated study includes both the top 100,000 most-cited researchers in the world and the top 2% of researchers in their fields and sub-fields; scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields.

The faculty members who attained high positions in the rankings have been recognized not only for the quantity of their publications, but the quality and impact of their scholarly work and its influence on knowledge production in their fields of study.

To view more information about the index, its methodology, and the global rankings, follow this link.