Academics from the University of Portsmouth have been named among the world's top physicists.
They have been recognised by Research.com, a prominent academic platform for scientists, in their 2023 Ranking of Top 1000 Scientists in the area of Physics.
Daniel Thomas, Professor of Astrophysics and Head of the School of Mathematics and Physics, was ranked at 257 in the world and at 25 for UK physicists, while Claudia Maraston, Professor of Astrophysics in the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, was ranked at 736 in the world and at 70 for UK physicists - the first woman to appear in the list. She was also recognised with the Physics Leader Award for 2023.
Professor David Bacon, Professor David Wands and Professor Kazuya Koyama were also included in the ranking.
I am delighted and immensely proud to be among the top ranked physicists in the world. Alongside our outstanding success in the recent REF2021, this is really just one of the many pieces of evidence for the research excellence in physics, astrophysics and cosmology at the University of Portsmouth.
Professor Daniel Thomas, Head of the School of Mathematics and Physics
The ranking is constructed using the H-index data gathered by Microsoft Academic and includes only prominent scientists with an H-index of at least 70 for scientific papers published in the field of Physics.
Professor Thomas said: "I am delighted and immensely proud to be among the top ranked physicists in the world. Alongside our outstanding success in the recent REF2021, this is really just one of the many pieces of evidence for the research excellence in physics, astrophysics and cosmology at the University of Portsmouth.
"Our world-leading research profile is indeed one of the key pillars of the physics courses jointly delivered by the School of Mathematics and Physics and the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation."
Professor Thomas's research looks at the formation and evolution of galaxies and galaxies as cosmological probes, with particular interests in stellar populations and dark matter in galaxies, large-scale galaxy surveys and the chemical enrichment of the universe.
He was and still is involved in various large-scale galaxy surveys including DES, SDSS-IV/MaNGA, SDSS-III/BOSS, GAMA, and Galaxy Zoo, where he held several leadership positions.
I feel accomplished to sit among the physics 'stars' again this year, especially as this is due for a good part to papers I have written myself or with my PhD students. I am particularly thrilled to be the first woman appearing in the UK top Physicists list, as this is a powerful testimonial that science has no borders and no gender.
Professor Claudia Maraston, Professor of Astrophysics
Professor Maraston added: "I feel accomplished to sit among the physics 'stars' again this year, especially as this is due for a good part to papers I have written myself or with my PhD students. I am particularly thrilled to be the first woman appearing in the UK top Physicists list, as this is a powerful testimonial that science has no borders and no gender."
Professor Maraston is known for theoretical models for the expected energy emission and mass of galaxies including innovative prescriptions of stellar evolution, which raised strong interest and a vivid debate, and stimulated further work from international groups.
In 2018, she was awarded the Eddington Medal for Astronomy by the Royal Astronomical Society for 'investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics'. Previous recipients of the award include Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. Claudia is only the second female scientist to receive the award since its inception in 1953.
