Rector among the most influential scientists seventh year running

Jón Atli Benediktsson, rector of the University of Iceland and professor of electrical and computer engineering, is the only research scientist working in Iceland included on the Clarivate Analytics list of the most influential researchers in the world. This is the seventh year running that the rector is featured on the list in the field of remote sensing.

Highly Cited Researchers ranks the top 1% by citations for each field of study and publication year in international science journals.  The list is based on data from the Web of Science database, which has been explicitly checked according to quality standards.  

This year, the ranking takes note of citations from 2013 to 2023 and includes almost 6,900 research scientists in 20 fields of study.

Jón Atli Benediktsson is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and is featured among the leading scientists in earth sciences.  He is at the forefront in remote sensing and digital image analysis which are widely used in that academic field. Remote sensing involves, for example, taking digital images from planes and satellites and using these to extract data regarding the Earth's surface, e.g. in connection with volcanic eruptions, vegetation and retreating glaciers.  A total of 175 research scientists are ranked on the Clarivate list as the most influential in the field of earth sciences.

Jón Atli's presence on the list is all the more remarkable, considering that he has served as a rector since 2015 and has thus been less active in his research than earlier in his career. Jón Atli is the author of over 400 scientific articles and book chapters in electrical and computer engineering. He has, furthermore, received numerous acknowledgements for his research and contribution to education in remote sensing. 

Jocelyn Chnussot, a professor at the Universite Grenoble Alpes in France and a guest lecturer at the University of Iceland, is also included on the list of the world’s most influential scientists. Chanussot, like Jón Atli, specialises in remote sensing and has been a guest lecturer at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering for 10 years.  

The list of the most influential research scientists in the world can be found on Clarivate's website.