The Most Influential People Across History
Find the most influential people in 24 academic disciplines and numerous subdisciplines
Find famous and important people related to your research. This is an excellent tool for research papers, topic papers, and building a bibliography. Using our influence-based algorithm, our rankings synthesize data from Wikipedia, Wikidata, Semantic Scholar, and CrossRef.
Students and researchers now have a fast and reliable way to find influential thinkers from 24 disciplines and 300 sub-disciplines (and growing). If you want to find history’s most influential philsosophers, or the world’s most influential mathematicians currently, now you can.
We also provide custom rankings of people by discipline as well as interviews with influential academics who are currently active.
To use this tool, select the discipline (and optional subdiscipline) relevant to your research, and specify influential academics by history, world, or US. Even results that are counterintuitive are often enlightening (our algorithm always picks up a signal).
Methodology: How and Why We Rank by Influence …
See additional learning tools, study tips, features on campus life and much more at our Student Resources Headquarters.
List of the most influential people in Chemistry,
#3501
Michael Spiteller
#139580
Overall Influence
1954 - Present (71 years)
#3502
Robert L. Whetten
#139596
Overall Influence
#3503
Markus Kraft
#139599
Overall Influence
#3504
J. Andrew Ewing
#139641
Overall Influence
#3505
Stefan Matile
#139658
Overall Influence
#3506
Alexander Shilov
#127737
Overall Influence
1930 - 2014 (84 years)
Alexander E. Shilov was a Russian chemist, one of the leading figures in Physical Organic Chemistry and Catalysis. Shilov was born in Ivanovo, Russia, studied chemistry in Kiev and received his diploma degree in 1952 from Kiev State University. In 1952-1955 he began working with Nobel Laureate Nikolay Semyonov toward his Ph.D. at the Academy of Sciences in Moscow. After postdoctoral studies with Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood at Oxford University in London, he returned to the Institute of Biochemical Physics , where he became Director and Professor at Moscow State University. In 1952 he moved...
Go to Profile#3507
Robert Tampé
#117241
Overall Influence
1961 - Present (64 years)
Robert Tampé is a German biochemist. Since 2001, he is director of the Institute of Biochemistry at Goethe University Frankfurt. He is known for his work on antigen processing, viral immune evasion and cellular quality control.
Go to Profile#3508
Clark R. Landis
#111252
Overall Influence
1956 - Present (69 years)
Clark Landis is an American chemist, whose research focuses on organic and inorganic chemistry. He is currently a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was awarded the ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry in 2010, and is a fellow of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Go to Profile#3509
Didier Roux
#85457
Overall Influence
1955 - Present (70 years)
Didier Roux is a French physicochemist. He is director of research and innovation at Saint-Gobain and a member of the French Academy of sciences and the Academy of Technology. Biography Roux was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Student at the École normale supérieure de Saint Cloud, Roux studies the influence of interactions between micelles on the critical behaviour of micro-emulsions during his doctorate at the University of Bordeaux. He studies the stability of micro-emulsions, discovers the existence of wave interactions and sponge phases. This work is of interest to the oil industry and particularly to Exxon, where he was appointed associate scientist in 1986.
Go to Profile#3510
Boris Mizaikoff
#139746
Overall Influence
#3511
Luc Tappy
#139762
Overall Influence
#3512
Sotiris Xantheas
#91046
Overall Influence
2000 - Present (25 years)
Sotiris S. Xantheas is a Laboratory Fellow in the Advanced Computing, Mathematics and Data Division at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA and an Affiliate Professor, UW - PNNL Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, USA . He is an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Washington State University in Pullman, WA, USA , and a specially appointed professor in the World Research Hub Initiative at the Tokyo Technological Institute in Tokyo, Japan .
Go to Profile#3513
Jiaxing Huang
#108218
Overall Influence
Jiaxing Huang is a Chinese researcher, materials scientist, and chair professor of materials science at Westlake University. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2016, he received the Humboldt Prize for research.
Go to Profile#3514
Kliti Grice
#44955
Overall Influence
Kliti Grice , is a chemist and geochemist known for her work in identifying geological and environmental causes for mass extinction events. Her research integrates geological information with data on molecular fossils and their stable carbon, hydrogen and sulfur isotopic compositions to reconstruct details of microbial, fungal and floral inhabitants of modern and ancient aquatic environments and biodiversity hot spots. This information expands our understanding of both the Earth's history and its current physical state, with implications ranging from energy and mineral resource exploration st...
Go to Profile#3515
Chris Orvig
#139806
Overall Influence
#3516
Michael J. Maccoss
#139841
Overall Influence
#3517
Cyril Andrew. Ponnamperuma
#139844
Overall Influence
#3518
Jonathan Baell
#118877
Overall Influence
Jonathan Baell is trained as an Australian medicinal chemist and is currently executive director, early leads chemistry at Lyterian Therapeutics in San Francisco. Prior to this, he was a research professor in medicinal chemistry at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences , the director of the Australian Translational Medicinal Chemistry Facility and a Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre for Fragment-Based Design. He was President of the International Chemical Biology Society 2018-2021 and is currently chair of the board. His research focuses on the early stages of drug discovery, inc...
Go to Profile#3519
Richard B. Firestone
#139937
Overall Influence
1945 - Present (80 years)
#3520
Todd Lowary
#125045
Overall Influence
Todd Lambert Lowary is an American carbohydrate chemist. He is a professor of chemistry at the University of Alberta and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Early life and education Lowary was born in 1966 in Montana. While attending Columbus High School, Lowary participated in band and was chosen to represent Montana in the 1983 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Following graduation, Lowary chose to attend the University of Montana where he majored in chemistry. Prior to the 1985–86 academic year, Lowary was one of seven University of Montana students awarded the Fox Foundation Scholarship to continue his studies.
Go to Profile#3521
Jiří Barek
#135648
Overall Influence
1949 - Present (76 years)
Jiří Barek is an electroanalytical chemist and university teacher of analytical chemistry. He graduated from Charles University, Faculty of Science, Department of Analytical Chemistry in 1972, and obtained his PhD in 1976 from the same institution. From 1977 to 1987 he served as a Lecturer, 1986–2006 as a Reader, and from 2006 he is a professor at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague. From 1993 to 1997 he served as the Deputy-Head and 2006–2012 as the Head of the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Charles University, Prague.
Go to Profile#3522
Reinhard Strey
#139962
Overall Influence
#3523
Nico M. M. Nibbering
#102593
Overall Influence
1938 - 2014 (76 years)
Nicolaas Martinus Maria Nibbering was a Dutch chemist and mass spectrometrist. He was a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the Thomson Medal and the Joannes Marcus Marci Award.
Go to Profile#3524
Max Malacria
#139963
Overall Influence
1949 - Present (76 years)
#3525
Jun Hu Tang
#139993
Overall Influence
#3526
Mansukhlal C. Wani
#140018
Overall Influence
#3527
Mary Garson
#106411
Overall Influence
1953 - Present (72 years)
Mary Jean Garson is an organic chemist and academic in Australia. She currently works for the University of Queensland. Early life Garson was born in Rugby, England, the daughter of an engineer and botanist. She took her B.A with Honours from the University of Cambridge, Newnham College in 1974. Garson's focus was the natural sciences, specializing in chemistry. She obtained an MA in Natural Sciences and she took her PhD in organic chemistry from Cambridge in 1977.
Go to Profile#3528
Graham A. Webb
#140032
Overall Influence
#3529
R. Peter Rand
#140055
Overall Influence
#3530
Eric W. Newark Kaler
#140056
Overall Influence
#3531
Christopher Jaroniec
#121091
Overall Influence
1953 - Present (72 years)
Christopher Jaroniec is an American professor of analytical, physical, chemical physics and biochemistry. Education He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Kent State University in 1997 and six years got his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is graduate research fellow of National Science Foundation and is Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation postdoc fellow.
Go to Profile#3532
Taner Yildirim
#140084
Overall Influence
#3533
David J. Manners
#140096
Overall Influence
#3534
Robert C. Armstrong
#112123
Overall Influence
1948 - Present (77 years)
Robert Calvin Armstrong is the director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative and the Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering. He has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1973, and served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 for conducting outstanding research on non-Newtonian fluid mechanics, co-authoring landmark textbooks, and providing leadership in chemical engineering education. In 2020, he became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Go to Profile#3535
Frank R. Hartley
#140111
Overall Influence
#3536
Hiroki Habazaki
#140166
Overall Influence
#3537
Kenneth Street Jr.
#106946
Overall Influence
1920 - 2006 (86 years)
Kenneth Street Jr. was an American chemist. He was part of the team that discovered elements 97 and 98 in 1949 and 1950. Street was born in 1920 in Berkeley, California. He obtained his degree in chemistry in 1943 from the University of California, Berkeley. He then served in World War II as a fighter pilot, with his awards including the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he returned to Berkeley, obtaining his PhD in nuclear chemistry in 1949, with a thesis titled 'Isotopes of americium and curium'.
Go to Profile#3538
Hisayoshi Yurimoto
#140180
Overall Influence
#3539
Craig T. Bowman
#140211
Overall Influence
#3540
Cristina Nevado
#61930
Overall Influence
1977 - Present (48 years)
Cristina Nevado is a Spanish chemist who is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Zurich. Her research considers chemical synthesis and organometallic reactions. She received the 2021 Margaret Faul Women in Chemistry Award.
Go to Profile#3541
Benjamin Weiss
#140217
Overall Influence
#3542
Kenneth B. Bischoff
#140225
Overall Influence
#3543
Salvatore Fanali
#140232
Overall Influence
#3544
Masaru Tanokura
#140323
Overall Influence
#3545
Yasuo Takeda
#140324
Overall Influence
#3546
Gao Song
#131803
Overall Influence
1964 - Present (61 years)
Goa Song is currently President of South China University of Technology, China and a professor in chemistry. Early life Born in Anhui Province in 1964, Gao studied chemistry at Peking University, China and received his bachelor, master, and Ph.D. degrees in 1985, 1988, and 1991 respectively.
Go to Profile#3547
Jean‐pierre Galy
#140356
Overall Influence
#3548
Vinod P. Shah
#140369
Overall Influence
#3549
Udo Weimar
#140406
Overall Influence
#3550
William Douglas Mcfarlane
#140408
Overall Influence
