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 …
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List of the most influential people in Computer Science,
#10851
Franco Cotana
#72583
Overall Influence
1957 - Present (69 years)
Franco Cotana is an Italian engineer, scientist, and a member of the board of directors of the University of Perugia from 2014 to 2019. He was formerly president from March until October 2014 of the National Commission's IPPC-AIA at the Ministry of the Environment.
Go to Profile#10852
Hu Qiheng
#169030
Overall Influence
1934 - Present (92 years)
Hu Qiheng is a Chinese computer scientist. Hu was the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 1987 to 1996 and led the National Computing and Networking Facility of China which connected China to the Internet in April 1994. Hu was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2013 as a global connector.
Go to Profile#10853
Luis Miguel Pinho
#171951
Overall Influence
Luis Miguel Pinho is a Professor and Researcher in the Computer Engineering Department of the Polytechnic of Porto - School of Engineering , in Portugal. He was a member of the Research Center in Real-Time and Embedded Computing Systems, and is Executive Director of the Porto Research, Technology & Innovation Center.
Go to Profile#10854
Martin Schulz
#175344
Overall Influence
#10855
Hui Meng
#173479
Overall Influence
Hui Meng is a mechanical engineer whose research focuses on hemodynamics , particularly with respect to intracranial aneurysms. Educated in China, Germany, and the US, she is a University at Buffalo Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and chief scientific officer of Neurovascular Diagnostics.
Go to Profile#10856
Mike R. James
#175388
Overall Influence
#10857
Joan Fontcuberta
#33218
Overall Influence
1955 - Present (71 years)
Joan Fontcuberta is a Spanish conceptual artist and photographer whose best-known works, such as Fauna and Sputnik, examine the truthfulness of photography. In addition, he is a writer, editor, teacher, and curator.
Go to Profile#10858
Jean-Louis Scaringella
#93319
Overall Influence
1948 - Present (78 years)
Jean-Louis Scaringella, is a graduate of the HEC Paris and Harvard Business School. In November 1999 he became the Dean of, and Professor of International Business at, the European School of Management ESCP-EAP.
Go to Profile#10859
Subhashish Banerjee
#175421
Overall Influence
#10860
Gregg Rothermel
#170911
Overall Influence
Gregg Rothermel is an American computer scientist, software engineer and academic. He is Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Rothermel’s research has focused on software engineering and program analysis, with a particular emphasis on the applications of program analysis techniques to problems in the context of software maintenance and testing, end-user software engineering, and empirical studies. He co-founded the ESQuaReD Laboratory at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the Software-Artifact Infrastructure Repository . He also co-f...
Go to Profile#10861
Valentin Yanin
#11239
Overall Influence
1929 - 2020 (91 years)
Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin was a leading Russian historian who authored 700 books and articles. He had also edited a number of important journals and primary sources, including works on medieval Russian law, sphragistics and epigraphy, archaeology and history. His expertise was medieval Rus' especially Novgorod the Great, where he had headed archaeological digs beginning in 1962.
Go to Profile#10862
Irena Spasić
#175464
Overall Influence
Irena Spasić is a Serbian computer scientist specializing in text mining of biomedical information, with applications including exometabolomics. She is a professor of computer science and informatics at Cardiff University, director of the Cardiff University Data Innovation Research Institute, chief scientist for AI development at IPwe, and since 2020 a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.
Go to Profile#10863
Peter William McOwan
#168199
Overall Influence
1962 - 2019 (57 years)
Peter William McOwan was a Professor of Computer Science in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary, University of London. His research interests were in visual perception, mathematical models for visual processing, in particular motion, cognitive science and biologically inspired hardware and software and science outreach.
Go to Profile#10864
Adele Howe
#173971
Overall Influence
1961 - 2017 (56 years)
Adele E. Howe was an American computer scientist specializing in artificial intelligence. She was one of the developers of the Planning Domain Definition Language for automated planning and scheduling, and was also known for her work on metasearch engines. She was a Professor Laureate in the College of Natural Sciences at Colorado State University.
Go to Profile#10865
Philip Greenspun
#162253
Overall Influence
1963 - Present (63 years)
Philip Greenspun is an American computer scientist, educator, early Internet entrepreneur, and pilot who was a pioneer in developing online communities like photo.net. Biography Greenspun was born on September 28, 1963, grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, and received a B.S. in Mathematics from MIT in 1982. After working for HP Labs in Palo Alto and Symbolics, he became a founder of ICAD, Inc. Greenspun returned to MIT to study electrical engineering and computer science, eventually receiving a Ph.D.
Go to Profile#10866
Jack Bridger Chalker
#15408
Overall Influence
1918 - 2014 (96 years)
Jack Bridger Chalker , was a British artist and teacher best known for his work recording the lives of the prisoners of war building the Burma Railway during World War II. Biography Chalker was born in London, the son of a railway stationmaster who had been awarded the MBE for his work in World War I. After attending Alleyn's School in Dulwich and training in graphics and painting at Goldsmiths College, Chalker won a scholarship to the Painting School of the Royal College of Art in London. However, Chalker was conscripted into the British Army before he could take up his scholarship. While s...
Go to Profile#10867
Hubert Kolb
#175519
Overall Influence
#10868
Guifang Li
#138439
Overall Influence
1950 - Present (76 years)
Guifang Li is a FPCE Professor of Optics, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Physics at University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida. Career Li holds Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is an associate editor of Optica and Photonics as well as deputy editor of Optics Express.
Go to Profile#10869
Marcelle Ferron
#23964
Overall Influence
1924 - 2001 (77 years)
Marcelle Ferron, , a Canadian Québécoise painter and stained glass artist, was one of the original 16 signatories of Paul-Émile Borduas's Refus global manifesto, and a major figure in the Quebec contemporary art scene, associated with the Automatistes.
Go to Profile#10870
Maria Serna
#114273
Overall Influence
1959 - Present (67 years)
Maria José Serna Iglesias is a Spanish computer scientist and mathematician whose research includes work on parallel approximation, on algorithms for cutwidth and linear layout of graphs, on algorithmic game theory, and on adversarial queueing networks.
Go to Profile#10871
Lester Fuess Eastman
#97249
Overall Influence
1928 - 2013 (85 years)
Lester Fuess Eastman was an American physicist, engineer and educator. Eastman worked primarily with the development of high frequency semiconductor device engineering and science technologies from the early 1960s through to his retirement.
Go to Profile#10872
Xing-Fang Li
#160309
Overall Influence
1968 - Present (58 years)
Xing-Fang Li is a toxicologist whose research involves the discovery and identification of water contaminants through the development of new analytical technologies, as well as the engineering of solutions to ensure safe drinking water. Li is a professor at the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Alberta in Canada. She is a Canada Research Chair in Analytical and Environmental Toxicology, and was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2021.
Go to Profile#10873
Chelsea Finn
#104957
Overall Influence
Chelsea Finn is an American computer scientist and assistant professor at Stanford University. Her research investigates intelligence through the interactions of robots, with the hope to create robotic systems that can learn how to learn. She is part of the Google Brain group.
Go to Profile#10874
David Alan Grier
#139862
Overall Influence
1955 - Present (71 years)
David Alan Grier is a writer active in the field of technology and social policy. He is associate professor of international science and technology policy and international affairs at George Washington University. As a professor, his area of expertise includes globalization, international standardization, scientific institutions, and the history of science. Publications include The Company We Keep. He writes the column Errant Hashtag for the IEEE magazine Computer. A series of podcasts also entitled "Errant Hashtag" discusses the correlation of technology, management, organization, and the society at large.
Go to Profile#10875
Tom S. Clark
#98986
Overall Influence
Tom S. Clark is a political scientist who specializes in American law and courts. He has made contributions to the study of judicial independence, decision-making at the U.S. Supreme Court, judicial elections, and policing and law enforcement.
Go to Profile#10876
Antonio Strati
#47993
Overall Influence
1949 - Present (77 years)
Antonio Strati is an Italian organizational theorist, artist and Professor at the University of Trento, particularly known for his work on "Organization and aesthetics". Biography Born in Reggio Calabria, Italy, Strati attended secondary education in Florence. He received his BA in Sociology in 1974 from the University of Trento. In 1982 he received his PhD in Organization Studies in 1982 from the Tavistock Institute in London, where he specialized in Action Research.
Go to Profile#10877
Javed Musarrat
#123169
Overall Influence
1960 - Present (66 years)
Professor Javed Musarrat is the former Vice Chancellor of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University. and present Vice Chancellor of Integral University Lucknow. Career Prof. Mussarat has served in the United States as visiting scientist, Michigan State University and visiting assistant professor, Ohio State University, Columbus. He was also the Chair Professor, DNA Research Chair, King Saud University, Riyadh.
Go to Profile#10878
Laurie J. Patterson
#122026
Overall Influence
Laurie J. Patterson is an American author and computer science professor. Her books focus on the lyricists of the Tin Pan Alley era. She has also published articles on gender and technology. Biography Patterson was born in Westbrook, Minnesota. She attended the University of Minnesota receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Master of Education in Training and development focusing on Information Technology training. She received her Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University in Computer Information Technology.
Go to Profile#10879
Catherine C. Marshall
#175677
Overall Influence
#10880
Martin Casado
#169056
Overall Influence
1976 - Present (50 years)
Martín Casado is a Spanish-born American software engineer, entrepreneur, and investor. He is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and was a pioneer of software-defined networking, and a co-founder of Nicira Networks.
Go to Profile#10881
Robert A. Kraft
#32477
Overall Influence
1934 - Present (92 years)
Robert A. Kraft was an American religious historian who was the Berg Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He is known for his pioneering work in the application of computing to the study of ancient literature and for his significant contributions to the study of early Judaism and early Christianity. Kraft was president of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2006.
Go to Profile#10882
Mohammad Zulkernine
#175708
Overall Influence
Mohammad Zulkernine is a Canadian computer scientist, currently a Canada Research Chair at Queen's University.
Go to Profile#10883
Bill Mauldin
#9623
Overall Influence
1921 - 2003 (82 years)
William Henry Mauldin was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the archetypal characters Willie and Joe, two weary and bedraggled infantry troopers who stoically endure the difficulties and dangers of duty in the field. His cartoons were popular with soldiers throughout Europe, and with civilians in the United States as well. However, his second Pulitzer Prize was for a cartoon published in 1958, and possibly his best-known cartoon was after the Kennedy assassi...
Go to Profile#10884
Thomas Rice
#175744
Overall Influence
#10885
Darren Dalcher
#134281
Overall Influence
Darren Dalcher is a British engineer and senior academic. He is Professor in Strategic Project Management at Lancaster University Management School and Director of the National Centre for Project Management in the UK.
Go to Profile#10886
Alfonso Monaco
#175747
Overall Influence
#10887
Carol Shoshkes Reiss
#112182
Overall Influence
Carol Shoshkes Reiss, an American viral immunologist, was professor in New York University's department of biology 1991-2020; she is currently Professor Emerita. Her research focused on the dynamic contest between the mouse immune system and virus replication during infection of the central nervous system. Reiss was editor-in-chief of the journal Viral Immunology and is currently editor-in-chief of the journal DNA and Cell Biology .
Go to Profile#10888
Stepan Lucyszyn
#115822
Overall Influence
Stepan Lucyszyn FREng, FIEEE is a British engineer, inventor and technologist, and has been a Professor of Millimetre-wave Systems at Imperial College London, England, since 2016. He was elevated to Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2014 and elected to Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2023. Lucyszyn's research has mainly focused on monolithic microwave integrated circuits , radio frequency microelectromechnical systems , wireless power transfer , thermal infrared technologies and additive manufacturing .
Go to Profile#10889
Masamichi Muramatsu
#175765
Overall Influence
#10890
Robb W. Glenny
#167837
Overall Influence
Robb W. Glenny is an American pulmonologist. Glenny graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1984, and completed a fellowship at the University of Washington, followed by a residency and internship at Duke University Medical Center. He later returned to the University of Washington where he holds an endowed professorship in pulmonary research. In 1999, Glenny was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship.
Go to Profile#10891
Ronald J. Stern
#33170
Overall Influence
1947 - Present (79 years)
Ronald John Stern is a mathematician who works on topology, geometry, and gauge theory. He is emeritus professor at the University of California, Irvine. Stern was the first in his family to receive a college education and earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He then earned his Ph.D. in 1973 from the University of California, Los Angeles under the joint supervision of Robert Duncan Edwards and Robert F. Brown.
Go to Profile#10892
Louise Ryan
#175819
Overall Influence
#10893
Susan Bennett
#112254
Overall Influence
1955 - Present (71 years)
Susan Bennett is a Canadian Professor of English in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Calgary. Early life Bennett was born in London to musical parents. Her father was a musician who played in theatre orchestras. As a result, she was exposed to theatre at a young age.
Go to Profile#10894
Soromini Kallichurum
#85960
Overall Influence
1932 - 2002 (70 years)
Soromini Kallichurum was a South African medical doctor and medical school professor, the first woman to serve as Dean of the medical faculty at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Early life Soromini Kallichurum was born in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. Her father, S. Kallichurum, was a teacher. In 1950, she was one of the first twelve undergraduates enrolled in the "non-white" section at the University of Natal. She earned her medical degree there in 1957, and also held a D.M., earned in 1967 for her research on lung disease in black South Africans.
Go to Profile#10895
Ruiwen Zhang
#175866
Overall Influence
Ruiwen Zhang is a Chinese-American pharmaceutical scientist and is Robert L. Boblitt Endowed Professor in Drug Discovery currently at University of Houston. He is Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Go to Profile#10896
Viola Frey
#75188
Overall Influence
1933 - 2004 (71 years)
Viola Frey was an American artist working in sculpture, painting and drawing, and professor emerita at California College of the Arts. She lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area and was renowned for her larger-than-life, colorfully glazed clay sculptures of men and women, which expanded the traditional boundaries of ceramic sculpture.
Go to Profile#10897
Joseph R. Robinson
#84394
Overall Influence
1939 - 2006 (67 years)
Joseph R. Robinson was a pharmacy researcher and the Edward Kremers Emeritus Professor of Pharmacy in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was particularly known for his work on ophthalmological drug delivery and on bioadhesion.
Go to Profile#10898
Shelley Sweeney
#118432
Overall Influence
1959 - Present (67 years)
Shelley Sweeney is a Canadian archivist. She was university archivist at the University of Regina from 1983 to 1998, and the Head of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections from 1998 to 2020. She helped found two regional archival organizations, the Saskatchewan Council of Archives and the Saskatchewan Archivists Society, and the University and Research Institutions section of the International Council on Archives. Sweeney is a charter member of the Academy of Certified Archivists and, with colleagues, wrote the first code of ethics for the Canadian archival profession.
Go to Profile#10899
Andrew Mackinnon
#175898
Overall Influence
#10900
Rob Baggott
#175935
Overall Influence
1960 - Present (66 years)
