Search People Result | Academic Influence

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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Ranking

List of the most influential people in Computer Science,

#11101

Dale F. Rudd

#106614

Overall Influence

1935 - 2018 (83 years)

Dale F. Rudd was an American Chemical Engineer and Donald C. Slichter Professor Emeritus of Engineering Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is known for his influential work in process engineering, in particular for introducing computer aided process synthesis design strategies for large scale chemical industries. He co-wrote the first textbook in process engineering, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1978.

#11102

Marc T. J. Johnson

#176120

Overall Influence

Marc Johnson is a professor of biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. He is the Canada Research Chair for Urban Environmental Science, and was the first Director of the Centre for Urban Environments from 2018-2023.

#11103

James Isbell Armstrong

#62317

Overall Influence

1919 - 2013 (94 years)

James Isbell Armstrong was an American academic who was President of Middlebury College. He was born in 1919 in Princeton. Armstrong was appointed as Middlebury's 12th president in 1963 and served until 1975. Armstrong graduated from Princeton University in 1941 and completed his Ph.D. there in 1949. He served as a professor of classics and Associate Dean without Portfolio at Princeton prior to his arrival at Middlebury.

#11104

Geoffrey Sims

#56800

Overall Influence

1926 - Present (100 years)

Geoffrey Donald Sims OBE, FREng was a British physicist who served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield from 1974 to 1991. Life Sims was born 13 December 1926 in London. He studied at Imperial College, London, gaining a BSc in physics in 1947 and in mathematics in 1948; an MSc in mathematics in 1950 and a PhD in physics in 1954. He worked for General Electric Company from 1948 to 1954 then the Atomic Energy Authority until 1956 when he joined the academic staff of the Department of Electronics at the University of Southampton, becoming a professor and head of the Department of El...

#11105

John R. Rice

#114581

Overall Influence

1934 - Present (92 years)

John Rischard Rice is an American mathematician and computer scientist, the W. Brooks Fortune Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and a professor of mathematics at Purdue University. He specializes in numerical computing, founded the ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software and is the author of more than 20 books and approximately 300 research articles.

#11106

M H Xie

#177908

Overall Influence

#11107

Juan Downey

#41519

Overall Influence

1940 - 1993 (53 years)

Juan Downey was a Chilean artist who was a pioneer in the fields of video art and interactive art. Early life and education Downey was born in Santiago, Chile. His father, David Downey V., was a distinguished architect in Chile, and following in his father's footsteps, Juan Downey studied to complete a Bachelor of Architecture in 1964 from the Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile. In 1961, to further his studies and develop his artistic practice, Downey traveled to Europe. He spent a few months in Barcelona and Madrid, followed by Paris, where he lived for three years studying printmaking at Stanley William Hayter's legendary Atelier 17.

#11108

Lynn M. Walker

#100587

Overall Influence

Lynn Walker is a professor of chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her research considers the rheology of complex fluids and how nanostructure impacts the behavior of complex systems. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Society of Rheology, and the American Physical Society.

#11109

Gerald R. Shields

#164347

Overall Influence

1927 - 2005 (78 years)

Gerald R. Shields was a librarian, editor, cartoonist and educator. Shields retired as Assistant Dean of the School of Information and Library Studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

#11110

Tatsuo Miyajima

#79288

Overall Influence

1957 - Present (69 years)

Tatsuo Miyajima is a Japanese sculptor and installation artist who lives in Moriya, in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. His work frequently employs digital LED counters and is primarily concerned with the function and significance of time and space, especially within the context of Buddhist thought.

#11111

Kyle Brown

#151198

Overall Influence

1963 - Present (63 years)

Kyle Brown is an American computer scientist at IBM, Durham, North Carolina, USA, known for his work in software design pattern. He is an IBM Fellow. He has published ten books, over 100 commercial articles and papers, and holds more than 25 patents. He was the program chair for the Pattern Languages of Programs Conference in 2002 and again in 2018.

#11112

Leo Twiggs

#122322

Overall Influence

1934 - Present (92 years)

Leo Franklin Twiggs is an American painter and educator. He developed the Fine Art Department at South Carolina State University, where he taught from 1973 until 1998. Twiggs received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Claflin University in 1956 and his Master of Arts degree from New York University in 1964. In 1970, Twiggs became the first African American student to receive a Doctorate of Arts from the University of Georgia. He has presented over fifty one-man shows during his career.

#11113

Adrian Zandberg

#129683

Overall Influence

1979 - Present (47 years)

Adrian Tadeusz Zandberg is a Polish historian, computer programmer, doctor of humanities, and left-wing politician serving as a member of the Sejm for Warsaw I. He is one of the co-leaders of Left Together.

#11114

William H. Muller Jr.

#84890

Overall Influence

1919 - 2012 (93 years)

William Henry Muller, Jr. M.D. was an American Doctor of Medicine and a prominent cardiologist who was the first surgeon to implant an artificial aortic valve. He was the longtime Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Virginia and past president of the American College of Surgeons.

#11115

AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik

#75636

Overall Influence

AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik is a retired judge of the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court who gained notoriety for a number of controversial cases. He was also criticized for submitting verdicts in cases after retirement. Because of his involvement in many controversies, He didn't get farewell in his last working day from Attorney general office as well as Supreme Court bar association.

#11116

Bugewa Apampa

#54265

Overall Influence

Bugewa Omawumi Apampa is a professor of Pharmacy Education at the University of Sussex and the former Director of Pharmacy Development. At the time of her promotion to professor, she was one of 18 black female university professors in the UK.

#11117

Mireille Broucke

#148626

Overall Influence

Mireille Esther Broucke is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Toronto, interested in control theory, mathematical systems theory, and swarm robotics. Broucke did her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where her father Roger A. Broucke, an immigrant from Belgium, was a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics. She graduated in 1984, with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. She went on to graduate study in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a m...

#11118

Ueli Maurer

#63778

Overall Influence

1950 - Present (76 years)

Ulrich "Ueli" Maurer is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2022. A member of the Swiss People's Party , he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2013 and 2019. Formerly head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports , Maurer has headed the Federal Department of Finance from 2016 to 2022. From 2019 to 2022, he was the longest-serving sitting member of the Federal Council.

#11119

Kai Zhang

#177998

Overall Influence

#11120

Robin Milner-Gulland

#30207

Overall Influence

1936 - Present (90 years)

Robert Rainsford "Robin" Milner-Gulland, FBA, FSA, is a British scholar of Russian and Byzantine literature, culture, and art. His main areas of expertise are Russian modern & medieval cultural history, modern Russian literature , Russian & Byzantine art history, the Russian language, English romanesque art & architecture and Sussex history. He is currently the Emeritus Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Sussex.

#11121

Mammad Yaqubov

#106396

Overall Influence

1941 - Present (85 years)

Mammad Hagverdi Yaqubov is an Azerbaijani scientist, doctor of physico and a mathematical sciences professor. Mammad Hagverdi Yaqubov was born on February 2, 1941, in the village of Mils Julfa region of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. In 1957 he graduated high school #1 in Nakhchivan. In 1962 he graduated from the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Baku State University. Since 1965 he has been working at the university.

#11122

Vittorio Ferrari

#178022

Overall Influence

#11123

Ahmed Rashad Abdel-khalik

#147430

Overall Influence

1940 - Present (86 years)

Ahmed Rashad Abdel-khalik is an American scholar who was born in Egypt. He is the V. K. Zimmerman Professor of International Accounting, Professor of Accountancy, and Director of the V. K. Zimmerman Center for International Education and Research in Accounting at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

#11124

Grace Parraga

#173314

Overall Influence

1961 - Present (65 years)

Grace–Eve Párraga is a Canadian lung-imaging scientist. She is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Lung Imaging to Transform Outcomes at the University of Western Ontario. Early life and education Parraga was born in 1961. She completed her Bachelor of Science and Master's degree in biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario and her PhD at the University of Washington.

#11125

Deepak Chopra

#178076

Overall Influence

#11126

Raymond Hamers

#37947

Overall Influence

1932 - 2021 (89 years)

Raymond Hamers was a professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels, Belgium. He discovered a special type of antibodies called single-domain antibodies or nanobodies. See also Flanders Institute for Biotechnology Ablynx

#11127

Tor Iversen

#178104

Overall Influence

1952 - Present (74 years)

#11128

Karen Chan

#170563

Overall Influence

1984 - Present (42 years)

Karen Chan is an associate professor at the Technical University of Denmark. She is a Canadian and French physicist most notable for her work on catalysis, electrocatalysis, and electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide.

#11129

James Tepper

#178112

Overall Influence

James M. Tepper is an American neuroscientist currently a Board of Governors Professor of Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience and Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University and an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

#11130

Liran Carmel

#101979

Overall Influence

1971 - Present (55 years)

Liran Carmel is an Israeli scientist, professor of computational biology at the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Carmel is the Snyder Granadar Chair for Genetics, and is the 2021 Massry Prize laureate for his studies in the field of ancient DNA.

#11131

Karyn Moffat

#111521

Overall Influence

Karyn Moffatt is a Canadian computer scientist working in human–computer interaction. She is an associate professor in the School of Information Studies at McGill University, where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Inclusive Social Computing. Her research has included work on persuasive technology and computer accessibility.

#11132

Lixia Zhang

#178126

Overall Influence

#11133

Dee Mangin

#71746

Overall Influence

Derelie Mangin is a New Zealand primary care academic. As of 2018, she is a full professor at the University of Otago and holds the David Braley Nancy Gordon Chair in Family Medicine at McMaster University.

#11134

Ken Johnson

#66789

Overall Influence

1953 - Present (73 years)

Ken Johnson is an American artist and art critic who lives in New York City. Johnson was a writer for the arts pages of The New York Times until 2016, where he covered gallery and museum exhibits. Previously he wrote for Arts Magazine and Art in America. He is currently a painter, and exhibited a series of well-received paintings in April 2022 at Kerry Schluss Gallery in Manhattan.

#11135

Ken Takahashi

#178150

Overall Influence

#11136

Adele Fielding

#175434

Overall Influence

Adele Kay Fielding is a British physician-scientist who is a Professor of Haematology at University College London. Fielding was President of the British Society for Haematology from 2020 until 2022.

#11137

Douglas J. Barrett

#69004

Overall Influence

Douglas John Barrett is the former Senior Vice President for the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center at the University of Florida. He held the position from 2002 to 2009. As the Senior Vice President, he was responsible for an $850 million budget. He is a member of the American Board of Pediatrics and was the Vice Chairman of the Shands Health Care Board of Directors.

#11138

Paul Morris

#95166

Overall Influence

1951 - Present (75 years)

Paul Morris is an internationally renowned educational scholar – best known for his analysis of education policy in Hong Kong and East Asia. He was President of the Hong Kong Institute of Education until July 2007.

#11139

Mike Christie

#130103

Overall Influence

Mike Christie is a British film and television director and producer who has made films for the BBC, Channel 4, Sky, Discovery, History Channel, Apple, Showtime and Red Bull. His career began in the 1990s working with the artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman – who he met at meetings of Act Up London – on projects including the book At Your Own Risk. Other early collaborators included Pet Shop Boys and Suede with whom he worked from 1992 to 1997. In 1997, he co-created Drop the Debt, the mainstream music and entertainment industries campaign of the Jubilee 2000 movement, fronted by Bono and others...

#11140

Kenneth Galloway

#90128

Overall Influence

Kenneth F. Galloway, Sr. is an American engineer and engineering educator. He is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, and Dean of the School of Engineering, Emeritus, at Vanderbilt University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Engineering Education and the American Physical Society.

#11141

Dan Gibson

#178214

Overall Influence

#11142

Masahiro Yamaguchi

#178240

Overall Influence

#11143

Roger Shimomura

Roger Shimomura

#51742

Overall Influence

1939 - Present (87 years)

Roger Shimomura is an American artist and a retired professor at the University of Kansas, having taught there from 1969 to 2004. His art, showcased across the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, and Israel, often combines American popular culture, traditional Asian tropes, and stereotypical racial imagery to provoke thought and debate on issues of identity and social perception.

#11144

Francesco Longo

#178242

Overall Influence

#11145

Jan Vermaat

#170171

Overall Influence

1939 - 2022 (83 years)

Jan Jacob Vermaat was a Dutch sculptor and draughtsman from Woerden. Vermaat's significance for the development of art and culture in Woerden has been described as 'great'. For about fifteen years he took part in international sculptor symposia where he won several prizes. His works are in public areas in Europe and the United States. In the Netherlands, statues of him can be found in: schools, villas, public buildings and public gardens.

#11146

Grace Goodell

#41036

Overall Influence

Grace E. Goodell is a retired professor of International Development at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. Goodell received her Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University, where she studied under Conrad Arensberg. She has been a visiting scholar at the Australian National University and at the Harvard Institute for International Development, a fellow in law and development at the Harvard Law School, and a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Goodell was previously the Director of the Program on Social Change and Develop...

#11147

John Chamberlain

John Chamberlain

#17922

Overall Influence

1927 - 2011 (84 years)

John Angus Chamberlain , was an American sculptor and filmmaker. At the time of his death he resided and worked on Shelter Island, New York. Early life and career Born in Rochester, Indiana as the son of a saloonkeeper, Chamberlain was raised mostly by his grandmother after his parents divorced. He spent much of his youth in Chicago. After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946, he attended the Art Institute of Chicago and Black Mountain College . At Black Mountain, he studied with the poets Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, and Robert Duncan, who were teaching there that semester. The follo...

#11148

Qiang Gao

#178301

Overall Influence

#11149

Deborah Silver

#172934

Overall Influence

Deborah E. Silver is an American computer scientist specializing in information visualization, scientific visualization, and the use of skeletons in identifying the features of shapes. She is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rutgers University, where she is executive director of the Professional Science Master's Program and former associate dean for continuing and professional education in the School of Engineering.

#11150

Edward Fox

#45431

Overall Influence

1937 - Present (89 years)

Edward Charles Morice Fox is an English actor. Fox starred in the film The Day of the Jackal , playing the part of a professional assassin, known only as the "Jackal", who is hired to assassinate the French president Charles de Gaulle in the summer of 1963. Fox is also known for his roles in Battle of Britain , The Go-Between , for which he won a BAFTA award, and The Bounty . He also collaborated with director Richard Attenborough, appearing in his films Oh! What a Lovely War , A Bridge Too Far and Gandhi .

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