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 Engineering,
#5251
Dong-dong Gu
#140753
Overall Influence
#5252
Glenn Heller
#140787
Overall Influence
#5253
Ian David Walker
#140806
Overall Influence
#5254
Bakhtier Farouk
#131792
Overall Influence
Bakhtier Farouk is an engineer, currently the J. Harland Billings Professor at Drexel University, and also a published author. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Education and academic career Farouk earned his Bachelor of Science at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1975. He was employed as a lecturer in their Mechanical Engineering Department from 1975 to 1976, and then pursued graduate training with the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Houston, Texas in 1976, ultimately earning his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Delaware in 1978 and 1981.
Go to Profile#5255
John. E. Mottershead
#140810
Overall Influence
#5256
Wen Wu
#140836
Overall Influence
#5257
Joseph J. Talavage
#140850
Overall Influence
Joseph J. Talavage was a Professor of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Systems Engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1968. He published numerous research and technical papers on simulation methodology, including the development of a manufacturing decision support system, and the use of simulation to design improved hierarchical control systems for steel production. He was a consultant to numerous companies and governmental agencies, and was the prime developer of the microNET simulation language.
Go to Profile#5258
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
#140857
Overall Influence
1987 - Present (39 years)
#5259
Norman Alan Abrahamson
#140881
Overall Influence
#5260
Shu Man Fu
#140884
Overall Influence
#5261
Stephane Hess
#140885
Overall Influence
1978 - Present (48 years)
#5262
Umar Garba
#121901
Overall Influence
1959 - Present (67 years)
Umar Garba Danbatta, is a Nigerian author, philanthropist, administrator and professor of electrical, telecommunications engineer. He served as the executive vice-chairman and chief executive Officer of Nigerian Communications Commission since November 2015 to April 2020 and was reappointed in July 2020 to October 2023 by the confirmation from the Senate house. Prior to his appointment, he has been acting vice-chancellor of Kano State University of Science and Technology since its establishment in 2001 and became acting vice-chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission in August 2014.
Go to Profile#5263
George Z. Kyzas
#140916
Overall Influence
#5264
Butrus Thomas Khuri-yakub
#140917
Overall Influence
#5265
Mark. S. Shephard
#140918
Overall Influence
#5266
Jan Kajstura
#140944
Overall Influence
#5267
Florian Beigel
#109149
Overall Influence
1941 - 2018 (77 years)
Florian Beigel born in Constance, Southern Germany, was an architect living and working in London since 1969. He was the director of Florian Beigel Architects, and of the Architecture Research Unit and he was Professor of Architecture at London Metropolitan University.
Go to Profile#5268
Simaan AbouRizk
#136312
Overall Influence
Simaan M. AbouRizk is a Canadian engineer, currently the NSERC/Alberta Construction Industry Senior Industrial Research Chair in Construction Engineering and Management and, formerly the Canada Research Chair in Operations Simulation from 2001 to 2008, at University of Alberta.
Go to Profile#5269
Russel D. Dupuis
#140959
Overall Influence
1947 - Present (79 years)
#5270
Valerie Masson-Delmotte
#60770
Overall Influence
1971 - Present (55 years)
Valerie Masson-Delmotte is a French climate scientist and Research Director at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, where she works in the Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory . She uses data from past climates to test models of climate change, and has contributed to several IPCC reports.
Go to Profile#5271
Daisuke Koya
#140969
Overall Influence
#5272
Pavol Bauer
#140971
Overall Influence
#5273
Yu-Hwa Lo
#83736
Overall Influence
Yu-Hwa Lo is a physicist, engineer, academic and researcher. He is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of California at San Diego . Lo has published over 500 articles and owns 55 patents. His research interests include biophotonics, nanophotonics, single photon detectors, condensed matter physics for advanced device concept, microfluidics, and biomedical devices and instruments.
Go to Profile#5274
Alexander Laszlo
#47565
Overall Influence
1964 - Present (62 years)
Alexander Laszlo is a polycultural systems scientist, currently residing in Argentina. Laszlo was the 57th President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences , known for his work on systems theories and "education ecosystems". He, furthermore, is the President of the Board of Directors of the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science , based in Vienna, Austria. He also functions as the director of research at the Laszlo Institute of New Paradigm Research , which is based in Trieste, Italy.
Go to Profile#5275
Dieter Horstkotte
#141084
Overall Influence
#5276
Hans-Jörg Fecht
#47030
Overall Influence
Hans-Jörg Fecht is Chaired Professor at the University of Ulm, Germany in the departments of Engineering and Computer Science. He is also an Office Director of the EUREKA Cluster Metallurgy Europe in the Same university, and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has published over 450 scientific publications, directed numerous national, European, and international research initiatives.
Go to Profile#5277
John P. Wolfe
#141088
Overall Influence
#5278
Gert Cauwenberghs
#141090
Overall Influence
#5279
Ajit J. Thakkar
#141092
Overall Influence
2000 - Present (26 years)
#5280
D. Lawrence Denney
#141098
Overall Influence
#5281
Seiichii Koshizuka
#141118
Overall Influence
#5282
Deniz Erdogmus
#141174
Overall Influence
#5283
David C. Stuckey
#141177
Overall Influence
#5284
Antonio Visioli
#141178
Overall Influence
1970 - Present (56 years)
#5285
Israel Hicks
#60794
Overall Influence
1943 - 2010 (67 years)
Israel Theo Hicks was an American theatre director who produced works at regional theaters around the country and Off Broadway, and was best known for his stagings of the entire series of plays by August Wilson about the African-American experience in the U.S. during and following the Great Migration.
Go to Profile#5286
Bao-liang Lu
#141195
Overall Influence
#5287
Felix Mahfoud
#141199
Overall Influence
#5288
Kenneth H. Fischbeck
#141202
Overall Influence
#5289
A. Iedo Rocha Ribeiro
#141256
Overall Influence
#5290
Yuri. B. Shtessel
#141268
Overall Influence
#5291
Barbara Shinn-Cunningham
#84198
Overall Influence
1964 - Present (62 years)
Barbara Shinn-Cunningham is an American bioengineer and neuroscientist. She is the founding Director of the Carnegie Mellon University Neuroscience Institute, the George A. and Helen Dunham Cowan Professor of Auditory Neuroscience, and Professor of Psychology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering.
Go to Profile#5292
Xiaodong Zou
#99234
Overall Influence
1964 - Present (62 years)
Xiaodong Zou is a Chinese-Swedish chemist who is a professor at Stockholm University. Her research considers the development of electron diffraction for the three dimensional characterisation of materials. She is a member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. She was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
Go to Profile#5293
Johan Wilhelm Geus
#141289
Overall Influence
#5294
Dean Neikirk
#102000
Overall Influence
Dean Neikirk is an American engineer, who is currently the Cullen Trust for Higher Education Endowed Professor in Engineering #7 in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.
Go to Profile#5295
Roland Prof. Dr. Zengerle
#141299
Overall Influence
#5296
Michael Anthony Celia
#141309
Overall Influence
#5297
Nelson Morgan
#141317
Overall Influence
#5298
Colin J. McInnes
#34857
Overall Influence
Colin John McInnes FLSW is Pro Vice Chancellor at Aberystwyth University and holds a personal professorial chair in the Department of International Politics there, where his research focuses on global health politics. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts. In 2014 he was appointed by the Secretary of State for International Development as a Non-Executive Director of the UK National Commission for UNESCO, with special responsibility for the Social and Human Sciences, and represents the UK on UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Commission.
Go to Profile#5299
Kris Gevaert
#141341
Overall Influence
1971 - Present (55 years)
#5300
Bruce Evan Landon
#141357
Overall Influence
