January 13, 1997

UCSC astronomers rank highly in international study

By Robert Irion

UCSC astronomers and astrophysicists published some of the most notable research papers in their field in recent years, according to a new study by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) of Philadelphia.

Analysts at ISI studied the impacts of all space-science papers published from 1993 to 1995 by tallying the number of citations earned by each paper. When researchers publish a journal article, they must cite previous papers by other authors that set the stage for their work. Generally, a paper garners more citations when scientists accept the work as important and well done.

UCSC ranked twelfth among the world's astronomy research institutions in terms of the total number of citations received and eleventh in terms of the average number of citations per paper. ISI analysts consider the latter measure as the most objective way to gauge the quality of a department's research.

Ten other institutions ranked in the top fifteen in both measures: Princeton University, the University of Cambridge, the NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, UC Berkeley, the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (Germany), the Institut d'Astrophysique Paris, the University of Wisconsin, MIT, and the University of Arizona. (Tables of the top twenty ranking institutions)

The new study is consistent with recent rankings published by the National Research Council, which rated the quality of graduate departments according to their reputations among peers. In that study, UCSC's Astronomy and Astrophysics Department ranked sixth among all U.S. universities.

UCSC is renowned for research in both observational astronomy and theoretical astrophysics. Santa Cruz astronomers are among the primary users of the Hubble Space Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, home of the world's largest optical telescopes. Special areas of focus include the evolution, distribution, and nature of stars and galaxies.

In astrophysics, UCSC scientists excel in studies of cosmology, planetary and solar system formation, models of galaxy collisions, and supernovas. Faculty members and staff technicians also are among the world's leading designers of instruments and optical components for telescopes.

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