Two Unilorin professors listed among the most productive scientists in the world by Elsevier BV

UNIVERSITY of Ilorin academics Professors Kayode Oyewumi and Musa Yakubu have been listed among Elsevier BV’s most productive scientists in the world in recognition of their work in global research.

With its headquarters at Stanford University in the US, Elsevier BV is an academic publishing company that publishes medical and scientific literature. In its latest published list of leading global scientists, the two University of Ilorin professors were recognised as having contributed immensely to academic research.

Professor Oyewumi, the dean of Faculty of Physical Sciences at Unilorin, said researchers’ ranking had become a global tool for evaluating intellectualism, academic prowess, research excellence and impact in the 21st century. He added that 180,000 candidates were selected from the more than 8m active scientists worldwide in 22 major scientific fields and 176 sub-fields.

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“While many ranking bodies are questionable and generally unacceptable, an emerging reputable and distinguished ranking body has named two Unilorin dons, among the world’s top two scientists. The list is led by Professor John Loannidis of Stanford University with the use of verifiable data drawn from the Scopus database.

“The method adopted for the ranking involved the use of a complex algorithm based on ranking parameters such as Scopus documents (1960-2020). It also includes citations, (including distinct citing papers and co-authorship, including first authorship, among others," Professor Oyewumi said.

Scopus is Elsevier's abstract and citation database launched in 2004, which covers nearly 36,377 titles from approximately 11,678 publishers. All journals covered in the Scopus database are reviewed for sufficiently high quality each year according to four types of numerical quality measure for each title.

Professor Oyewumi explained that the long list contained names of few Nigerian scientists drawn primarily from universities and research institutes globally. He described the inclusion of himself and Professor Yakubu who is the immediate past director of Unilorin Central Research Laboratories as a reflection of the valuable impact of the institution’s researchers on the global research platform.

“Obviously, the recent achievement is certainly inspirational to young faculty members and research scholars. It is hoped that the next edition of the ranking will feature more scientists from Unilorin and Nigeria," Professor Oyewumi added.