Newswise — The National University of Singapore (NUS) has been ranked 39th globally in the inaugural Nature Index compiled by the Nature Publishing Group; it is the highest-ranked Singapore research institution in the index. The University was also placed 31st among the top institutions in physical sciences and chemistry. The results of the new Nature Index were published today.
The Nature Index aims to provide an indicator of patterns of high-quality research output across the globe. It uses a database that tracks the author affiliations of nearly 60,000 high quality scientific articles published per year from over 20,000 research institutions worldwide.
Articles included in the Nature Index are drawn from 68 natural science journals, independently chosen by researchers as being where they would want to publish their most significant research. More than 2,800 responses from scientists across the major disciplines of the natural sciences to a large-scale survey were used to validate the selections. The journals were selected by two independent panels of active scientists, chaired by Professor John Morton (University College London) and Dr Yin-Biao Sun (King’s College London). The Nature Publishing Group estimates that these 68 journals account for about 30 per cent of total citations to natural science journals.
NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said, “We are delighted that NUS has been placed among the world’s top 40 research institutions in the new Nature Index. This is a reflection of the quality and impact of NUS research.”
“We are pleased that NUS continues to be highly regarded for its broad-based research excellence and capabilities. Our Research Centres of Excellence are at the frontiers of their fields, and several NUS research centres and programmes are international leaders in areas ranging from graphene and new materials to lipidomics and medicine, as well as in humanities and social science research on Asia. We will continue to build on our research strengths, and to maximise opportunities to translate and apply our research in transformative ways, particularly in areas that are of strategic importance to Singapore,” Prof Tan added.
Mr Nick Campbell, Executive Editor, Nature, and Global Head of Macmillan Science Communication, said, “I congratulate NUS on their strong contribution to high-quality research, as reflected in the Nature Index Global 2014. In particular, I thank them for their contributions to our own Nature journals that are included in the independently selected group of journals that underpins the Nature Index.”
The results were published in the first edition of the Nature Index Global 2014 supplement released together with the latest issue of Nature, which is widely recognised as one of the world's most highly cited weekly multidisciplinary journals.
To see the results for the inaugural Nature Index, visit natureindex.com.
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