A Professor from the University of the Free State (UFS) has been ranked as the second-best mathematician in the world.
Professor Abdon Atangana, 37, was also ranked 188th in science, technology, and engineering, in Stanford University’s top 2% of scientists in the world.
Atangana, originally from Cameroon, has called Bloemfontein home since 2010 and is a professor of applied mathematics at the Institute for Groundwater Studies at UFS.
Earlier this year, Atangana collaborated with his students and released two books.
In 2020, the mathematician made headlines after he was recognised as one of 10 South African scientists in the top 1% of scientists on the global Clarivate Web of Science list.
He is known for developing a new fractional operator used to model real-world problems arising in the fields of engineering, science and technology.
In 2021, Atangana was elected as a fellow of the World Academy of Science for the advancement of science in developing countries.
“Stanford University has created a list of the top 2% of world-class researchers based on citations over their full careers. The list was published in September and features 195 605 researchers who make up the top 2%,” the university said.
The university also has 22 other researchers on the list.
Atangana said it was always encouraging to see a researcher from a developing nation at the top of a list in a difficult scientific field like physics, chemistry, or maths.
“Being an African black individual and the second-ranked mathematician in the world shows that the subject of mathematics is not limited by geography or race, as David Hilbert stated.”