Prof. Abdon Atangana, a distinguished professor at the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa, has acclaimed the distinguished status as the top mathematician worldwide.
With prolific rankings in applied mathematics, mathematical physics, and overall mathematics and statistics, Atangana stands at the forefront of these fields on a global scale.
Furthermore, he is recognized among the top echelons of science, technology, and engineering, positioned at number 260 according to the authoritative Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientists list.
For the second year running, Atangana’s esteemed position has been reaffirmed, highlighting the valuable contributions of scientists from his institution per Stanford University’s annual global assessment of elite scientists.
Atangana, in his commentary provided to UFS, underscores the import of such a ranking as a demonstration of impactful scholarship emanating from Africa.
“This rank underscores our contributions to the advancement of STEM fields and proves that Africans, stationed right here on the continent, can indeed make significant strides on the world stage,” Atangana articulated.
His achievements serve as motivation for the upcoming generations in Africa, providing a testament that global influence does not necessarily stem from exclusively attending prominent universities in the Northern Hemisphere.
Atangana champions the imperative of elevating African institutions to parallel status with those in the global North, fostering an environment where students from the North would consider pursuing education in African universities.
The emphasis, according to him, is that development in Africa hinges not only on cultural sectors but emphatically on STEM disciplines.
Professor Abdon Atangana, 39, originally hails from Cameroon and has been a Bloemfontein resident in South Africa for 14 years.
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In the preceding year, he received the designation as the second-leading mathematician in the world and stood at 188th in all science, technology, and engineering segments on the Stanford University Top 2% Scientists list.
At that time, the UFS acknowledged that Atangana’s global ranking at 188 symbolized the comparative influence of his work across vast disciplines, resonating among the top 200 globally.
“I have been at the vanguard of numerous vital innovations in both applied and pure mathematics. My work includes the creation of the Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivatives and integrals, a new calculus paradigm rooted in general Mittag-Leffler kernels, which has seen widespread application since its establishment in 2016,” noted Atangana previously.
He is also renowned for various developments in epidemiology, numerical analysis, and the novel field of fractal-fractional calculus, finding applications across all realms of applied sciences. Moreover, he introduced innovative ideas in piecewise differentiation and integration.
In 2020, Prof. Abdon Atangana was recognized among the top 1% of global scientists within the Clarivate Web of Science list, being one of the 10 South African scientists on that list.
In conclusion, His notable work includes the development of a unique fractional operator used to model real-world problems encountered in engineering, science, and technology sectors.