Why generate a Top 100? Because, quite simply, you are a fascinating bunch, doing interesting and useful work that serves society – and you are doing it without much ado, humbug or pretention. The Power List is a contribution to the third part of our mission to record, scrutinize and celebrate analytical science, and applauds some of the self-effacing giants of the field.
To develop the list we requested nominations from our readers and then organized a jury to select the Top 100. Our editorial team represented one-fifth of the jury; the others were well-respected scientists who prefer to remain anonymous and were modest enough not to vote for themselves. Let’s be clear – we don’t pretend that this list is definitive: it’s subjective and may have shocking omissions (do let us know). We’ll use any discussion, dissention and disagreement as fuel for future lists. Lastly, in the spirit of list-mania, here are our Top 10 reasons for doing the Power List:
10. Survival. “We like lists because we don’t want to die” - Umberto Eco 9. Trendiness. Lists are pervasive, especially in this Internet age. Why resist? 8. Sophistication. The Power List lends the list craze an intellectual leg-up (not that the bar is set very high by “the highest-earning celebrities” and “worst movies of all time”). 7. Devilment. The idea of taking a complex subject and reducing it to a tabloidesque list of characters fulfills a need for mischief. 6. Habit. Readers gravitate toward almost any list (so they say); magazines publish lists for that very reason. 5. Kinship. A list of like-minded souls reminds us that we’ re not alone. 4. Variety. From paper-based diagnostics to high-pressure mass spectrometry, the diversity of the field is amazing. 3. Serendipity. Lists act as a great source of information that you didn’t even know you were looking for. 2. Imitation. If it’s good enough for the Smithsonian, it’s good enough for analytical science 1. Celebration! The list includes contributions to many fields of science and practical improvements to the lot of humankind. We should all be proud of that.
Nominations are now closed for the 2013 Power List – click here to see The Power List 2013.
Frank Van Geel
Scientific Director
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