By The Division of Communication and Advancement
Distinguished Professor Charlie Shackleton, holder of the SARChI Chair in Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods at Rhodes University, has been awarded the prestigious A1 National Research Foundation (NRF) rating, the highest in the South African national system of research innovation.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Strategic Partnerships Dr Nomakwezi Mzilikazi congratulated Dist Prof Shackleton on the “extraordinary academic feat that earned him unanimous recognition by local and international peers as a leading international researcher in his field.”
She said the achievement was not just a personal milestone but a historic moment for Rhodes University. Dist Prof Shackleton becomes the first academic in the Institution’s 120-year history to earn the A1 research status, a testament to his exceptional research prowess and a source of immense pride and inspiration for the entire university community.
Dist Prof Shackleton’s A1 rating places him in an elite community of approximately 100 combined A1 and A2-rated researchers nationally. However, it’s important to note that very few of these are awarded to interdisciplinary researchers like Dist Prof Shackleton, making his achievement even more remarkable.
The NRF rating system is a critical driver and a unique feature in building a globally competitive research and innovation system in South Africa. National and international peers evaluate candidates, and their rating reflects how peers across the globe view one, Dr Mzilikazi said.
The rating process involves a comprehensive review of a researcher’s outputs and impact in the past eight years. The quality and impact of these outputs, particularly in high-impact journals, and the researcher’s role in mentoring the next generation of researchers are critical considerations, ensuring the highest research quality standards.
The system identifies researchers who are leaders in their fields of expertise and recognises those who consistently produce high-quality research outputs over sustained periods.
Rhodes University has a burgeoning community of just under 100 rated researchers, the highest proportion in all the South African universities, across all categories, from promising young researchers, recipients of prestigious awards, established researchers, and internationally acclaimed researchers to leading international researchers in the top A category.
Having Dist Prof Shackleton as an A1 researcher will further inspire the greater research community at Rhodes University, showing that anything is possible for the human intellect.
Dist Prof Shackleton said that sustained and quality interdisciplinary research productivity was only possible with a mix of strong and stimulating research collaborators and a cohort of enthusiastic and questioning postgraduates.
He credits his spouse, Sheona, for much of his inspiration and his small village roots for his passion for nature. His move to Makhanda in 2000 was similarly influenced by Sheona, who came to Rhodes University to pursue her PhD.
“That is when I joined what was then the Environmental Science Programme,” Dist Prof Shackleton said.
His career flourished as the programme developed into a fully-fledged department, and he notched a full professorship in 2008, a SARCHi Chair in 2013, and a Distinguished Professorship in 2023.
In the last eight years, as the review period for the NRF rating, Dist Prof Shackleton lists 130 journal articles, of which 95 percent appeared in international journals, and 70 percent were in the top quartile for their disciplines, as part of a long list of achievements. He has published over 320 journal articles in his career.
In the same period, he edited or co-edited five books and wrote 20 chapters. He also wrote 22 articles in popular magazines and other platforms for non-academic audiences.
Much of his productivity included mentoring 10 PhDs, 20 Masters, 27 Honours students, and six postdoctoral fellows he hosted in the last eight years. He is currently supervising 10 PhDs and seven Masters students.
Dist Prof Shackleton was an associate editor of eight journals and has been on the editorial board of six others during this period. He enjoys a Google Scholar h-index of 82 with just over 23,000 citations and a Scopus h-index of 56 with over 11,000 citations.
Whilst these metrics and parameters are important, the impact of his outstanding scientific endeavours has earned Dist Prof Shackleton the coveted A1 rating.
A reserved speaker, Dist Prof Shackleton prefers to let his scientific pursuits do the talking. He is married to Sheona, and their two children, Ross and Claire, are also PhD holders.
This article was first published by the Rhodes University Communication Division.
