2026 J. William Schopf: Earth Science Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Earth Science	65	1378	1222	617	532	162	18879

Research.com Recognitions

1998 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
1990 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
1989 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
1988 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
1973 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation

Overview

J. William Schopf is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles in the United States. Their research spans multiple disciplines with a primary focus on physics and astronomy, covering areas such as astronomy and astrophysics, paleontology, general health professions, ecology, and molecular biology.

The scientist has contributed to various topics including:

Planetary Science and Exploration
Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
Astro and Planetary Science
Isotope Analysis in Ecology
Origins and Evolution of Life
Protist diversity and phylogeny
Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena

The following recent publications highlight their research activity:

Precambrian Paleobiology: Precedents, Progress, and Prospects, 2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
The microbial cataclysm that forever changed life's history, 2024, Earth history and biodiversity.

J. William Schopf has frequently collaborated with several coauthors, including:

Jeffrey T. Osterhout
Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev
Andrew D. Czaja
Kenneth H. Williford
K. D. McKeegan

The scientist's work appears in several publication venues such as:

Astrobiology
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Earth history and biodiversity.
Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America
Creative Education

J. William Schopf has been recognized by multiple professional organizations, holding fellowships and memberships that include:

Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1998)
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1990)
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (1989)
Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1973, 1988)

Best Publications

Microfossils of the Early Archean Apex Chert: New Evidence of the Antiquity of Life

J. William Schopf

1854
Citations
The Proterozoic biosphere : a multidisciplinary study

J. William Schopf;Cornelis Klein

880
Citations
Earth's earliest biosphere : its origin and evolution

J. William Schopf

751
Citations
Microflora of the Bitter Springs Formation, late Precambrian, central Australia

J. William Schopf

721
Citations
Laser–Raman imagery of Earth's earliest fossils

J. William Schopf;Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev;David G. Agresti;Thomas J. Wdowiak

715
Citations
Fossil evidence of Archaean life

J. William Schopf

636
Citations
The Proterozoic Biosphere

J. William Schopf;Cornelis Klein

604
Citations
Cradle of Life: The Discovery of Earth's Earliest Fossils

J. William Schopf;Robert M. Hazen

431
Citations
Evidence of Archean life: Stromatolites and microfossils

J. William Schopf;Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev;Andrew D. Czaja;Abhishek B. Tripathi

431
Citations
Filamentous fossil bacteria from the Archean of Western Australia

S.M. Awramik;J.W. Schopf;M.R. Walter

419
Citations
The Fossil Record: Tracing the Roots of the Cyanobacterial Lineage

J. William Schopf

341
Citations
The Proterozoic Biosphere: Index to Geologic Units

J. William Schopf;Cornelis Klein

340
Citations
Microorganisms Three Billion Years Old from the Precambrian of South Africa

Elso S. Barghoorn;J. William Schopf

318
Citations
New microorganisms from the Bitter Springs Formation (late Precambrian) of the north-central Amadeus Basin, Australia

J. William Schopf;Jan M. Blacic

313
Citations
Morphological biosignatures and the search for life on Mars.

Sherry L. Cady;Jack D. Farmer;John P. Grotzinger;J. William Schopf

294
Citations
Environmental Evolution of the Archean-early Proterozoic Earth

James C. G. Walker;Cornelis Klein;Manfred Schidlowski;J. William Schopf

256
Citations
PRECAMBRIAN MICRO‐ORGANISMS AND EVOLUTIONARY EVENTS PRIOR TO THE ORIGIN OF VASCULAR PLANTS

J. William Schopf

251
Citations
Raman imagery: a new approach to assess the geochemical maturity and biogenicity of permineralized precambrian fossils.

J. William Schopf;Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev;David G. Agresti;Andrew D. Czaja

242
Citations
Alga-Like Fossils from the Early Precambrian of South Africa

J. William Schopf;Elso S. Barghoorn

216
Citations
Carbon isotopic fractionation by Archaeans and other thermophilic prokaryotes

Christopher H House;J.William Schopf;Karl O Stetter

212
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Malcolm R. Walter University of New South Wales

Kenneth H. Williford Blue Marble Space Institute of Science

Cornelis Klein University of New Mexico

Elso S. Barghoorn Harvard University

Paul D. Taylor American Museum of Natural History

John W. Valley University of Wisconsin–Madison

Kevin D. McKeegan University of California, Los Angeles

Jack D. Farmer Arizona State University

Donald R. Ort University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ray Ming University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

External Links

Wikipedia of J. William Schopf Personal website of J. William Schopf

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