Robert L. Forward

3.1k total citations · 1 hit paper
82 papers, 2.1k citations indexed

About

Robert L. Forward is a scholar working on Astronomy and Astrophysics, Aerospace Engineering and Statistical and Nonlinear Physics. According to data from OpenAlex, Robert L. Forward has authored 82 papers receiving a total of 2.1k indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 51 papers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 36 papers in Aerospace Engineering and 9 papers in Statistical and Nonlinear Physics. Recurrent topics in Robert L. Forward's work include Planetary Science and Exploration (21 papers), Astro and Planetary Science (21 papers) and Space Satellite Systems and Control (16 papers). Robert L. Forward is often cited by papers focused on Planetary Science and Exploration (21 papers), Astro and Planetary Science (21 papers) and Space Satellite Systems and Control (16 papers). Robert L. Forward collaborates with scholars based in United States. Robert L. Forward's co-authors include Robert Hoyt, C. Uphoff, Lane R. Miller, Matt Visser, Michael S. Morris, John G. Cramer, Gregory Benford, Geoffrey A. Landis, Larry R. Miller and David M. Berman and has published in prestigious journals such as Nature, Physical Review Letters and Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

In The Last Decade

Robert L. Forward

75 papers receiving 1.8k citations

Hit Papers

Electronic damping of vibrations in optical structures 1979 2026 1994 2010 1979 100 200 300
What are hit papers?

Hit papers significantly outperform the citation benchmark for their cohort. A paper qualifies if it has ≥500 total citations, achieves ≥1.5× the top-1% citation threshold for papers in the same subfield and year (this is the minimum needed to enter the top 1%, not the average within it), or reaches the top citation threshold in at least one of its specific research topics.

  1. Electronic damping of vibrations in optical structures
    1979 360 citations Robert L. Forward Applied Optics profile →

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name h Career Trend Papers Cites
Robert L. Forward United States 25 1.1k 982 371 311 264 82 2.1k
H. G. Hornung United States 34 124 0.1× 1.8k 1.9× 158 0.4× 125 0.4× 202 0.8× 156 3.8k
Antonio Paolozzi Italy 20 636 0.6× 346 0.4× 169 0.5× 122 0.4× 58 0.2× 100 1.3k
K. Takayama Japan 28 160 0.1× 946 1.0× 223 0.6× 87 0.3× 101 0.4× 159 2.4k
H. W. Liepmann United States 16 122 0.1× 943 1.0× 155 0.4× 81 0.3× 179 0.7× 29 2.3k
L. C. Woods United Kingdom 18 302 0.3× 242 0.2× 151 0.4× 30 0.1× 272 1.0× 84 1.4k
LESTER LEES United States 23 267 0.2× 1.0k 1.0× 139 0.4× 40 0.1× 125 0.5× 61 2.7k
C. K. Chu United States 17 284 0.3× 247 0.3× 145 0.4× 58 0.2× 50 0.2× 52 1.2k
Jun’ichiro Kawaguchi Japan 25 2.0k 1.8× 2.0k 2.0× 66 0.2× 210 0.7× 54 0.2× 265 3.1k
Takashi Abe Japan 27 384 0.3× 1.3k 1.3× 521 1.4× 29 0.1× 73 0.3× 286 3.0k
Shao‐Chi Lin United States 16 267 0.2× 329 0.3× 326 0.9× 37 0.1× 73 0.3× 35 1.5k

Countries citing papers authored by Robert L. Forward

Since Specialization
Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Robert L. Forward's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Robert L. Forward with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Robert L. Forward more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Robert L. Forward

Since Specialization
Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Robert L. Forward. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Robert L. Forward. The network helps show where Robert L. Forward may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Robert L. Forward

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Robert L. Forward. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Robert L. Forward based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Robert L. Forward. Robert L. Forward is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

20 of 20 papers shown
1.
Grant, J. A., et al.. (2000). Hypersonic airplane space tether orbital launch: HASTOL - A two-stage commercial launch system. 36th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit. 2 indexed citations
2.
3.
Forward, Robert L.. (1999). Apparent Endless Extraction of Energy from the Vacuum by Cyclic Manipulation of Casimir Cavity Dimensions. NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA).
4.
Forward, Robert L.. (1998). Apparent method for extraction of propulsion energy from the vacuum. 34th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit. 1 indexed citations
5.
Cramer, John G., Robert L. Forward, Michael S. Morris, et al.. (1995). Natural wormholes as gravitational lenses. Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields. 51(6). 3117–3120. 178 indexed citations
6.
Forward, Robert L.. (1992). Failsafe multistrand tether structures for space propulsion. 28th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit. 14 indexed citations
7.
Forward, Robert L.. (1990). Flight of the Dragonfly. 2 indexed citations
8.
Forward, Robert L.. (1986). Feasibility of Interstellar Travel. JBIS. 39. 379. 7 indexed citations
9.
Forward, Robert L.. (1984). Light-levitated geostationary cylindrical orbits using perforated light sails.. The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences. 32(2). 221–226. 14 indexed citations
10.
Forward, Robert L.. (1984). Extracting electrical energy from the vacuum by cohesion of charged foliated conductors. Physical review. B, Condensed matter. 30(4). 1700–1702. 45 indexed citations
11.
Forward, Robert L., et al.. (1980). Interstellar travel and communication: a bibliography.. JBIS. 33. 201–248. 6 indexed citations
12.
Forward, Robert L.. (1980). Interstellar flight systems. 3 indexed citations
13.
Forward, Robert L.. (1979). Electronic damping of vibrations in optical structures. Applied Optics. 18(5). 690–690. 360 indexed citations breakdown →
14.
Connors, Mary M., et al.. (1978). A bibliography on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA). 1021. 3 indexed citations
15.
Forward, Robert L.. (1976). A programme for interstellar exploration.. JBIS. 29. 611–632. 2 indexed citations
16.
Forward, Robert L.. (1976). Rotating gravity gradiometer study. NASA STI Repository (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 2 indexed citations
17.
Forward, Robert L., et al.. (1975). Bibliography of interstellar travels and communication - 3.. Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 28. 191–219. 1 indexed citations
18.
Forward, Robert L.. (1975). Advanced propulsion concepts study: Comparative study of solar electric propulsion and laser electric propulsion. NASA STI Repository (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). 1 indexed citations
19.
Bell, Curtis C., et al.. (1966). Vibrational mode behavior of rotating gravitational gradient sensors. NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA). 1 indexed citations
20.
Forward, Robert L.. (1964). Zero thrust velocity vector control for interstellar probes. 1 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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