Citation Impact of Outstanding Conference Papers of the IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference

Numbers of citations of outstanding conferencepapers (OCPs) of IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation EffectsConferences (NSRECs) from 1966 to 2017 are compared withcitations of the most highly cited papers (HCPs) of thecorresponding special issues of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ONNUCLEARSCIENCE(TNS), as well as average numbers ofcitations and cumulativehindex,hcum, for all TNS paperspublished in the same year. 85% of NSREC OCPs are cited ata higher rate than the average for all TNS articles in that year.55% of NSREC OCP citation totals are higher thanhcumfor TNSin that year; these rank among the~8% most highly cited TNSpapers for that year. In~10% of cases, the NSREC OCP is alsothe most HCP. Similarly high citation impact is found for papersnominated as candidates for OCPs. Radiation effects paperspublished in annual NSREC special issues comprise a significantfraction of all TNS articles citedhcumtimes or more. These resultssupport the use ofhcumas a metric of citation impact in this workand show that the NSREC OCP process generally meets awardscriteria guidelines for impact. Potential reasons for variations incitation rates are discussed, and recommendations are providedto enhance the awards process.