Recollections of Irving H. Sher 1924-1996: Polymath/information scientist extraordinaire

Over a 35-year period, Irving H. Sher played a critical role in the development and implementation of the Science Citation IndexT and other ISIT products. Trained as a biochemist, statistician, and linguist, Sher brought a unique combination of talents to ISI as Director of Quality Control and Director of Research and Development. His talents as a teacher and mentor evoked loyalty. He was a particularly inventive but self-taught programmer. In addition to the SCI,T Social Sciences Citation Index,T and Arts and Humanities Citation Index,T Sher was involved with the development of the first commercial SDI system, the Automatic Subject Citation Alert, now called Research Alert,T and Request-A-Print Cards. Together we developed the journal impact factor and the Journal Citation Reports.T Sher was also the inventor of the SYSTABAR System of coding references and Sherhand. He was involved in key reports on citation-based historiography, forecasting Nobel prizes, and served as a referee for JASIS over a 20-year period.