Global knowledge flows and dynamics of scientists` priorities: from rolling process to labor protection in metallurgy

The article presents a rationale for scientometric assessments of scientists’ performance over a long period of their activity. The aim of the work was to determine the ability of representatives of the scientific community to successfully operate within the framework of the scenario of advanced innovative development. A review of the most popular approaches used to determine the effectiveness of scientists’ activities is provided, which include expertise, scientometrics, and scientific communication networks. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are highlighted. The article substantiates a methodology for comparing time series of significant publications by authors with global knowledge flows characterizing the external environment and the process of changing technological paradigms. A group of scientometric indicators is proposed that generally characterize the effectiveness of long-term activities of scientists based on the results of attracting scientometric information. The application of the procedure is demonstrated by the example of analyzing the achievements of V. N. Brinza, a prominent metallurgist, professor, and doctor of engineering sciences. In 2024, it will be 100 years since his birth. During his scientific activity from 1957 to 1990, he successfully realized his potential in solving problems for more than 10 scientific areas in the theory and technology of rolling processes, as well as labor protection in ferrous metallurgy. The scientist’s pronounced abilities to foresee the prospects of alternative thematic areas, the ability to develop several thematic areas in parallel, the speed of changing target priorities, the significance of the results obtained against the background of global thematic knowledge flows, and the high intensity of elaboration of thematic areas have been confirmed. The methodology is recommended for assessing the effectiveness of scientists and preserving the unique experience of previous generations of researchers.