Prolific Spanish chemist suspended over multiple affiliations

One of Spain’s most highly cited chemists, Rafael Luque, has been suspended by the University of Córdoba, reportedly for 13 years. The suspension was a consequence of taking positions at other institutions without permission, according to Luque.

Since 2019, Luque has listed King Saud University in Saudi Arabia as his primary affiliation, while keeping his position in Spain. This resulted in a sharp drop in the position of the University of Córdoba in the Shanghai Ranking, an index that aims to measure the quality of higher education institutions.

After the news of his suspension appeared in El País, many researchers raised concerns about Luque’s work. The number of publications he has authored is unusually high, and includes a large fraction of sporadic co-authors, and the quality of dozens of his articles has been questioned.