Proving that a period of somewhat below-par performance during the late 1980s and early 90s was not indicative of things to come, the number of papers produced by Australian researchers has doubled over the last 20 years, from 10,000 papers in 1981 to over 20,000 in 2002. Leading this incredible achievement were 17 Australian researchers who were presented with Citation Laureate awards by Thomson ISI at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia on Wednesday, March 24, 2004.
 
More than 250 attendees were present to celebrate the fact that across 20 leading disciplines during the 1998-2002 period, Thomson ISI data shows that Australia exceeded the world's impact in 12 fields, met the average in three fields and was slightly below average in five.