I personally also prefer 施一公 to 张明杰 a little bit as far as academic
achievement is concerned. However, I want to point out some differences,
which complicates the literal comparison. 1) 张明杰 has been extremely
productive at HKUST and 施一公 has been extremely productive at Princeton. I
really can not think of anyone in China who is comparable with 张明杰.
However, I can point out more than a dozen in US, whose achievements are
comparable with 施一公.
2) 张明杰 has been using NMR as the primary tool in his early days and 施一
公 has always been using X-ray. It is harder for NMR studies to be published
in CNS than X-ray ones. That is why 张明杰 has mostly NSMB and Molecular
cell papers until recently when he also uses X-ray.
3) 张明杰 has a very clear theme focusing on PDZ domains all the time and
only extended to other fields lately and probably due to collaboration or
marginal relevance in synapsis. 施一公 only has a clear theme, focusing
apoptosis pathway, in the early days and has been hunting around ever since.
In summary, the difference between 张明杰 and 施一公 is not too much if
every factor is considered.