The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has achieved remarkable success in Stanford University's latest World's Top 2% Scientists 2025 list. A total of 204 scholars were recognised for their single-year impact, while 181 were acknowledged for their career-long impact, marking increases of 15% and 7%, respectively, compared to last year. These achievements underscore HKUST's significant academic and research prowess as a global top 50 university, dedicated to making an internationally recognised impact.
14 HKUST scholars were ranked among the top 10 in the world in their sub-fields for both single-year and career-long impact, including (ordered by Single-year Impact Rank):
| HKUST Scholar | Single-year Impact Rank | Career-long Impact Rank | Sub-field |
Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai
| 1 | 2 | Geological and Geomatics Engineering Civil Engineering |
Prof. DING Cunsheng
| 1 | 2 | Networking & Telecommunications Computation Theory & Mathematics |
Prof. XIE Yuan
| 1 | 5 | Computer Hardware & Architecture Design Practice & Management |
Prof. YANG Hai
| 2 | 2 | Logistics & Transportation Operations Research |
Prof. David LAM Chuen-Chun
| 3 | 3 | Materials Electrical & Electronic Engineering |
Prof. CHEN Ying-Ju
| 4 | 7 | Operations Research Marketing |
Prof. XU Kun
| 5 | 6 | Applied Mathematics Aerospace & Aeronautics |
Prof. James THONG Yeong-Liang
| 6 | 6 | Information Systems Operations Research |
Prof. Khaled BEN LETAIEF
| 6 | 8 | Networking & Telecommunications Electrical & Electronic Engineering |
Prof. Lionel NI Ming-Shuan
| 8 | 6 | Networking & Telecommunications Distributed Computing |
Prof. CHANG Chih-Chen
| 8 | 7 | Civil Engineering Optoelectronics & Photonics |
Prof. ZHANG Fumin
| 9 | 8 | Industrial Engineering & Automation Oceanography |
Prof. CAI Yongshun
| 10 | 8 | Cultural Studies International Relations |
Prof. Tim CHENG Kwang-Ting
| 10 | 9 | Computer Hardware & Architecture Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing |
In the career-long impact list, HKUST scholars span 46 sub-fields in the top 2%. Furthermore, the University leads in Hong Kong as the only institution with top-100 scholars in the sub-fields of "Networking and Telecommunications", "Aerospace & Aeronautics", and "Computer Hardware and Architecture".
In the latest single-year impact ranking, HKUST excelled in 49 sub-fields, with scholars ranked in the top 2% globally. The University leads among Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities in the number of top 2% scientists for single-year impact in the fields of "Information and Communication Technologies" and "Physics and Astronomy".
HKUST will celebrate its 35th anniversary next year, marking a significant milestone. Looking ahead, the University remains committed to fostering innovative education, research excellence, and impactful knowledge transfer. HKUST will continue to strengthen collaboration among government, industry, academia, research, and investment sectors, reinforcing Hong Kong's position as an international innovation and technology center, contributing to the high-quality development of the nation.
The World's Top 2% Scientists list, compiled by a research team at Stanford University, identifies over 100,000 leading scientists worldwide across 22 disciplines and 174 sub-fields. The list is based on a composite of indicators, including total citations, citations of single-authored works, the H-index, and adjustments of co-authorship. It features two categories: one for career-long impact (1960–2024) and another for single-year impact (2024), recognizing both lifelong scholarly achievements and recent research excellence.
About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (https://hkust.edu.hk/) is a world-class university known for its innovative education, research excellence, and impactful knowledge transfer. With a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy approach, HKUST was ranked 6th in the QS Asia University Rankings 2026, 3rd in the Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2024, and 19th globally and 1st in Hong Kong in the Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings 2025. Thirteen HKUST subjects were ranked among the world’s top 50 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, with “Data Science and Artificial Intelligence” coming in 17th worldwide and first in Hong Kong. Our graduates are highly competitive, consistently ranking among the world’s top 30 most sought-after employees. In terms of research and entrepreneurship, over 80% of our work was rated “internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of the Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. As of July 2025, HKUST members have founded over 1,900 active start-ups, including 10 Unicorns and 17 exits (IPO or M&A).
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