Nearly 260 CityUHK scholars named among the World’s Top 2% Scientists 2025, reflecting the University’s academic and research excellence
City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has achieved remarkable international recognition, with 256 scholars included in the “World’s Top 2% Scientists 2025”, published by Stanford University, an increase of nearly 50 compared to that of last year. Notably, two CityUHK scholars are ranked among the global top 1,000, representing two of the five scholars from Hong Kong, China on this elite list. This achievement reflects CityUHK’s status as one of the world’s top 100 universities, with its academic and research excellence continually recognised internationally.
Among those listed are Professor Freddy Boey, President and University Distinguished Professor of CityUHK; Professor Lee Chun-sing, Provost and Deputy President; Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise); Professor Anderson Shum Ho-cheung, Vice-President (Research); and Professor Chan Chi-hou, Vice-President (Community Engagement).
Over 230,000 scholars worldwide were selected this year. Among the universities funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC), only five scholars made it into the global top 1,000. CityUHK secured two of these spots, with Professor Zhang Hua, Herman Hu Chair Professor of Nanomaterials, and Professor Chen Guanrong, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Chair Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of Department of Electrical Engineering, both ranking among the global top 700. Additionally, 15 CityUHK scholars ranked among the top 50 globally in their respective fields, and 31 scholars ranked among the top 100 globally in their fields.
When categorised by college and school, the College of Engineering led with 121 scholars listed among the “World’s Top 2% Scientists 2025”. Professor Chen Guanrong, along with Professor Liew Kim Meow, Yeung Kin Man Chair Professor of Sustainable Engineering and Chair Professor of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, were ranked 6th and 9th globally in their respective disciplines. The College of Science had 35 scholars on the list, the College of Computing had 24, the School of Energy and Environment had 16 and the College of Biomedical Sciences, established in early 2025, had 15 scholars recognised.
CityUHK scholars are dedicated to the pursuit of innovation and excellence. Their research projects are widely recognised by their global peers and aim to provide pioneering innovative solutions to pressing local and global issues. The University is also committed to promoting international academic exchange and research collaboration. Since the launch of the “Distinguished Visiting Professors Scheme” in 2023, over 50 renowned scholars have visited CityUHK, where they collaborate with faculty and students to advance interdisciplinary scientific and academic research.
The list of the “World’s Top 2% Scientists 2025” is compiled by a research team at Stanford University. It ranks scholars based on key data from Scopus, the world’s largest abstract and citation database, covering 22 academic fields and 174 sub-fields. The rankings are based on the number of citations of the scholars’ academic publications, considering both their career-long impact and the impact of their work in a single year.