481 PolyU scholars ranked among World’s Top 2% Most-cited Scientists 2026

(12 October 2026) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has achieved outstanding results in the latest list of the World’s Top 2% Most-cited Scientists 2026, compiled by Stanford University. Notably, 274 scholars were included based on their career-long citation impact. Together with the scholars named for their single-year citation impact, a total of 481 PolyU scholars have been recognised this year. This places PolyU second among Hong Kong’s universities in terms of the number of scholars listed, underscoring the international recognition of the University’s research excellence.

The career-long citation impact is calculated based on citations to scholars’ publications from 1960 to 2025. PolyU has the highest number of top 2% most-cited scientists worldwide in the sub-fields of Building and Construction, Operations Research, and Sport, Leisure and Tourism. The University leads in Hong Kong with the most top 2% most-cited scientists across 27 sub-fields^, including Building and Construction; Materials; Energy; Civil Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Operations Research; Nursing; Optoelectronics and Photonics; Languages and Linguistics; Sport, Leisure and Tourism; Mechanical Engineering and Transports; Logistics and Transportation; and Ophthalmology and Optometry.

Six PolyU scholars rank among the global top 10 in their respective fields, including:

Scholar	Subfield	Rank in Subfield (Global)
Ir Prof. C.S. POON Michael Anson Professor in Civil Engineering Distinguished Research Professor	Building and Construction	6
Prof. Jin-Guang TENG PolyU President Chair Professor of Structural Engineering	Civil Engineering	7
Ir Prof. T.C. Edwin CHENG Dean, Faculty of Business Fung Yiu King – Wing Hang Bank Professor in Business Administration Chair Professor of Management	Operations Research	7
Prof. ZHU Zi-Qiang Chair Professor of Electrical Machines and Control Systems	Electrical and Electronic Engineering	7
Prof. Qihao WENG Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence	Geological and Geomatics Engineering	7
Prof. Jean Claude Georges BÜNZLI Adjunct Professor of Department of Chemistry	Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry	9

In addition, 21 PolyU scholars are ranked among the global top 50, with PolyU having the highest number of scholars ranked in the global top 10 and top 20 among local institutions.

The World’s Top 2% Most-cited Scientists is compiled by Stanford University, covering 20 subject fields and 174 sub-fields, and is divided into two lists in relation to scholars’ career-long citation and single-year citation impact, recognising their long-term and recent research impact.

Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, said, “The number of PolyU scholars included in the list once again ranks second among Hong Kong institutions, providing strong recognition of their outstanding achievements in advancing knowledge creation and generating significant academic impact. As an innovative world-class university, PolyU is committed to attracting and nurturing top research talent while driving impactful frontier research. As PolyU approaches its 90th anniversary next year, it has launched ‘90 Scholars for PolyU’s 90th Anniversary’ recruitment initiative and targets to attract 90 world-leading scholars to join PolyU over the next three years, laying a solid talent foundation for the University’s future research breakthroughs. PolyU will continue to leverage its strengths in interdisciplinary research, actively promote the translation of research outcomes, and strongly support Hong Kong’s development as an international innovation and technology hub. We will address national development needs and global challenges through innovation and technology, benefitting Hong Kong, our Nation, and the world.”

^ Including sub-fields in which PolyU is tied with other local institutions

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