Pune: Over 70 scientists and faculty members from the city are among the world’s top 2% scientists, according to the data compiled jointly by Stanford University and Elsevier as per citations received during the calendar year 2024. The maximum names are from Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), followed by Symbiosis International University, National Chemical Laboratory, and Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Iucaa), says the list published on September 19.“We are happy and proud that 20 of our members secured a place in the top 2% scientists’ list worldwide. This underscores the university’s commitment to basic and applied research. Most of the people on the list dedicate themselves to teaching, while also carrying out valuable research for the benefit of society, which is truly commendable,” said Suresh Gosavi, the vice-chancellor of SPPU.Debarati Chatterjee, professor at Iucaa, said while it felt good to be recognised, “fundamental research is more than that. You just can’t put a measure on knowledge and discovery”.Scientists and faculty members from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, Armed Forces Medical College, Dr D Y Patil Dental College and Hospital, KEM Hospital, Pulmocare Research and Education Foundation, Dr DY Patil Medical College, Pune Institute of Business Management, Agharkar Research Institute, National Institute of Virology, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, et al also featured in the list.“It feels good to be recognised. It also brings respect to the whole team because research is always teamwork,” said Chandrashekhar Rode, emeritus scientist, NCL.According to the official website, this list of top-cited scientists provides standardised information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted h-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score).“We see all this as just numbers. Science is not about making it to lists; what truly matters is when research brings real benefit to society,” said Syed Dastager, senior principal scientist, NCL.Vidya Yeravdekar, pro vice-chancellor, Symbiosis International, said the research culture was inculcated in the university and pointed out that the vice-chancellor of the university, Ramakrishnan Raman, was also on the list.“We are proud to share that 19 of our faculty members have been featured in the prestigious Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists List 2025. This recognition places our researchers among the world’s most impactful contributors to science, technology and innovation — and underscores the growing academic footprint of Symbiosis at both national and global levels. Of the 19, two are from our Nagpur campus and one from our Noida campus,” said Yeravdekar.
