In 2019, researchers from Stanford University (Ioannidis et al. 2019) published a ranking of the world's most-cited scholars. This was highly acclaimed for its methodology and scope because it combined various citation indicators calculated based on data from Scopus (Elsevier).
In the most recent edition (dated October 19, 2021), the freely accessible, comprehensive dataset of the Stanford study shows which scholars are among the top 2% of each individual scientific field in terms of citations for 22 disciplines with 176 subfields. The study takes into account the fact that citation densities can vary considerably between individual disciplines – and also makes researchers at the top of their field within a rather low-citation area more visible.
The dataset is published in two versions: one considering all citations between 1996 and 2020 and the other considering only citations in 2020.
118 Stuttgart scientists are among the most cited researchers in the world
The Stanford dataset on citations in 2020 lists a total of 118 scientists from the University of Stuttgart who are among the top 2% of the world’s most cited in their field. They are distributed as follows among 11 (of 22) disciplines:
| Discipline | Number of scientists at the University of Stuttgart in the top 2% |
| Biomedical Research | 7 |
| Built Environment & Design | 2 |
| Chemistry | 15 |
| Clinical Medicine | 1 |
| Economics & Business | 1 |
| Enabling & Strategic Technologies | 16 |
| Engineering | 21 |
| Information & Communication Technologies | 10 |
| Mathematics & Statistics | 5 |
| Physics & Astronomy | 38 |
| Psychology & Cognitive Sciences | 2 |
| Total number | 118 |
Strong individual performances in a global comparison: Top rankings of Stuttgart scientists in terms of citations in 2020
What does it look like numerically to be among the 2% of the world’s most cited people in a field when that 2% includes 190,000 people? We cannot list all 118 scientists of the University of Stuttgart who made it into the “Who's Who” of the top area for citations in 2020. But some examples from different fields of science are given below.
How to read the table: "Scientist … ranks … out of a total of … most cited scientists worldwide in the field of …"
| Wissenschaftler*in | belegt Platz ... von weltweit insgesamt...meistzitierten Wissenschaftler*innen im Bereich … |
| Seifert, Udo | 36 von 49117 in Fluids & Plasmas |
| Menges, Achim | 2 von 1531 in Architecture |
| Bulling, Andreas | 47 von 14266 in Human Factors (Psychology & Cognitive Sciences) |
| Bürkner, Paul | 38 von 15.245 in Clinical Psychology |
| Werner, Hans Joachim | 52 von 92.738 in Chemical |
| Miehe, Stefan | 13 von 17.766 in Applied Mathematics |
More names of top-cited scientists can be found in the database.
The University would like to congratulate these and all other researchers on their success!
Source and further information
Current Stanford/Elsevier 2020 citation database as of October 19, 2021
