48 researchers in Stanford's top 2% list: how Jadavpur beat every other state university
By TUF News Desk · Published 17 October 2026 · 3 min read
Fact-checked against 2+ independent sources · Editorial policy
IISc Bengaluru led the 2026 Stanford-Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists list, released October 7, with 139 researchers. But the real talking point sat further down the table. Jadavpur University put 48 researchers on the career-long list, more than any other state university in the country. Careers360’s analysis of the two lists, career-long and single-year, counts 63 unique Jadavpur researchers in total, with 35 appearing on both.
What the list measures
The list’s formal title is “Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators.” It is compiled by Stanford professor John P. A. Ioannidis and colleagues from citation data in Elsevier’s Scopus database, and the 2026 edition (Version 9) is published openly on the Elsevier Data Repository. See the full 2026 dataset.
Scientists qualify via a composite c-score in the global top 100,000 or a place in the top 2% of their subfield. The score blends citations, the h-index, and co-authorship adjustments. Two lists come out each year, one for career-long impact and one for a single year’s performance.
The India numbers are down
Indian institutions had 3,898 researchers on the 2026 career-long list, drawn from 1,185 institutions. That is a considerable drop from 6,239 in the 2025 edition. After IISc’s 139 came IIT Delhi with 114 and IIT Kharagpur with 97. Jadavpur, with 48, placed eighth among Indian institutions and first among state universities.
Who the Jadavpur names are
Ranjan Ganguly, a Power Engineering faculty member who made the single-year list, told Careers360 the research culture matured after 2005 even when the instruments stayed modest. His own work is on energy and water conservation: cooling-tower efficiency with the Damodar Valley Corporation and solar desalination in the Sundarbans.
Kunal Roy of Pharmaceutical Technology, on both lists, told Careers360 he ranks first in India in the medicinal and biomolecular chemistry subfield; the one social sciences name is Kaushik Roy of the History department.
Funded by grants, not endowments
The faculty Careers360 spoke to were blunt about money. Newly appointed researchers usually have to win external grants before they can build a lab, and the university leans heavily on extramural funding because institutional resources are limited.
What applicants should take from this
Citation lists are not a teaching quality ranking. What they signal is where active research conversations happen. If a research career, a funded PhD, or published mentors matter to you, the density of cited researchers in a department is a useful extra check alongside NIRF ranks and placement records.
Jadavpur’s strength here cuts across engineering, chemistry, AI, materials, and pharmacy, and its faculty publish in volume despite thin budgets. The Jadavpur University profile has the basics on courses and admissions, the NIRF rankings guide explains how the official Indian rankings differ from citation lists, and the guide to choosing a university in India lists the other checks to run before you decide. The university’s own announcements are on its official website.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Stanford-Elsevier top 2% scientists list?
A citation database compiled by Stanford’s John P. A. Ioannidis and colleagues from Elsevier’s Scopus data, ranking researchers by a composite c-score, with separate career-long and single-year lists.
How many Jadavpur University researchers made the 2026 list?
48 in the career-long list, the most from any state university in India. Careers360’s analysis of both lists counts 63 unique JU researchers in total.
How does Jadavpur compare with the IITs on the 2026 list?
IISc Bengaluru led India with 139 researchers, followed by IIT Delhi with 114 and IIT Kharagpur with 97. Jadavpur’s 48 put it eighth among Indian institutions and first among state universities.
Which departments did the Jadavpur researchers come from?
Mechanical engineering, chemical physics, AI and image processing, medicinal and biomolecular chemistry, materials, and electrical engineering, with History the only social science department represented.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Stanford-Elsevier top 2% scientists list?
A citation database compiled by Stanford's John P. A. Ioannidis and colleagues from Elsevier's Scopus data. It ranks researchers by a composite c-score across 22 fields and 174 subfields, publishing separate career-long and single-year lists.
How many Jadavpur University researchers made the 2026 list?
48 in the career-long list, the most from any state university in India. Careers360's analysis of both the career-long and single-year lists counts 63 unique JU researchers in total.
How does Jadavpur compare with the IITs on the 2026 list?
IISc Bengaluru led India with 139 researchers, followed by IIT Delhi with 114 and IIT Kharagpur with 97. Jadavpur's 48 put it eighth among Indian institutions and first among state universities.
Which departments did the Jadavpur researchers come from?
The names span mechanical engineering, chemical physics, AI and image processing, medicinal and biomolecular chemistry, materials and electrical engineering, with History the only social science department represented.
Sources: Careers360, News18, EdexLive