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Twenty-six 91���� researchers have been honored for their work by a Stanford University study that looks at the impact of scientists worldwide.

The identifies current faculty who were among the top 2% of all researchers in 2025.

The Stanford research, published annually, creates a database of the most cited scientists across 22 scientific fields and 174 subfields. This methodology results in rankings for more than 249,000 top scientists.

To collate the rankings, the authors of the Stanford study analyze the work of more than six million scientists and rank them based on their career-long or single-year output (as of 2025) within their field of study. The data includes standardized information on the number of publications and various citation metrics that measure the impact of a researcher’s work.

“I share my congratulations with the 91���� faculty members who were named among the very best in the world,” said President Anne D’Alleva. “In addition to being highly productive and innovative scholars and researchers with an international reputation for excellence, these faculty members play a significant role on campus as leaders and mentors, particularly to their colleagues and the graduate students who admire their success. I thank the individuals on this list for their efforts in growing 91����’s status as a preeminent public research university.”

91����’s most influential scientist is SUNY Distinguished Professor M. Stanley Whittingham, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019 for his role in the development of lithium-ion batteries.

Whittingham’s work has inspired three federally funded initiatives led by 91���� that aim to establish upstate New York as a national hub for battery technology innovation.

“The University is fortunate to enjoy such a large group of faculty who are recognized as among the top 2% in their field,” said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Hall. “As a group, their scope of expertise is impressively broad, which speaks to the excellent work being done across the University’s schools and colleges. We celebrate the faculty placed on this list for the tremendous professional accomplishment it is, and we are also grateful to know them here at 91���� as colleagues, friends, and as models of teaching, scholarship, and research.”

Vice President for Research Sheena Murphy added: “We are proud of all our researchers and scholars at 91����, but we are particularly proud of those faculty who have attained disciplinary distinction as demonstrated by such prominent recognition. Citations are a great arbiter of impact, as measured by one's fellow researchers, and it's hard to do better than that.”

Here are 91����’s top researchers, according to the study:

• Jeremy Blackburn (Watson College/Computing)
• Yu Chen (Watson College/Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Seokheun “Sean” Choi (Watson College/Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• David G. Davies (Harpur College/Biological Sciences)
• Safa Elkefi (Watson College/Systems Science and Industrial Engineering)
• Jessica J. Fridrich (Watson College/Electrical and Computer Engineering)
• Carlos Gershenson-Garcia (Watson College/Systems Science and Industrial Engineering)
• Brandon E. Gibb (Harpur College/Psychology)
• Eric P. Hoffman (School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences/Pharmaceutical Sciences)
• Subal C. Kumbhakar (Harpur College/Economics)
• Tim K. Lowenstein (Harpur College/Geological Sciences)
• Elena Roxana Margine (Harpur College/Physics)
• Jason W. Moore (Harpur College/Sociology)
• Fuda Ning (Watson College/Systems Science and Industrial Engineering)
• Thomas J. Pingel (Harpur College/Geography)
• Joshua Ozias Reno (Harpur College/Anthropology)
• Karin Sauer (Harpur College/Biological Sciences)
• Hiroki Sayama (Watson College/Systems Science and Industrial Engineering)
• Cyma Van Petten (Harpur College/Psychology)
• Yuan Wan (Watson College/Biomedical Engineering)
• M. Stanley Whittingham (Harpur College/Chemistry)
• Lijun Yin (Watson College/Computing)
• Thomas Zaslavsky (Harpur College/Mathematics and Statistics)
• Pu Zhang (Watson College/Mechanical Engineering)
• Tao Zhang (School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences/Pharmaceutical Sciences)
• Guangwen Zhou (Watson College/Mechanical Engineering)