Ten distinguished scholars from APSS have been recognised in the latest rankings of the World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists 2026 compiled by Stanford University, covering 20 subject fields and 174 sub-fields, and divided into two lists in relation to scholars’ career-long citation and single-year citation impact, recognising their long-term and recent research impact. This prestigious global accolade underscores the Department’s outstanding academic excellence, international research impact, and continued commitment to advancing knowledge in the social sciences.
In the single-year impact category, ten APSS academic staff members received recognition for their exceptional research citations over the past year:
Single year:
Prof. Xue BAI, Professor
Prof. Edward CHAN, Chair Professor
Prof. Jenny CHAN, Associate Professor
Prof. Juan CHEN, Professor
Prof. Xiangen HU, Chair Professor
Prof. Karita KAN, Associate Professor
Prof. Janet LEUNG, Professor
Prof. Daniel T.L. SHEK, Chair Professor
Prof. Elsie YAN, Professor
Prof. Hairong YAN, Honorary Professor
Furthermore, four of these scholars were also named in the career-long impact category, acknowledging their sustained influence and significant lifelong contributions to their respective academic fields.
Career-long:
Prof. Edward CHAN, Chair Professor
Prof. Xiangen HU, Chair Professor
Prof. Daniel T.L. SHEK, Chair Professor
Prof. Hairong YAN, Honorary Professor
This prestigious international recognition highlights the dedication of APSS faculty members in conducting rigorous, impactful research that addresses pressing societal challenges. APSS extends its heartiest congratulations to all awardees for their scholarly achievements and continued dedication to research excellence.
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.
