Top HKU Researchers in Research.com Rankings 2024
— by Yijing He, Zesen Gao, Florence Ng
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) takes pride in its distinguished scholars and researchers who excel across various fields of expertise. In our previous blog post, we reported a brief analysis on how HKU researchers were named in 2022 on an educational platform Research.com.
This year, Research.com has announced its third edition of the best scientists ranking in 26 disciplines, based on data retrieved from multiple sources including OpenAlex and CrossRef in November 2023. 237 HKU researchers have been named in the rankings for their respective disciplines. Compared with our previous analysis, the list of researchers has grown substantially with an additional 43 researchers since 2022.
Figure 1 – Numbers of Top HKU Researchers Named in Research.com from 2022 to 2024
Read this webpage for more information on the methodology adopted by Research.com in its best scientists ranking.
Responsible Use of Research Metrics
The rankings available on Research.com are conducted on the basis of a researcher’s Discipline H-index (D-index), which is calculated almost entirely based on quantitative data that could be inherently biased, and not equivalent to “quality”. In addition, the methodology and data sources announced on the webpage are not entirely transparent, and hence leaves uncertainty in attempts to replicate the results.
Considering these concerns, we would like to emphasize the appropriate use of quantitative-based metrics and the rankings derived from those data. You are recommended to read our latest blog post on the responsible use of research metrics before reading the analysis presented in this post to be aware of potential misuse.
Overall Statistics
This part of the post will highlight a few notable insights from the most recent Research.com rankings on best scientists.
Among the 237 HKU scholars named on the platform, 33 individuals have been ranked in more than one area, culminating in 270 records. This represents a significant increase of 55 records compared to 2022. Meanwhile, HKU researchers have been ranked in 24 disciplines this year, which marks a three-discipline increase compared to 2022. This expansion implied a wider recognition of HKU scholars’ continued growth and diversification of research efforts.
Figure 2 – Numbers of Records for the Ranked HKU Researchers from 2022 to 2024
Of the 270 records, Medicine (48, 17.78%), Computer Science (29, 10.74%), Microbiology (20, 7.41%), and Social Sciences and Humanities (20, 7.41%) are the top disciplines with the highest number of ranked HKU scholars.
Figure 3 – Number of Ranked HKU Researchers by Discipline
*Data retrieved on 13 June 2024
National Ranking
Each scholar has been ranked within their respective fields, both nationally and internationally. In the national ranking, 7 HKU scholars ranked the first in the nation, 24 ranked within the top 2-10, 68 ranked between top 11 and 50, and 41 ranked from top 51 to 100.
Figure 4 – Number of HKU Top Researchers Named in the National Ranking
Specifically, Professor Guan Yi, Professor Mak Tak Wah, Professor Alec Stone Sweet, Professor Yip Paul Siu Fai, Professor Yuen Kwok Yung, Professor Zhang Xiang, and Professor Zhao Guochun have distinctively achieved first place in the national ranking of Immunology, Molecular Biology, Law, Social Sciences and Humanities, Microbiology, Physics, Earth Science respectively. (Table 1)
Click on their names below to view their research output and publications on their researcher profiles via the HKU Scholars Hub.
Table 1 – Researchers Ranked First in National Ranking (By Disciplines)
| Name | Department | Discipline |
| Professor Guan, Yi | School of Public Health | Immunology |
| Professor Mak, Tak Wah | Department of Pathology, School of Clinical Medicine | Molecular Biology |
| Professor Stone Sweet, Alec | Department of Law | Law |
| Professor Yip, Paul Siu Fai | Department of Social Work and Social Administration | Social Sciences and Humanities |
| Professor Yuen, Kwok Yung | Department of Microbiology | Microbiology |
| Professor Zhang, Xiang | President’s Office | Physics |
| Professor Zhao, Guochun | Department of Earth Sciences | Earth Science |
*Names in alphabetical order
*Data retrieved on 13 June 2024
World Ranking
In addition to the national rankings, it is remarkable that a total of 12 HKU scholars are being ranked in top 100 from 10 different disciplines’ international ranking. (Table 2)
Table 2 – HKU Researchers Ranked Top 100 in World Ranking (By Disciplines)
| Name | Department | Discipline |
| Professor Che, Chi Ming | Department of Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Professor Dai, Hongjie | Department of Chemistry | Materials Science |
| Professor Gong, Peng | President’s Office | Environmental Science |
| Professor Mak, Tak Wah | Department of Pathology, School of Clinical Medicine | Molecular Biology |
| Professor Stoddart, J. Fraser | Department of Chemistry | Chemistry |
| Professor Stone Sweet, Alec | Department of Law | Law |
| Professor Sun, Min | Department of Earth Sciences | Earth Science |
| Professor Tang, Chuyang | Department of Civil Engineering | Engineering and Technology |
| Professor Yip, Paul Siu Fai | Department of Social Work and Social Administration | Social Sciences and Humanities |
| Professor Yuen, Kwok Yung | Department of Microbiology | Microbiology |
| Professor Zhang, Xiang | President’s Office | Physics |
| Professor Zhao, Guochun | Department of Earth Sciences | Earth Science |
*Names in alphabetical order
*Data retrieved on 13 June 2024
While rankings can be subject to various types of uncertainty, e.g., indicators used may not represent the idea which users are interested in, we are glad to witness a growing attention and recognition towards research conducted by HKU scholars.
