The Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies (KRSS) is proud to announce that three of its professors have been recognized in Stanford/Elsevier’s World’s Top 2% Scientists list, released on September 19, 2025.
This prestigious ranking evaluates both career-long impact and single-year impact, based on citation data, authorship roles, and composite research influence scores across 22 fields and 174 subfields. The recognition highlights both sustained scholarly contributions and emerging influence in recent years.
(From Left to Right: David Bassett, Zan Gao, Edward Howley, Craig Wrisberg)
Honorees from KRSS include:
- Zan Gao, Department Head – Ranked #95,244 for Career Impact and #31,492 for 2024 Impact (Subfields: Sport Sciences, Public Health, Clinical Medicine).
- David Bassett, Professor Emeritus – Ranked #12,505 for Career Impact and #10,571 for 2024 Impact (Subfields: Sport Sciences, Public Health, Clinical Medicine).
- Edward Howley, Professor Emeritus – Ranked #108,396 for Career Impact and #177,514 for 2024 Impact (Subfields: Sport Sciences, Physiology, Clinical Medicine).
All three have appeared on Stanford’s Top 2% list for four consecutive years, underscoring KRSS’s global reputation for excellence in kinesiology research and its commitment to advancing health, sport, and physical activity worldwide.
The Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists list, formally known as the Science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators, ranks researchers globally based on their citation impact. This comprehensive database evaluates scholarly influence using a set of standardized metrics, including:
- Total citations
- h-index
- Co-authorship adjusted hm-index
- Citations based on authorship position (single, first, and last author)
- Composite citation indicator (c-score)
The ranking is determined by a composite citation score (c-score), which integrates six key metrics to provide a balanced measure of scholarly impact. This score is calculated using a logarithmic formula that normalizes each metric to ensure comparability across disciplines and career stages.
Composite Indicator (C-Score) Formula
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Acronyms the following six metrics:
- NC – Total number of citations
- H – h-index
- Hm – Co-authorship adjusted hm-index
- NCS – Citations to papers where the author is single author
- NCSF – Citations to papers where the author is first author
- NCSFL – Citations to papers where the author is last author
Each metric is log-transformed and normalized by the maximum log value observed across all scientists in the dataset.
Additional Considerations
- The formula is applied separately for career-long impact and single-year impact.
- Rankings are computed with and without self-citations.
- Scientists are classified into 22 fields and 174 subfields using the Science-Metrix classification.
- Inclusion in the list requires either:
- Being among the top 100,000 scientists by c-score, or
- Ranking in the top 2% of their subfield.
Data Source
All metrics are derived from Scopus author profiles, and the latest version of the dataset (Version 8, published September 2025) is available here:
🔗 Stanford Top 2% Scientists Database – Elsevier Digital Commons
https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/8