USU PUBLIC RELATIONS – Six researchers from Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) have been included in the Top 2% of World Scientists list, a ranking of scientists compiled by a research team from Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier. This achievement reflects the citation records of USU researchers’ scholarly works in a ranking based on citation impact indicators.

Based on the available data, six USU researchers are included in the list, namely:

1. Prof. Dr. Eng. Himsar Ambarita, S.T., M.T. (“Career-Long” Data)
   Scopus ID: Scopus Profile
   Profile: USU Faculty of Engineering Profile
2. Prof. Drs. Mahyuddin K.M. Nasution, M.IT., Ph.D. (“Career-Long” Data)
   Scopus ID: Scopus Profile
   Profile: USU Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology Profile
3. Prof. Dr. Apri Heri Iswanto, S.Hut., M.Si. (“Single-Year” Data)
   Scopus ID: Scopus Profile
   Profile: USU Faculty of Forestry Profile
4. Prof. Mohammad Basyuni, S.Hut., M.Si., Ph.D. (“Single-Year” Data)
   Scopus ID: Scopus Profile
   Profile: USU Faculty of Forestry Profile
5. Prof. Saharman Gea, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D. (“Single-Year” Data)
   Scopus ID: Scopus Profile
   Profile: USU Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Profile
6. Prof. Dr. Iskandar Muda (“Career-Long” Data)
   Scopus ID: Scopus Profile
   Profile: USU Faculty of Economics and Business Profile

The six researchers represent diverse fields of expertise. Prof. Dr. Himsar Ambarita is listed in the field of Enabling & Strategic Technologies, particularly materials. Prof. Mahyuddin K. M. Nasution, Ph.D., is listed in information and communication technology, particularly artificial intelligence and image processing. Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Apri Heri Iswanto and Prof. M. Basyuni, Ph.D., are listed in the engineering field, particularly mechanical engineering and transportation.

Prof. Saharman Gea, Ph.D., is listed in the field of physics and astronomy, while Prof. Dr. Iskandar Muda has a scholarly publication record that can be traced through his academic profile.

Ranking Based on Citation Impact

The Top 2% of World Scientists list uses bibliometric data from Scopus to assess the citation impact of researchers’ scholarly works. Therefore, the ranking is not based solely on the number of publications but also takes into account various indicators reflecting the influence of scholarly works in the academic literature.

In explaining the ranking methodology, Prof. Dr. Apri Heri Iswanto stated that the assessment uses several indicators summarized in a composite score or c-score.

“The ranking does not only consider the number of publications produced by a researcher but also takes into account the citation impact of published scholarly works. The assessment uses several bibliometric indicators that reflect the influence of a researcher’s scientific publications.”

The indicators used to calculate the c-score include total citations, the h-index, the hm-index, which is adjusted based on the number of authors, as well as citations received when a researcher serves as a single author, first author, and last author.

According to the methodology, the data are drawn from Scopus as a whole, rather than solely from journals published by Elsevier. Publications from various international publishers indexed in Scopus are also included in the assessment database.

Two Categories for Assessing Scientists

The Top 2% of World Scientists ranking divides the assessment into two main categories: career-long impact and single-year impact.

The career-long impact category reflects the citation impact accumulated throughout a scientist’s research career. Meanwhile, the single-year impact category assesses the citation impact received during the most recent calendar year covered by the data used in the ranking.

The distinction between these categories indicates that the assessment takes into account the time span over which citation impact is measured. Therefore, the categories listed should be understood according to the indicators and assessment periods used, rather than as a direct comparison between an entire career and performance in a single year.

This achievement represents a contribution by the USU academic community to the advancement of knowledge through research and scholarly publications. The researchers’ publication records can be traced through their respective Scopus profiles.