Forty-five researchers from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) have been recognised among the world’s top two per cent of scientists in 2026, in the globally watched rankings compiled by Stanford University and Elsevier. The university announced the achievement on 28 October, calling it a landmark moment for research in Pakistan.
The recognition places NUST’s scholars among more than 100,000 leading researchers worldwide whose published work has achieved the highest citation impact in their fields. It is one of the largest single-year hauls for any Pakistani university on the list, and underlines how quickly the Islamabad-based institution has built an international research profile.
What the Stanford-Elsevier ranking actually measures
The list — formally the Stanford-Elsevier database of standardised citation indicators — is not a popularity contest. It is built from Scopus publication data and ranks researchers on a composite of citation counts, h-index scores, and authorship positions across scientific disciplines. The 2026 edition, published by Elsevier on 7 October 2026, recognises citation impact during the calendar year 2025, and is curated under the oversight of Professor John P.A. Ioannidis of Stanford University.
Because the methodology is standardised across fields, a materials scientist, a computer scientist and a biomedical researcher can be compared on equal footing. Making the top two per cent means a researcher’s work is being cited and built upon by peers around the world at an exceptional rate.
Sixteen researchers make the list year after year
Perhaps the most telling detail in NUST’s announcement is not the headline figure of 45, but the number beneath it: 16 of the university’s researchers have now featured in the rankings for successive years. A one-off appearance can reflect a single breakthrough paper; repeated appearances signal sustained, high-impact research over time.
That consistency is what research administrators prize most. It suggests NUST is not just producing occasional standout studies, but maintaining research groups whose output remains internationally relevant year after year.
Who made the cut
The university published the full list of its 45 recognised researchers. Among them are Dr Miraj Mustafa, Dr Mubasher Jamil, Dr Rafia Mumtaz, Dr Haider Abbas, Dr Tayyaba Noor, Dr Muhammad Usman Akram, Dr Safia Akram, Dr Iftikhar Hussain Gul, Dr Rizwan Ul Haq, Dr Asif Hussain Khoja, Dr Muhammad Taqi Mehran, Dr Adeel Waqas, Dr Khursheed Muhammad and Dr Zaib Jahan, alongside colleagues from the university’s schools of engineering, computing, natural sciences and management.
The recognised scholars span the disciplines NUST is known for — from artificial intelligence, signal processing and cyber security to materials science, chemical and mechanical engineering, nanotechnology and biomedical research — reflecting a research footprint that now stretches well beyond any single department.
The trajectory: from 23 to the mid-forties
NUST’s own records show how steep the climb has been. The university had 23 researchers on the list in 2022, rising to 31 in 2023, 43 in 2024 and 47 in the 2025 edition. The 2026 figure of 45 keeps the university firmly in the mid-forties band it has now occupied for three consecutive years.
That plateau, if anything, is a sign of maturity: maintaining roughly 45 researchers in the world’s top two per cent across successive editions is harder than a single-year spike, and it puts NUST’s research output on a footing few institutions in the region can match.
A moment of pride — and a signal to young researchers
NUST Rector Dr Muhammad Zahid Latif congratulated the researchers, saying their achievement reflected the quality of scholarship at the university and was a source of pride for both the institution and Pakistan. University officials framed the recognition as evidence that Pakistani academics are contributing meaningfully to international research, not merely participating in it.
The timing adds context. In the QS World University Rankings 2025-26, NUST stood at 371st globally — and the Stanford-Elsevier showing suggests the research engine behind that ranking is still gaining power. For students considering research careers in Pakistan, the message is hard to miss: world-class science is being done at home, and it is being noticed abroad.
Sources: The News, Bloom Pakistan. See also our coverage of NUST-linked ChipXprt’s PKR 50 million seed round and NUST admissions 2026.
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