A new update of the list of the World’s Top 2% scientists, an international ranking of the world’s most cited scientists in various disciplines, has been released by the Stanford University. Researchers from the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica appear both on the 2021 and the career-long lists.
Stanford University released an update this last November of the list that contains the top 2 per cent of the most-cited scientists in various disciplines. This ranking, considered one of the most prestigious worldwide, is based on the bibliometric information contained in the Scopus database to evaluate scientists for the impact of their citations.
This update in particular includes 6 CRM researchers among the list for the scientific production in 2021; ICREA and UPC-CRM researcher Xavier Cabré, ICREA and UB-CRM researcher Xavier Ros-Oton, ICREA and UAB-CRM researcher Xavier Tolsa, and CRM researchers Tim Myers, Sergey Tikhonov and Álvaro Corral.
Regarding the career-long list, which take into account the scientific production for the entire career of the scientists until 2021, 7 CRM researcher are included. Xavier Cabré, Xavier Tolsa, Álvaro Corral and Tim Myers repeat from the 2021 list, plus Pere Ara (UAB-CRM), Albert Atserias (UPC-CRM) and Josep Masdemont (UPC-CRM).
This classification makes it possible to gather the number of citations and the h index through a composite indicator (“c score”) that calculates the integrated way the scientific impact of each researcher, in terms of citations of their discoveries, the main authorship of the works and their significance for other researchers. It includes the top 2 % of the more than 8 million researchers considered to be active worldwide.
The number of citations of scientific publications is one of the indicators usually applied to assess research impact. This indicator affects other markers, such as the journal impact factor (JIF). Although rankings such as this are significant, it also represents a partial measurement of the significance of researchers and is not the only (nor the most relevant) measurement to evaluate the career of scientists.
World’s Top 2% Scientists

CRM Comm Team
Anna Drou | Pau Varela
CRMComm@crm.cat
Subscribe for more CRM News
Mathematics Beneath the Tarmac: CRM’s Role in Enhance Europe
The Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) participates in Enhance Europe. This European research project explores how solar heat from asphalt can be harvested and reused as thermal energy in cities. Through its Knowledge Transfer Unit, CRM leads the...
Talent jove al CRM: tres estudiants del programa Joves i Ciència fan estada a la Unitat de Transferència
D'esquerra a dreta: Lucía Escudero, Clara Castelló, Marc Homs-Dones, Roger Carrillo, Manel Mas, Maria Borrell i David Romero. Per segon any, la Unitat de Transferència del CRM ha acollit tres estudiants del programa Joves i Ciència de la Fundació...
BAMB! 2025: A School for Models, Minds, and the Messy Art of Behavior
BAMB! 2025 brought together thirty early-career researchers in Barcelona for an intense nine-day training on model-based analysis of behaviour. Organised by the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica with top international researchers, the school combined...
Barcelona, Stochastic Analysis and Quantitative Finance: Highlights of the 2025 Summer School
The 5th edition of the Barcelona Summer School on Stochastic Analysis and Quantitative Finance took place from July 21 to 25, 2025, at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM), marking the revival of an academic tradition interrupted by the pandemic. The program offered...
Scientific vision and dialogue: the SAB meets at CRM to advise on future directions
The Scientific Advisory Board of the CRM met in July 2025 to advise on the centre’s scientific direction and review key aspects of its activity. In addition to looking at strategic plans and recruitment priorities, Board members took part in a...
Mathematics Illuminates Metabolic Mysteries: Understanding SDH-b Dysfunction in Pheochromocytoma
A mathematical model developed by researchers from the University of Birmingham, Queen Mary University of London, and the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica reveals how chromaffin cells adapt to the loss of SDH-b—a key metabolic enzyme subunit whose dysfunction is linked to...
ESGI 2025: Mathematics Meets Industry at the CRM
Over the course of five days, ESGI 2025 turned the CRM into a collaborative lab where mathematics tackled questions raised by industry. From safer autonomous driving systems to smart water resource allocation and the financial uncertainties of wind...
Quatre noves figures s’incorporen a l’exposició del CRM sobre dones matemàtiques
Aquest estiu, el CRM ha ampliat fins a tretze els roll ups de la seva exposició sobre dones matemàtiques, incorporant quatre noves figures del context espanyol i català. La mostra aprofita l’afluència de visitants al centre per visibilitzar...
From Real Problems to Mathematical Applications: A Chronicle of the XI Iberian Modeling Week
From July 7 to 11, the CRM became a hub for collaborative problem-solving during the XI Iberian Modeling Week, an international training initiative that brought together nearly 30 students from diverse academic backgrounds to tackle real-world...
The Way DNA Folds Might Help Explain How Cells Decide What to Become
A new study by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Oxford, and CRM reveals how the 3D structure of DNA and a microscopic molecular tug-of-war shape the identity of every cell in our...
The CRM hosts a new edition of the Barcelona Introduction to Mathematical Research summer school
From June 30 to July 25, 2025, the CRM is organising a new edition of the Barcelona Introduction to Mathematical Research (BIMR), a summer school hosted at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. The programme brings together 30 undergraduate...
Niclas Rieger defends his PhD thesis on data-driven climate analysis and marine pollution
Niclas Rieger defended his PhD thesis at the Institut de Ciències del Mar, culminating a research journey focused on extracting insights from both massive climate datasets and scarce environmental observations. Developed within the European CAFE...