In October 2026, Stanford University released the World's Top 2% scientist list. 11 scholars at Liaoning University (LNU) were selected into the 2025 Scientific Impact Ranking, namely Professor Yu Miaojie (economics), Professor Lu Anhui (chemistry/energy), Professor Yao Shujie (economics), Professor Zhang Lei (chemistry), Professor Sun Ying (chemistry), Professor Xiong Ying (chemistry), Professor Cai Yuliang (mathematics), Professor Li Yuwei (energy), Professor Wang Jun (chemistry), Professor Liu Lin (chemistry), and Professor Wang Xin (pharmaceutical sciences). The inclusion of these 11 scholars is a landmark achievement of LNU’s “Double First-Class” initiative, fully demonstrating the academic influence of its high-level talents and the robust strength of the university’s coordinated multi-disciplinary development.
Yu Miaojie in Economics
Yu Miaojie is President of LNU, a Deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress, and a Special Supervisor of the National Commission of Supervision. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society (RES Fellow, FREcon), a Fellow of the International Economic Association (IEA), a winner of under the National Talent Program of the Ministry of Education, a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a Beijing Outstanding Young Scientist, and a Boya Distinguished Professor of Peking University. He is a globally top 1% most-cited economist in economics and management. He serves as Associate Editor of the Economic Journal, a leading international journal in economics. He is a recipient of the State Council Special Government Allowance and a chief expert of Major Projects of the National Social Science Fund. He is editor-in-chief of the first batch of key textbooks in original Chinese philosophy and social sciences (the China Series) and of a key national textbook under China’s 14th Five-Year Plan.
His research focuses on international trade, the world economy, and China’s economic development, and he has published more than 230 papers in authoritative journals at home and abroad, as well as 40 books in Chinese, English, and German. He is the only Chinese scholar so far to have won the Royal Economic Society Prize, and has received numerous awards including the Wu Yuzhang Award, the Zhang Peigang Development Economics Outstanding Achievement Award, the An Zijie International Trade Research Award, the Hu Sheng Youth Academic Award, the Liu Shibai Prize in Economics, the Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) of the Ministry of Education, and the Liaoning Lifetime Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences.
Lu Anhui in Chemistry/Energy
Lu Anhui is Vice President of LNU and a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at Dalian University of Technology. He also serves as Director of the Liaoning Key Laboratory for Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Resources. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, a winner of under the National Talent Program of the Ministry of Education, a selected winner of the National High-level Talent Program, a Young and Middle-aged Leading Talent in Science and Technology Innovation of the Ministry of Science and Technology and a Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society (FCCS).
His research focuses on the catalytic conversion of low-carbon resources, gas adsorption separation and purification, and the preparation of advanced materials for chemical power sources. He has developed proprietary technologies in propane dehydrogenation to propylene, the conversion of lower alcohols into higher and aromatic alcohols, CO2 capture and recovery, the preparation of ultrapure electronic gases, the preparation and shaping of alumina, and the preparation and shaping of porous carbon. He took the international lead in proposing metal-free boron-based catalysts for converting light alkanes into olefins, achieving innovations in the oxidative catalytic conversion of low-carbon resources. He has undertaken multiple projects including National Key R&D Programs, Key Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and key international cooperation and industrial projects. He has published more than 400 papers cited over 37,000 times, with an H-index of 89, authored four monographs in Chinese and English, and obtained 82 granted patents plus five international patent applications at the PCT stage. His honors include the IMMA Award of the International Mesostructured Materials Association, the First Prize of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Award, the First Prize of the Basic Research Achievement Award of the CIESC Science and Technology Award, the Science and Technology Progress Award of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and the CCS-BASF Youth Innovation Prize. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Carbon Neutrality Committee of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China and as editor-in-chief or editorial board member of several academic journals at home and abroad. He has been consecutively named an Elsevier Highly Cited researcher in chemistry.
Yao Shujie in Economics
Yao Shujie is Dean of the Li Anmin Institute of Economic Research at LNU, Secretary General of the Center of Urbanization and Regional Innovation Pole Development, and a Distinguished Professor under the National Talent Plan of the Ministry of Education. He previously served as a Professor at the University of Nottingham in the UK and as Founding Dean of its School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, and as an economic consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations, and other international organizations. In 2014 he was named a leading expert in economicsof a Chongqing Chief Expert Studio, in 2021 an Outstanding Scientist of the Chongqing Talent Program, and in 2025 one of the inaugural Fellows of the Chinese Economic Association (UK/Europe). He has consecutively led two Major Projects of the National Social Science Fund (2018 and 2025), and as the leading contributor has won more than 10 awards, including the Second Prize of the 10th Outstanding Scientific Research Achievement Award (Humanities and Social Sciences) of the Ministry of Education, the 9th Zhang Peigang Development Economics Outstanding Achievement Award, and the First Prize of the Chongqing Outstanding Achievement Award in Social Sciences. He has published more than 300 papers in SSCI and CSSCI journals and more than 20 monographs and edited volumes in Chinese and English. He has been named an Elsevier Highly Cited Researcher for consecutive years (2020-2025) and has appeared on both the career-long and single recent-year lists of the World’s Top 2% Scientists (2021-2026). More than 20 of his policy advisory reports have received positive written comments from national and provincial/ministerial leaders. He has also published more than 100 articles in mainstream media at home and abroad and has long served as a special commentator for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Zhang Lei in Chemistry
Zhang Lei holds a PhD in materials chemistry and is a second-level professor and doctoral supervisor. Her research focuses on the design and construction of novel micro/nano functional materials and their applications in photo- and electro-catalysis for green energy. She is a recipient of the State Council Special Government Allowance, an Innovation Leading Talent under the LiaoNing Revitalization Talent Program. She has also been selected into the Program of Excellent Science and Technology Talents. She has won the Second Prize of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Award and has twice been selected as team leader of the Higher Education Innovation Team of Liaoning Province. For four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025, she was included in the career-long list of the World’s Top 2% Scientists in the field of chemistry, with several of her papers selected as ESI global Top 1% Highly Cited Papers, and she has been recognized among the world’s top 1% most-cited researchers in chemical engineering. She was among the first batch of Outstanding Graduate Supervisors of Liaoning Province, and she has been awarded a Teaching Master for undergraduate education in Liaoning Province. She has repeatedly won the title of Supervisor of Outstanding Doctoral and Master’s Degree Theses of Liaoning Province, has received the First Prize of the Liaoning Teaching Achievement Award for Undergraduate Education, and has been named an Outstanding Graduate Supervisor of Shenyang. She is also a Shenyang Excellent Expert (7th session), a Shenyang Outstanding Technology Talent (13th selection), and a Shenyang Leading Talent.
Sun Ying in Chemistry
Sun Ying is an Associate Research Fellow and master’s supervisor at the College of Chemistry of LNU, a member of the Executive Committee of the First Women’s Federation of LNU, a project review expert of the China National Coal Association, a Liaoning Provincial Emergency Management Expert, a council member of the Shenyang Chemical Society, and a Shenyang Young Top-Notch Talent. She serves on the editorial boards or youth editorial boards of journals including Resources Chemicals and Materials, Sustainable Chemistry for Energy Materials, and Clean Coal Technology. Her research focuses on energy chemistry, materials and chemical engineering, and the application of advanced functional materials in photocatalytic and electrocatalytic processes, such as electrocatalytic ammonia synthesis and carbon dioxide reduction. To date, she has published more than 30 papers as first author or corresponding author in journals including Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Chem, Matter, Chemical Engineering Science, Advanced Science, Science China Chemistry, Nano-Micro Letters, Journal of Energy Chemistry, Nano Research, Carbon, Chinese Chemical Letters, and Clean Coal Technology. She has filed 16 invention patent applications, 7 of which have been granted, and has led the Young Scientists Fund (Category C) of the National Natural Science Foundation of China together with more than 10 other projects at provincial and municipal levels. She has received awards including the First Prize of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Award.
Xiong Ying in Chemistry
Xiong Ying specializes in the separation of rare-scattered metals. She is a second-level professor and doctoral supervisor, and currently serves as Vice Dean of the College of Chemistry at LNU. She has been named a Leading Talent under the LiaoNing Revitalization Talent Program and a Liaoning Provincial Teaching Master. She also serves as Vice Chairman of the Professional Committee on Bio-based Functional Macromolecular Materials and Technology of the Chinese Society for Imaging Science and Technology, and as a member of the Metallurgical Reaction Engineering Committee of the Nonferrous Metals Society of China. Her work is rooted in the field of rare-scattered elements and functional materials, and she has always kept her focus on the frontiers of the discipline. Driven by the country’s major needs for the separation of rare-scattered metals such as rhenium, gallium, and germanium and for related functional materials, she has long devoted herself to research on the separation chemistry of rare-scattered elements and functional materials as well as resources and energy. She has published more than 100 papers in international journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. and Adv. Funct. Mater., holds 32 authorized national invention patents, and has published three academic monographs, including Solvent Extraction and Separation Chemistry of Scattered Metals and Handbook of Metallurgy of Rare-Scattered Metals, along with 4 textbooks. She has led 4 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and 11 other projects at provincial and ministerial levels. Her honors include the 11th Liaoning Youth Science and Technology Award, 4 provincial government awards including the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Award, the Technological Invention Award, and the Science and Technology Progress Award, 5 Liaoning Teaching Achievement Awards, and 10 Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Awards.
Cai Yuliang in Mathematics
Cai Yuliang is an Associate Professor at the School of Mathematics and Statistics of LNU. She holds a doctoral degree and supervises maste’s students. She is a Young Top-Notch Talent under the LiaoNing Revitalization Talents Program and was included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list in 2024. She is currently seconded to the Third Special Projects Division of the Industry Development and Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. She serves as an editorial board member of journals including Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Systems, Intelligent Control and System Engineering, and International Journal of Systems Science and Applied Mathematics, as a council member of the Professional Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Technology of the Chinese Association for Industrial Statistics Teaching, as a dissertation review expert of the China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center (CDGDC) under the Ministry of Education, and as an evaluator of the CSCIED Science and Technology Core Evaluation Database. Her research focuses on cooperative control of multi-agent systems, optimal control, and machine learning. She has led projects including the General Program and the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the General Program of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, a Liaoning Provincial Social Science Planning Fund Project, a Liaoning Provincial Doctoral Research Start-up Fund Project, and a Basic Research Project of the Liaoning Provincial Department of Education. She has published more than 60 SCI papers in total, including 36 as first or corresponding author, 10 in IEEE/ACM Transactions journals, and 6 ESI Highly Cited Papers, and one of his papers has been selected as one of China’s 100 Most Influential International Academic Papers. She has also published three monographs and filed four national invention patent applications. Her honors include the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Award, the Shenyang Natural Science Academic Achievement Award, the First Prize for Outstanding Papers at the annual conference of the Liaoning Provincial Computer Society and the Liaoning Provincial Mathematical Society, and the Wu Wen Jun AI Science & Technology Progress Award.
Li Yuwei in Energy
Li Yuwei is a professor and doctoral supervisor. He has been appointed a Young Scholar of the National Talent Program of the Ministry of Education, and is a Young Top-Notch Talent under the Liaoning Revitalization Talents Program, a Leading Talent under Shenyang’s high-level talent program, and an Outstanding Communist Party Member of Liaoning’s colleges and universities. He has been consecutively included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list. He has led more than 10 government-funded research projects, including a subject of the National Science and Technology Major Project and a General Program project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and has published 108 academic papers, eight of which are ESI global top 1% Highly Cited Papers. He holds 30 authorized invention patents, has independently published one academic monograph, and has co-edited two textbooks.
His research focuses on the theory and technology of stimulation for unconventional oil and gas. He has proposed innovative methods for evaluating the mechanical characteristics and fracability of unconventional reservoirs as well as technologies for energizing volumetric fracturing with fracture network control and fracture height optimization, thereby solving the technical challenges of energy-enhanced fracturing and efficient recovery in low-permeability and tight oil and gas reservoirs. His research achievements have won awards including the First Prize of the Heilongjiang Provincial Natural Science Award, the Second Prize of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Award, the Second Prize of the Natural Science Award of the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering, and the First Prize of the Science and Technology Progress Award of the ZHONGGUANCUN Green Mine Industry Alliance.
Wang Jun in Chemistry
Wang Jun is a professor and doctoral supervisor. His research covers the synthesis, structures, and properties of rare earth aminopolycarboxylate complexes, the preparation and performance of solar photocatalytic materials, the mechanisms of photocatalytic reactions and ways to improve their efficiency, and the sonocatalytic damage of biomolecules and the sonocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. Since he began his career, he has undertaken and participated in many national-level projects, including four projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and one project of the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, together with 15 projects at provincial and ministerial levels, two municipal projects, and 15 industry-funded projects. He has published 420 academic papers in total, excluding conference papers, of which 380 are as first author or corresponding author, 300 are indexed by SCI, 96 by EI, and 313 published in international journals. He has received the Second Prize of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Award, 17 Achievement Awards of the Liaoning Association for Science and Technology including four First Prizes and 13 Second Prizes, and two Shenyang Science and Technology Progress Awards including one Second Prize and one Third Prize, and he holds 36 national invention patents.
Liu Lin in Chemistry
Liu Lin is a professor and doctoral supervisor, a Young Top-Notch Talent under the Liaoning Revitalization Talent Program, a Shenyang Leading Talent, and a former visiting scholar at Seoul National University. Liu’s long-term research field is the chemistry of porous materials, with interests covering the design and synthesis of porous materials, structural regulation, and their applications in gas adsorption and separation and in catalytic conversion. Liu has led six projects at the national, provincial, and ministerial levels and one industry-funded project, and has published more than 60 SCI-indexed papers as first or corresponding author in domestic and international journals such as J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem., Chem. Eng. J., and J. Catal., several of which have been selected as ESI Top 1% papers. In 2020, 2023, and 2024, Liu was included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list released by Stanford University. Liu’s research achievements have won awards including two Second Prizes of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Award, the Shenyang Top Ten Outstanding Natural Science Academic Achievement Award, and the Second Prize of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Award.
Wang Xin in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Wang Xin is a professor and master’s supervisor, a council member of the Liaoning Provincial Society of Chinese Materia Medica, and a Shenyang High-Level Talent (Top-Notch Talent). His main research interests include the structural design of nano-semiconductor sonosensitizers and sonocatalysts and their applications in the medical and environmental purification fields, as well as the in vitro prediction and evaluation of drug interactions. He has led and completed four provincial-level research projects and one industry-funded project, and has participated in more than 10 national, provincial, and municipal research projects. He has published 48 SCI-indexed papers as first author or corresponding author, one of which entered the ESI Highly Cited Papers list, and has obtained six authorized Chinese invention patents as first inventor. His research achievements have won three Third Prizes of the Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Academic Achievement Award, and one First Prize and two Third Prizes of the Shenyang Natural Science Academic Achievement Award. He has also led and completed one provincial-level teaching reform project, won one Third Prize of the Liaoning Teaching Achievement Award for Undergraduate Education, and contributed to one “14th Five-Year Plan” textbook of the National Health Commission and one experimental textbook for pharmacy programs at medical and pharmaceutical colleges and universities across the country.
The World’s Top 2% scientist list covers 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields. The list was first released in 2019 by a team led by Professor John P. A. Ioannidis of Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier, and it is updated annually. It is an internationally recognized list for evaluating academic influence. Scholars are assessed through six core citation metrics, namely total citations, the Hirsch h-index, the co-authorship adjusted Schreiber hm-index, citations to papers as single author, citations to papers as single or first author, and citations to papers as single, first, or last author. These metrics provide a comprehensive measure of scholars’ recent research activity and long-term academic impact. A scholar’s inclusion in the list indicates that their research stands at the international forefront of their discipline and that their achievements have won broad recognition from the international academic community, and it also reflects the strong overall research strength of their home institutions.
Translated by: Li Xinyuan
Edited by: Gao Mengdi, Liu Hanlin
Proofread by: Li Zhibin
Reviewed by: Jin Jinghua
