Guwahati: In a proud moment for Nagaland University, three of its faculty members have been featured in the prestigious list of the world’s Top 2% Scientists for 2024, as released by Elsevier and Stanford University, USA.
The three professors—Prof Ambrish Singh from the Department of Chemistry, Prof Joginder Singh from the Department of Botany, and Pro. Sujata Dash, Head of the Department of Information Technology—have brought international recognition to the university.
Notably, Prof Ambrish Singh has been included in this distinguished list for the last five years, while Prof Joginder Singh has made the cut for two consecutive years.
Prof Ambrish Singh, who completed his Ph.D. at VBSPU, Jaunpur, has a stellar academic background. Before joining Nagaland University, he was a Professor at Southwest Petroleum University in Chengdu, China, where he also worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow.
Prof Ambrish has an impressive research portfolio with an H-index of 52, over 9,500 citations, and more than 185 research papers in high-impact journals. He has received accolades such as the Sichuan 1000 Talent award and the Presidents Award for Young Scientists, and is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Indian Chemical Society (ICS).
Prof Joginder Singh has dedicated over 20 years to research, with a focus on plant-microbe interaction. His work on arbuscular mycorrhizal relationships in halophytes of Western Rajasthan has earned him recognition. He has published more than 200 research articles, edited 32 books, and received over Rs 20 million in research grants. Prof Joginder has been associated with various prestigious institutions, including CSIR and the Department of Science and Technology, where he worked as a Young Scientist.
Prof Sujata Dash, a renowned academic, holds a Ph.D. from Berhampur University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Manitoba, Canada. With over 200 published technical papers and several patents to her name, Prof Dash has also served in various esteemed roles, including Visiting Professor at the University of Manitoba and Professor at Maharaja Srirama Chandra Bhanj Deo University. She has edited 25 books and authored numerous chapters published by reputed international publishers.
Prof JK Patnaik, Vice Chancellor of Nagaland University, expressed his satisfaction by stating, “This is a remarkable achievement for Nagaland University, reflecting the perseverance and unwavering dedication of the three faculty members in reaching this significant milestone.” The prestigious list was published on September 16, 2024, as noted in a press release by NU PRO Peter Ki.
The Top 2% Scientists list, published by Elsevier and Stanford University, evaluates the impact and relevance of scientists’ work using various metrics. Key criteria include total citations, which reflect the overall number of citations received by a scientist’s publications; the H-index, a metric that quantifies both productivity and citation impact; and co-author impact, which considers the influence of collaborators on citation metrics.
Additionally, the Field-Weighted Citation Impact adjusts citations based on the average citation rate within specific fields to account for variations in citation practices. Scientists are categorized based on their overall career contributions as well as their recent achievements, and in some cases, performance metrics are compared against the top scientists within specific fields through top 10% thresholds. This comprehensive evaluation serves to identify leading researchers across disciplines.
Also Read | Explained: Why Gauhati HC quashed 935 Nagaland Police appointments