ISAS Researchers Ranked Among the World's Top 2% Scientists in 2025 (Based on 2024 Statistics)

Oct. 9, 2025 | NEWS, ISAS people

On September 19, 2025, Stanford University and Elsevier released a comprehensive list titled Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators, identifying the world's top 2% scientists. Researchers from the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) were ranked among them.

This recognition is based on data from the Scopus literature database and highlights researchers who have published at least five papers across 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields. Scientists were evaluated using composite indicators such as citations and h-index, both for the single recent year (during calendar year 2024) and for career-long updated to end-of-2024.　

■ Single recent year

• ICHIKAWA Yukikazu (Professor Emeritus, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• TSUDA Yuichi (Deputy Director General / Professor, Department of Space Flight Systems, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• MATSUMOTO Toshio (Professor Emeritus, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA))
• NISHIYAMA Kazutaka (Professor, Department of Space Flight Systems, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• SAWADA Hirotaka (Function Manager, Martian Moons Exploration Project Team, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• SAIKI Takanao (Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Space Science, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• YASUDA Hiromi (Assistant Professor, Department of Space Flight Systems, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) / Listed with previous affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania)
• FUNAKI Ikkoh (Professor, Department of Space Flight Systems, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))

■ Career-long

• ICHIKAWA Yukikazu (Professor Emeritus, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• MATSUMOTO Toshio (Professor Emeritus, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA))
• FUJIMOTO Masaki (Director General, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• TSUDA Yuichi (Deputy Director General / Professor, Department of Space Flight Systems, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))
• ONODA Junjiro (Professor Emeritus, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA))
• KATO Manabu (Professor Emeritus, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA))
• KUNINAKA Hitoshi (Specially Appointed Professor (Associate to Research Director) / Former Director General, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS))

(Affiliation as of 30 September 2025)

Reference link: Elsevier Data Repository