CLASS Academics Named in Stanford’s List of Top 2 per cent Most-cited Scientists Worldwide

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) at CityUHK is pleased to announce that 13 CLASS faculty members have been recognised by Stanford University as among the top 2 per cent most-cited scientists in the world.

Based on the bibliometric information from the Scopus database as of 1 October 2023, Stanford University released the list of the top 2 per cent most-cited scientists in various scientific disciplines globally. This publicly available database, published by Professor John P.A. IOANNIDIS, provides standardised information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score). Continually updated, the list presents separate data for career-long and single recent year impact.

The following scholars, listed in alphabetical order of surnames, have earned their place on this prestigious list:

Professor Yanto CHANDRA
Associate Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
Chandra’s research focuses on the mechanisms of performance of entrepreneurship and innovation in the social and public sector, and how new technologies affect the economy, civil society and policy, and ways to govern them. One of his projects examines how large language models of artificial intelligence can be applied to improve organisational performance. He also studies blockchain and decentralised autonomous organisation for value creation. These build on his multi-year research investigating the relationship between entrepreneurship and performance in hybrid organisations, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable business models such as B-Corporation and impact investing.
Most-cited fields: Business & Management; Political Science and Public Administration

Professor Edmund CHENG
Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
Cheng’s research intersects political sociology, digital governance, and sociology of science, focusing on the comparative study of Asia and policy implications. Various scientific bodies worldwide have funded his research. His recent work has appeared in Perspectives on Politics, Political Communication, Political Studies, Political Psychology, British Journal of Sociology, Sociological Methodology, Information, Communication & Society, New Media & Society, China Quarterly, China Journal and Journal of Contemporary Asia, and as a monograph in Cambridge University Press.
Most-cited field: Cultural Studies

Professor DONG Liang
Assistant Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
Dong’s research focuses on urban sustainability science and policy as well as their application in sub-topics, including circular economy, corporate environmental-social-governance (ESG), Net Zero and carbon neutrality policy analysis, sustainable human-techno-environmental system design, sustainable industries and urban planning, using advanced spatial and data-driven techniques. According to Scopus statistics, he was ranked the first author in the field of “Industrial Symbiosis, Sustainable Development and Circular Economy” from 2013 to 2022. He has led national-level circular economy projects, smart cities, SDGs cities, and low-carbon cities projects in the EU, Japan and China.
Most-cited field: Environmental Sciences

Dr Simon FUNG Sai-fu
Instructor I, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Fung possesses extensive knowledge in the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning within the field of computational social science. His expertise lies in utilising these technologies to examine human behaviour and explore health-related issues. Employing an interdisciplinary approach and innovative research methods, he has published extensively on topics such as health-related quality of life (HRQOL), digital health, cybercrime, social gerontology and sports. Fung holds the title of Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and currently serves as an associate editor for Health and Quality of Life Outcomes and Frontiers in Psychology.
Most-cited field: Toxicology

Professor Bert GEORGE
Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
George is a former editor of Public Administration Review and a current deputy editor of Public Management Review. His research focuses on the effectiveness of strategy processes and practices in the public and non-profit sectors. He uses a range of methods in his research, including reviews and meta-analyses, surveys and case studies, and, more recently, methods from neuroscience and data science. He has been awarded the Louis Brownlow and Joseph Wholey Awards by the American Society for Public Administration. His work has been cited by the US White House, the European Commission, the World Bank, OECD, Unicef, and national governments across the globe.
Most-cited field: Political Science and Public Administration

Professor Christoph HAFNER
Associate Professor, Department of English
Hafner’s principal research interests include English language teaching and learning, English for specific purposes, and digital literacies. In particular, he is interested in studying how new technologies can be utilised to support the development of both “traditional” domain-specific literacies (e.g. English for Law), and the “digital literacies” which are necessary to exploit the potential of digital media. His books include Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction (2nd edition) (Routledge, 2021, co-authored with Rodney JONES); and English in the Disciplines: A multidimensional model for ESP course design (Routledge, 2019, co-authored with Lindsay MILLER). He is the President of the Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional Communication Association and a past President of the Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics.
Most-cited field: Languages and Linguistics

Professor Eddie HUI Chi-man
Head & Chair Professor of Urban Policy and Management, Department of Public and International Affairs
Hui’s principal research interests are housing and urban studies. He is a professional with diverse experience in research and consultancy projects. Hui has been serving a range of public organisations in Hong Kong. He was awarded the Medal of Honour (MH) by the Chief Executive in 2015 for his dedicated public service, in recognition of his contributions to the region, particularly the Town Planning Board and the surveying sector. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Property Management Services Authority.
Most-cited field: Urban and Regional Planning

Professor KIM Ki Joon
Associate Professor, Department of Media and Communication
Kim primarily investigates the socio-psychological antecedents and consequences of human-technology interaction. He develops and validates theoretical paradigms in which human interactions with the latest emerging technologies (e.g., the Internet of Things, wearable devices, autonomous vehicles and generative AI) lead to socially meaningful outcomes. Kim has authored over 100 related research articles, and his works have been featured in major international news outlets, including TIME, NBC News, Fox News, and The Guardian, as well as in local media in more than 15 countries.
Most-cited field: Human Factors

Professor Sylvia KWOK LAI Yuk-ching
Professor, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Kwok’s research mainly focuses on the family ecological and positive psychological factors related to children and adolescents’ mental health and well-being. She has published papers in high-impact international refereed journals related to children and adolescent anxiety, depression and suicide, parenting (including positive parenting, child abuse and neglect), as well as positive psychology concepts such as gratitude, emotional competence, growth mindset, self-compassion, flourishing, and meaning of life. Leveraging her research outputs, she has collaborated with over 300 local schools, social welfare agencies, and corporates to promote positive education for students, teachers, parents, employees, and the community.
Most-cited field: Social Work

Professor Matthew SUNG Chit-cheung
Associate Professor, Department of English
Sung’s ongoing research projects focus on the intersections of language use, language learning and identity negotiation in the context of international higher education. His expertise is in the area of applied sociolinguistics, with research interests in language and identity, language ideology, multilingualism, English as a lingua franca, and second language education. His recent publications have appeared in Applied Linguistics Review, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Linguistics and Education, and Journal of Language, Identity and Education.
Most-cited field: Languages and Linguistics

Professor Richard M WALKER
Chan Hon Pun Professor of Behavioural and Policy Sciences, Chair Professor of Public Management, Department of Public and International Affairs
Walker’s research primarily focuses on public management and performance, research methods to advance public management, and sustainable development. His current agenda is focused on undertaking replications of prior experimental studies in public administration, citizen-government relationships, and the effective management of government.
Most-cited field: Political Science and Public Administration

Professor WANG Xiaohu
Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
Wang is interested in the role of policy implementation capacity-building in improving the performance of public institutions. He has used this capacity-building approach to examine institutional forces influencing performance management, sustainable development, collaboration, and fiscal policy success of the US, Chinese, and Hong Kong governments, with extensive publications on these topics. In practice, he conducted programme evaluations for many local governments and non-profit organisations in the US and Hong Kong. He has authored nearly 100 publications, including the popular textbook Financial Management in the Public Sector (Routledge). He served on many academic editorial boards, and chaired the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Section on Public Performance and Management.
Most-cited field: Political Science and Public Administration

Professor ZHANG Lin
Associate Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
Zhang’s research is primarily in the area of energy and sustainability economics, focusing on climate change and energy transition-related policies that contribute to the sustainable development of society. The contribution of his work tries to understand the interactions between the government, citizens and firms in the transition towards a green economy. He serves as the editor for The Energy Journal and a council member of the International Association for Energy Economics.
Most-cited field: Energy