Spanish chemist Avelino Corma ranks 35th of nearly 244,000 scientists worldwide
The latest edition of Stanford University's “World's Top 2% Scientists” list, built on Scopus (Elsevier) data, places chemist Avelino Corma, founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ, UPV-CSIC) in Valencia, 35th out of 243,949 researchers for career-long impact, the highest of anyone in Spain. The Polytechnic University of Valencia has 130 researchers on the list. The caveat: the ranking measures citations and influence, not the quality of each paper; on 2025 impact alone, Corma is second in Spain, behind Josep Peñuelas (CSIC).
Of 243,949 scientists around the world, only 34 have had a more influential career than Avelino Corma. The chemist from Castellón, founder of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ITQ), a joint centre of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC), is 35th in the new edition of Stanford University’s “World’s Top 2% Scientists” list. No one in Spain ranks higher, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
The ranking uses data from Scopus, Elsevier’s database: it counts the citations each researcher’s papers receive, their h-index and other indicators, across 20 fields and 174 subfields, according to Actualidad Valencia. There are two tables: one for the whole career and one for the past year alone.
First in Spain for a career, second for 2025
In the career-long table, Corma is 35th in the world. In the single-year table, based on 2025 data, he is 222nd and second in Spain, behind ecologist Josep Peñuelas of the CSIC.
These are lists of influence: they measure how often other scientists cite a piece of work, not whether it is better than another. Still, staying near the top for decades shows that what he publishes is read and used. In the previous edition, released in January 2026, Corma was 33rd, according to the UPV.
Catalysts used in refineries
Corma has spent his career on catalysis: materials that speed up chemical reactions so fuels and chemicals can be made with less energy and less waste. His catalysts and zeolites, minerals riddled with tiny pores, are used in refineries and industrial processes, EFE reports.
130 researchers from one university
The UPV has 130 researchers on the list. Behind Corma in the career table come physicist Juan Bisquert (1,137th), chemist Hermenegildo García (13,458th), Paul Lecoq (16,471st) and Jaime Lloret (32,676th), according to Actualidad Valencia.
The ITQ kindly shared this photo of Corma in one of its laboratories. The list is updated every year.
Sources
- EFE via Infobae · Avelino Corma, Spain's number 1 scientist and 35th in the world, according to a Stanford University ranking (8-11-2026, in Spanish)
- Actualidad Valencia · Avelino Corma tops the list of Spain's most influential scientists according to Stanford (8-11-2026, in Spanish)
- UPV · The UPV among the world's scientific elite (previous edition of the list, 13-1-2026)
