Six Hanyang University professors—Professor Paik Un-gyu (Department of Energy Engineering), Professor Sun Yang-kook (Department of Energy Engineering), Professor Yoon Chong-seung (Department of Materials Science and Engineering), Professor Lee Young-moo ( Distinguished Honorary Professor, Department of Energy Engineering), Professor Jeon Byong-hun (Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering), and Professor Hyun Sung-hyup (School of Tourism) (listed in Korean alphabetical order)—have been selected for the '2025 Highly Cited Researchers (HCR)' list by the global data and analytics firm, Clarivate.

On November 12th, Clarivate announced the 6,868 researchers who rank in the top 0.1% globally based on the number of times their papers have been cited, utilizing proprietary data and analysis by bibliometrics experts. Among these, 76 researchers were identified as Korean researchers.

Professor Paik Un-gyu at the Department of Energy Engineering was selected as a top 0.1% researcher in the Cross-field category for the sixth consecutive year.

Primary research fields Professor Paik is engaged in include the Synthesis and Engineering of Nanomaterials, Energy Devices, and Semiconductor Devices. His work focuses on material design and process research for the advancement of the energy industry, specifically developing energy storage devices such as lithium-ion batteries and next-generation batteries. He has also achieved significant success in developing semiconductor process technology based on nanoparticle control and surface chemistry research, leading technological advancement through collaborations with domestic and international companies in the secondary battery and semiconductor sectors.

Furthermore, Professor Paik was appointed as the Editor-in-Chief of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, EES Batteries, this year. On the other hand, he actively carries on his academic activities, having received awards such as ‘The Rustum Roy Lecture Award’ from the American Ceramic Society and the ‘Research Excellence Award’ from the Korean Society of Semiconductor & Display Technology. He is also consistently strengthening his international collaborative network through joint research with leading universities worldwide.

Professor Sun Yang-kook of the Department of Energy Engineering was named a top 0.1% global researcher in the Materials Science category for the tenth consecutive year.

As a world-renowned scholar, Professor Sun has dedicated approximately 30 years to secondary battery research, achieving exceptional results by pioneering material technology even before the secondary battery market fully emerged. Notably, he developed a next-generation secondary battery cathode material that maintains over 90% performance even after more than 20 years of use, using purely Korean technology. This breakthrough led to massive technology transfers, significantly impacting the industry. Professor Sun’s cathode material technology is widely regarded as a core driving force behind the third generation electric vehicle market.

In recognition of his work on developing the 'concentration gradient(Core-Shell Structure) cathode material,' Professor Sun was honored with the ‘2023 Samsung Hoam Prize’ from the Ho-Am Foundation. His academic contributions, spanning lithium-ion and next-generation secondary battery fields, earned him selection as a Fellow member of both the International Society of Electrochemistry(ISE, 2023) and The Electrochemical Society(ECS, 2019). He also actively serves as a Senior Editor for the excellent international academic journal in the energy field, ACS Energy Letters.

Professor Yoon Chong-seung at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering was listed as a top 0.1% researcher in the Cross-Field category for the fourth consecutive year since 2022.

Over the past 30 years, Professor Yoon has been working on microstructural analysis and development of various materials using Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM). He has been closely collaborating with Professor Sun Yang-kook(Department of Energy Engineering) for 20 years on advanced cathode materials for next-generation secondary batteries, focusing specifically on developing high-capacity, long-life cathode materials to be utilized in third generation electric vehicles.

Distinguished Honorary Professor Lee Young-moo of the Department of Energy Engineering was selected again this year and was named a top 0.1% researcher in the Chemistry category. He is the only researcher in Korea to be listed in the Chemistry category this year.

Since joining Hanyang University in 1988, Professor Lee has dedicated over 35 years to researching Polymer Membranes, focusing primarily on Carbon Dioxide Capture, Hydrocarbon-based Proton Exchange Fuel Cell Membranes, and Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis. Over the past six years, he has significantly improved hydrogen fuel cell performance by developing high-performance anion exchange membranes and highly durable membranes for water electrolysis capable of world-leading hydrogen production. He is currently focusing on advancing these technologies to industrialization.

While serving as the President of Hanyang University in 2017, Professor Lee developed a Hydrogen Fuel Cell separation membrane inspired by the water retention function of cacti, publishing his findings in the highly-regarded scientific journal, Nature. This technology is expected not only to reduce environmental pollution but also to lower the cost of hydrogen fuel cells to one-tenth of the current price, as it can operate under high-temperature, low-humidity conditions, potentially cutting hydrogen car prices by up to 30%. This technology offers a highly efficient alternative to replace currently used fluorinated polymers, whose usage is being restricted due to global climate change concerns.

Professor Lee also serves as a director for the Samil Cultural Foundation and a steering committee member for the Kyong-Am Academic Award of the Kyong-Am Educational and Cultural Foundation. He has authored specialized academic English textbooks in the membrane field, including Membranes for Energy Applications (Wiley, 2024) and Fluoropolymeric Membranes (2025).

Professor Jeon Byong-hun at the Department of Resource and Environmental Engineering was named a top 0.1% researcher in the Cross-Field category for the third consecutive year.

Professor Jeon’s research focuses on the production of renewable energy and the remediation of environmental pollution utilizing chemical and biological principles. His main research efforts are concentrated on the production of next-generation biofuels to contribute to carbon neutrality, and he is developing water and soil pollution remediation technologies using innovative biological treatment methods. Professor Jeon has been recognized for his contributions to the development of the domestic renewable energy industry, receiving awards from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment.

Professor Hyun Sung-hyup of the Department of Tourism is a new addition to the top 0.1% researchers list this year, selected in the Social Sciences category.

Professor Hyun's primary research interests lie in the aviation industry, considered the backbone of tourism, and Neo-fusion Tourism. He was awarded the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award for his contributions to research on air travel demand analysis, industrial structure, and improving the quality of life for workers. He has since pioneered Neo-fusion Tourism, which moves beyond the scope of traditional tourism studies by integrating practical disciplines such as medicine and psychology to demonstrate the social contribution of tourism.

Professor Hyun has been selected as Hanyang University's top-tier paper researcher for eight consecutive years since 2018 and was appointed as a distinguished professor in 2020. He is also highly passionate about guiding students and career counseling, resulting in the successful appointment of 11 of his students to tenure-track professorships at four-year track universities both domestically and internationally over the past decade.

Elaborating on global selections of HCR, by country, the United States produced the highest number of 2,670 top 0.1% researchers, followed by 1,406 from China, 570 from the United Kingdom, 363 from Germany, 312 from Australia, and 227 in Canada.

The institutions with the most top 0.1% researchers were the Chinese Academy of Sciences with 258 researchers, followed by Harvard University(170), Stanford University(141), Tsinghua University(91), and MIT(85).