ITS Campus, ITS News — Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) continues to escalate the number of its globally influential scientists. This time, five professors and one adjunct professor from ITS have been recorded as entering the World’s Top 2% Scientist 2026, compiled by a team from Stanford University and Elsevier.
This prestigious achievement brings a number of ITS researcher names to the international stage in the World’s Top 2% Scientist. The five ITS professors included in the list are Prof. Drs. Ec. Ir. Riyanarto Sarno, M.Sc., Ph.D., and Prof. Tohari Ahmad, S.Kom., M.I.T., Ph.D., from the Department of Informatics Engineering; Prof. Adi Setyo Purnomo, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., and Prof. Suprapto, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D., from the Department of Chemistry; as well as Prof. Dr. Ir. Mahfud, D.E.A., from the ITS Department of Chemical Engineering.
In the 2026 career-long list, Prof. Drs. Ec. Ir. Riyanarto Sarno, M.Sc., Ph.D., who has been included several times, remains the only name recorded in both categories simultaneously. Throughout 2025, this ITS lecturer with the highest career-long ranking obtained 841 citations in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing. From the same department, Prof. Tohari Ahmad, S.Kom., M.I.T., Ph.D., recorded 660 citations in the same year through his contributions in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing.
In addition, from the pure sciences group, there are Prof. Adi Setyo Purnomo, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., and Prof. Suprapto, S.Si., M.Si., Ph.D., with expertise in General Physics. The two professors obtained 473 and 338 citations, respectively. In the Department of Chemical Engineering, Prof. Dr. Ir. Mahfud, D.E.A., also in the field of General Physics, recorded 475 citations based on 2025 citation recapitulation data.
Not only that, there is one adjunct professor recorded as an academic at the University of Kitakyushu, Japan, who is affiliated with ITS. In the affiliation column, the Stanford database refers to the last recorded institution, so Prof. Weijun Gao carries two institutional names at once. However, the other five scientists are academics with primary affiliation at ITS.
One of the ITS scientists included in the World’s Top 2% Scientist 2026, Prof. Riyanarto Sarno, stated that scientific contributions in the publication sector are fluctuating. According to him, the key to remaining in the World’s Top 2% Scientist is regularly submitting publications to reputable journals. “Many researchers use predatory journals just to be able to publish without rigorous peer review,” explained the man born in Surabaya.
Furthermore, the fourth Professor at the ITS Faculty of Electrical Technology and Intelligent Informatics (FTEIC) emphasized that scientists must routinely submit publications for the benefit of society. The form of community service referred to is serving as fundamental research for an innovation that can be patented and mass-produced. Thus, the orientation in producing publications is not merely fixated on achievement alone, but on benefit.
Responding to this achievement, Director of Research and Community Service (DRPM) at ITS Fadlilatul Taufany, S.T., Ph.D., expressed appreciation for the lecturers’ achievement. The director believed that this achievement was the result of a long, consistent research process requiring great commitment. “Through this achievement, we (DRPM ITS) encourage the expansion of international collaboration so that this achievement can provide a multiplier effect for the entire ITS research ecosystem,” said this lecturer in the ITS Department of Chemical Engineering.
This outstanding achievement is evidence that ITS’s contribution to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continues, particularly Goal 4 on Quality Education. “This achievement does not stop as a personal award but can serve as motivation to continue producing increasingly high-quality and impactful research,” Taufany concluded with hope. (ITS Public Relations)
Reporter: Ahmad Husein Al Qomary