Kean Assistant Professor Named Among Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide

Assistant Professor Supratik Kar, Ph.D., was named one of the top 2% of scientists in the world by the Stanford/Elsevier ranking, based on the number of citations his work received by other academics and researchers.

Kar, who joined the Kean faculty in the Fall 2022, conducts biomolecular and medicinal chemistry research at The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics and Technology (CSMT) at Kean. 

“This list is a ranking of scientists by the volume of citation of their work. What it suggests is the scientists on the list are having a disproportionate impact on the shape of their field, what people are studying, and how they are studying it,” said Kean Provost and Senior Vice President David S. Birdsell, Ph.D. “Dr. Kar is working at the nexus of a number of interesting areas.”

The ranking is compiled by a team at Stanford University using citations from Scopus, an international scientific database covering more than 7 million scientists and scholars active worldwide, from 22 scientific fields and 174 subfields. The latest ranking was released last month.

Kar was the only Kean USA faculty member named; six professors from Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU) were also recognized. 

The WKU faculty members are: professors Andrea Gatto, Ph.D., and Imran Yousaf, Ph.D., from the College of Business and Public Management (CBPM); and Ali Bahadur, Ph.D., Puneet Rana, Ph.D.,  Sin-Yeang (Ronald) Teow, Ph.D., and Emanuel Guariglia, Ph.D., from the College of Science, Mathematics and Technology.

The interim dean at WKU’s CBPM, Tobin E. Porterfield, Ph.D., said the University highly values research.

“I am extremely proud of my outstanding CBPM colleagues who are thought leaders in their fields and bring their research into the classroom to encourage students in developing their own critical thinking skills,” he said.

The recognition for Kar comes as Kean, New Jersey’s first urban research university, is seeking designation as an R2 research institution by the Carnegie Commission.

“This recognition is an indication of Kean’s growing attractiveness for top scholars to do their work, and it offers Kean the opportunity, through Dr. Kar and his work, to contribute to groundbreaking discoveries at the leading edge of his research field,” Birdsell said.

Kar’s research is in areas such as computer-aided drug design, in which he uses computational techniques and computer modeling in biomolecular and medicinal research. He is working to develop antiviral drugs for diseases such as Zika and Nipah.

Another of his research projects utilizes computational models in assessment of aquatic toxicity of various chemicals that can affect species of fish.

Kar, who was also ranked in 2021, said the list “shows how many researchers use our published research in real-life applications to move forward with science.”

His current ranking reflects his last year of research and citations.

“This shows how Kean has supported me,” said Kar, who teaches organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, bioinformatics, and undergraduate research credit courses. He includes undergraduate students in his research projects; five of the undergraduate students have already published their research and review articles in top academic journals.

George Chang, Ph.D., dean of CSMT, said being among the top 2% of scientists is an “an extraordinary testament to the profound impact” of a scientist’s research within the scientific community. 

“This achievement not only underscores the brilliance of Dr. Kar, but also reaffirms the allure of Kean University for attracting exceptional researchers who wholeheartedly embrace the institution's mission and vision,” he said.  

Kar has published 90 scholarly articles, 23 book chapters and four books; received a US-EPA Federal Grant for $725K in collaboration with Purdue University; and has submitted grant applications with the National Science Foundation.