A total of 70 scholars and professors from Nazarbayev University have been ranked among Kazakhstan’s 100 most-cited researchers, according to the National Academy of Sciences under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The results highlight NU’s leading role in advancing research and scientific excellence both nationally and across the region.
The ranking covers the 500 most-cited researchers in Kazakhstan and is based on an analysis of publications indexed in the Web of Science database between 2021 and 2025. The methodology takes into account research articles and review papers, citation impact, authors’ contributions to publications, affiliation with Kazakhstani institutions, and the exclusion of self-citations.
Four NU scholars were ranked among the country’s top ten most-cited researchers: Professor Shazim Memon, Professor Zhumabay Bakenov, and Professor Jong Kim from the School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, as well as Professor Peyman Pourafshary from the School of Mining and Geosciences. Overall, NU researchers are represented across nearly all major academic disciplines, ranging from engineering, mathematics, and natural sciences to social sciences, public policy, and the humanities.
Women researchers from NU also feature prominently in the ranking, with their work contributing to practical and innovative solutions in various fields. Professor Almagul Mentbayeva conducts research on advanced gas sensor technologies, Professor Anara Sandygulova leads the development of social robots for children with autism spectrum disorders, and Professor Gulnur Kalimuldina works on technologies for athlete monitoring and rehabilitation, including the development of a smart insole system.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the purpose of the ranking is to identify the country’s most influential researchers across individual scientific disciplines based on their contribution to global scholarship, as measured by the citation impact of their publications in international scientific databases.
NU is recognized as the leading research university in Central Asia and the Caucasus according to the prestigious Times Higher Education rankings. In the “Research Quality” category, NU achieved a score of 76.8. By comparison, the University of Tokyo—ranked among the world’s top 30 universities and with a history spanning nearly 150 years—received a score of 68.26, significantly lower than NU’s result.
The full list of Kazakhstan’s most-cited researchers is available on the website of the National Academy of Sciences.
