12 researchers of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, affiliate colleges among world's top 2% scientists

THOOTHUKUDI: Twelve researchers of Tirunelveli Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and its affiliated colleges have been featured in the Stanford-Elsevier list of the world's top 2% scientists for the year 2026.

The list has been prepared by Stanford University and global academic publishing company Elsevier.

The list includes 640 scientists from across 91 Tamil Nadu institutions.

The Stanford-Elsevier list identifies the top-cited scientists, recognising their career-long and single-year impact in the recent year. The scientists are classified into 20 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields.

The MSU scientists under the single-year impact category are: S Senthil Nathan, T Citarasu, G Annadurai, C Parvathiraja, A Selvam, K Sahavaraj, G Immanuel and K Muthu; and the scientists from the affiliated college are Dr S Selvam of VO Chidambaram College, Thoothukudi; S Ignacimuthu and Maria Magdalene of St Xavier's College, Palayamkottai; and MR Bindhu of Sree Devi Kumari Women's College, Kanniyakumari.

Senior researcher S Senthil Nathan of MSU, who secured a global ranking of 23,448, leads among these 12 researchers for his scientific studies in entomology, environment and biology.

Dr S Selvam of VO Chidambaram College, who stands second among the 12, has secured a global ranking of 56,663 for his contributions in environmental sciences and geology. Selvam retains his first position in the field of geology in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, and has been named in the world's top 2 per cent of scientists for the fifth consecutive time.

Ignacimuthu has scored a world rank of 65,492 for his studies in plant biology and botany, while Citarasu for his studies in fisheries, microbiology, and agriculture.

Annadurai, the former MS University Registrar, has achieved a world ranking of 115,015 for his research in biotechnology, environment and enabling strategic technologies.

Bindhu earned the 1,57,358th position worldwide in applied physics.

While Parvathiraja secured the 2,54,569th position for the research papers in applied physics, A Selvam ranked 2,55,299th for biotechnology.

Sahavaraj ranked 2,70,785 for his research in entomology, while Maria Magdalene scored 2,78,831 for applied physics, Immanuel scored 3,18,736 for fisheries, and Muthu scored 3,78,460 for medicinal and biomolecular chemistry.

Dr Selvam, who has been named for the fifth consecutive time, told TNIE that the state government must provide more assistance for research and get it published in authentic journals, so that many will be encouraged to do research. "The state government may sanction sufficient funds to incentivise young researchers," he said.