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A young researcher from POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) who is making his mark on the global stage has been named among the “World’s Top 2% Scientists,” garnering significant attention from the academic community.

Joohoon Kim, an integrated M.S.-Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at POSTECH (supervised by Professor Junsuk Rho), has been included in this year’s list of the World’s Top 2% Scientists. This marks the first time that a Korean graduate student has been selected for this prestigious list.

The World’s Top 2% Scientists list is compiled by analyzing Elsevier’s Scopus data, conducted by a research team at Stanford University. The evaluation is based on six key indicators, including total citations, h-index, co-authorship–adjusted hm-index, and citations of single-authored and corresponding-authored papers. The list is recognized for its high credibility and is used by QS and THE World University Rankings, OECD national competitiveness analyses, and research performance indicators by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

The list is announced annually in two categories: career-long impact and single-year impact. At POSTECH, 98 researchers were selected for the career-long category and 91 for the single-year category this year.

Joohoon Kim has been drawing significant academic attention for developing large-scale metasurface manufacturing technology based on nanoimprint processes. His work with Professor Junsuk Rho successfully demonstrated mass production of metasurfaces operating in the visible spectrum. Within just two years, the research has been cited more than 200 times and is regarded as a key foundational technology for the commercialization of next-generation metasurfaces. He has further enhanced his global recognition by publishing as a lead author in journals such as Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, and Nature Food.

Kim shared his thoughts on the recognition: “Being selected is meaningful not only as a personal honor but also as global acknowledgment of the research capabilities of our lab and POSTECH. I will continue advancing research to ensure that metasurfaces create tangible societal and industrial value.”