The Australian recognises research excellence of University

 The 2025 Research Magazine, produced by The Australian and its partner League of Scholars, has named the University of Sydney as a 'fast mover', one of the universities whose research influence grew more than five percent in the past year.

The magazine lists top research performers and institutions using big-data techniques to analyse researchers and their work in each of 250 fields of research.

The University of Sydney is named as the leading research institution in the world in Physical Education & Sports Medicine.

Four researchers, the highest number for any university, are named as world leaders in the following fields of research - Professor Anthony Gill from the Faculty of Medicine and Health in the field of Pathology, Professor David Hensher from the University of Sydney Business School in Transportation, Professor Debra Jackson from the Faculty of Medicine and Health in Nursing, Professor Barbara Mintzes, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health in Primary Health Care.

The University of Sydney ranks as the top research institution in Australia in 21 research fields and 24 University of Sydney researchers are named as leaders in their respective fields nationally. (Full lists published below).

Notably the University secured both top institution and top researcher nationally in seven fields- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis), Transportation (Professor David Hensher), Pain & Pain Management (Professor Michael Nicholas), Pathology ( Professor Anthony Gill), Primary Health Care (Professor Barbara Mintzes), Veterinary Medicine (Professor Paul McGreevy) and Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (Professor Dacheng Tao).

Speaking to The Australian, Professor Mark Scott, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Sydney comments on the University’s commitment to creating deep research partnerships between researchers and external partners to work on solving the great global challenges. He mentions the University’s landmark research investment in the Sydney Biomedical Accelerator, a partnership between the University of Sydney, Sydney Local Health District and the NSW Government which brings together clinicians, researchers, academics and industry to solve some of the world’s most complex health issues.

Quoted in the foreword, Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said: “Australia punches above its weight internationally when it comes to our research output. We are home to about 0.3 per cent of the world’s population. Yet as a nation we produce more than three per cent of the world’s research. This hasn’t happened by accident. It’s the result of bright minds and decades of investment in the work of Australian researchers, our education systems and research facilities – year in, year out.”

Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Julie Cairney said: 

“I congratulate the researchers acknowledged in this publication and welcome the recognition of the strength of our research across a breadth and depth of fields. Our commitment to research excellence is ongoing, as demonstrated by our flagship Horizon Fellowship program, in which 40 early-to-mid career researchers are supported to undertake innovative research that will contribute to the common good by addressing climate change, health and sustainability.”

The University of Sydney is named as the leading research institution nationally in the following 21 fields of research. 

• Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition 
• Signal Processing 
• Transportation 
• Bioethics 
• Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine 
• Hospice & Palliative Care 
• Pain & Pain Management 
• Pathology 
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine 
• Primary Health Care 
• Public Health 
• Radiology & Medical Imaging 
• Transplantation 
• Urology & Nephrology 
• Veterinary Medicine 
• Literature & Writing 
• Biophysics 
• Mycology 
• High Energy & Nuclear Physics 
• Mathematical Optimisation 
• Cognitive Science  

These University of Sydney researchers are named as the Australian leaders in the following fields of research.

• Business, Economics & Management (general) -  Associate Professor Anastasios Panagiotelis  
• Inorganic Chemistry- Professor Deanna D'Alessandro 
• Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition -  Professor Dacheng Tao 
• Power Engineering -  Professor Jian Guo Zhu 
• Structural Engineering – Professor Qing Li 
• Theoretical Computer Science – Dr Andre van Renssen 
• Transportation- Professor David Hensher 
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery- Professor Paul Bannon 
• Nursing- Professor Debra Jackson
  
• Pain & Pain Management- Professor Michael Nicholas 
• Pathology- Professor Anthony Gill 
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine- Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis 
• Primary Health Care- Professor Barbara Mintzes 
• Psychology- Dr Kit Double 
• Veterinary Medicine- Professor Paul McGreevy 
• Communication- Dr Mark Johnson 
• Sex & Sexuality- Professor Alan Mckee 
• Soil Sciences- Professor Budiman Minasny 
• Zoology- Professor Emeritus Chris Dickman 
• Astronomy & Astrophysics- Professor Joss Bland-Hawthorn 
• Geophysics- Professor Dietmar Müller 
• Thermal Sciences- Dr Chunrong Zhao 
• Geography & Cartography- Professor Neil Coe
• Science & Engineering Education- Professor Annette Burgess

Methodology: The top 250 lists are created using an ‘impact score’ that takes into account the quality and quantity of research. Every Australian researcher and every Australian university or research organisation is assigned an impact score in all 250 fields of research. This score is equal to the number of citations for papers published (by the individual or the institution) in the top 20 journals of each particular field in the past five years. The individual with highest impact score (based on papers they authored) is the leading researcher in the field. The institution whose affiliated researchers in a particular field collectively have the highest impact score, is the leading institution in the field. Publicly available information on Google Scholar is used.