One of them is Associate Professor Tran Xuan Bach of the Hanoi Medical University and Johns Hopkins University, who stood at 28,129th in the list published this month by the peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of biology based in the U.S.

Bach, aged 35, has become the youngest professor in recent decades at Johns Hopkins University, U.S., the world's leading university in public health.

According to the university, Bach has extensive experience in advising United Nations agencies, international organizations and governments on global health and development issues in Southeast Asia.

The second Vietnamese on the list is Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc with the Vietnam National University – Hanoi, whose position is 51,083.

Duc is one of Vietnam's leading scientists in mechanical science and composite materials and currently serves as vice-president of Vietnamese Association of Mechanics and vice chairman of the Professor Election Council in Mechanics of Vietnam.

He has published more than 250 articles, reports and scientific works, including more than 136 scientific papers published in international journals of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), part of Thomson Reuters.

The last Vietnamese scientist on the ranking is Professor Nguyen Thoi Trung with the Institute for Computational Science of Ton Duc Thang University, who is in the 74,339th position.

Trung is recognized as a leading expert in computational mechanics internationally. Last year, he received the Ton Duc Thang University Scientific Prize for lifetime achievement.

In addition, the study’s list includes 40 scientists of Vietnamese origin who are working at prestigious universities across the world.   

The three most-cited scientists in the list are Michael Gratzel from Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Edward Witten from the Institute for Advanced Studies of the U.S. and Barry Halliwell from the National University of Singapore.

The ranking is based on six citation metrics, including total citation, Hirsch h-index; coauthorship-adjusted Schreiber hm-index; number of citations to papers as single author; number of citations to papers as single or first author; and number of citations to papers as single, first, or last author.