On 16 November, Clarivate released its list of Highly Cited Scientists for 2021, with approximately 6,600 scientists from around the world named to this year's list, all of whom have published multiple highly cited papers over the past decade. These papers are in the top 1% of the Web of Science™ for their discipline and year of publication, demonstrating their significant academic influence.

A total of 16 scholars from Shanghai Jiao Tong University were selected, with Professor Cao Xinde, Professor Geng Yong, Professor Zhang Lizhi and Professor Zhao Yixin from the School of Environmental Science and Engineering making it to the list.