This chart tracks the career trajectories of researchers who authored highly cited papers in Smart materials between 2020 and 2024. It breaks these trajectories into three stages, showing the country associated with each: (1) where they completed their undergraduate studies, (2) where they pursued their postgraduate training, and (3) the country of their most recent institutional affiliation.

One way we can understand global movements of human talent is to better understand our institutions. It is the world’s leading institutions that, in general, are the most well positioned to tap into the global talent pool for a particular technology. Here, we look at papers published between 2020 and 2024 to rank the most competitive institutions for research in Smart materials.