IQ scores of
scientists.
Researchers and theorists whose names have become shorthand for genius — and the numbers that came with them.
19 profiles
Each entry opens onto the full story behind the figure.
Portrait by Ferdinand Schmutzer (1921), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Napoleon Sarony (c. 1890), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Los Alamos National Laboratory badge photograph, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by ²°¹°°, Paris, 2006, public domain. Cropped from the original. · Photograph by the Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics (2026), CC BY 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph from the US National Archives (catalog 558579), public domain. · Photograph by Elliott & Fry, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Jay Murdock, CC BY-SA 4.0. · Photograph, publisher Mathematical Association of America, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photographer unknown, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Duncan.Hull, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Los Alamos National Laboratory badge photograph, c. 1940s, public domain (PD-LosAlamos). Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by George Bergman (Berkeley, September 1993; re-scanned), CC BY-SA 4.0. · Photograph by Montclair Film Festival (photo by Neil Grabowsky, May 2017), CC BY 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Newhcrossaint (2025), CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Ojan (Chalmers University of Technology, April 2008), public domain. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Σ (Amherst, Massachusetts, April 13, 2017), retouched by Wugapodes and Jonnmann, CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed for the portrait above.
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More profiles are on the way. A name joins this category once its figure has been traced and a properly licensed portrait is cleared.
Get a measured score first — then the comparison actually means something. Thirty questions, instant result.
Start the test →Scientists IQ, asked and answered
How are IQ scores for scientists estimated?
Not by testing anyone. Each figure on this page is inferred from the documented record — published work, contemporary accounts, verified qualifications — using a named method set out under how we read a number. Every profile shows its own workings.
Which of these scientists has the highest IQ?
Terence Tao holds the highest estimate in this category at 170–190. That ordering comes from the midpoint of each range and it re-sorts itself as profiles are added, so treat it as a convenience rather than a verdict. The full leaderboard ranks every category together.
How many scientists profiles are there?
19 so far, and the list grows as figures are traced and portraits licensed. Browse the rest of the section from all categories, or start at the Celebrity IQ hub.
How do I compare my own IQ with these scientists?
Get a measured number first. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions and reports on the same 100-mean scale used on every profile here, with a percentile and an ability breakdown. How we score and norm it explains the benchmarking, and average IQ by country shows how the same scale looks across populations.
Where would you
actually land?
Your score, your percentile, your ability breakdown and a printable IIF certificate.
Find your IQ score now! →