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Research in Pasadena

Science Explorer records 61 research institutions in Pasadena, United States. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022–2025 are California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Carnegie Observatories.

Research institutions
61
9 of them ranked worldwide
Research works
135k
▼ 14% vs 2013–17
Top-10% rate, 2022–2025
23.3%
record average 16.5%

A city carries no overall standing here. The composite score is built for institutions and countries, the units its floors and field normalisation were designed around. An empty rank on this page is a statement about the measure, not about the place.

Which research institutions are in Pasadena?

#InstitutionWorksAgainst the largest hereWorld rank
1California Institute of TechnologyUniversity 84,766 #56
2Jet Propulsion LaboratoryResearch facility 37,645 #739
3Carnegie ObservatoriesResearch facility 2,221 #5,026
4Fuller Theological SeminaryInstitution 1,883 #12,878
5Pasadena City CollegeUniversity 1,297 #20,872
6Tetra Tech (United States)Company 1,269 #16,539
7Department of Public HealthGovernment institution 766 #9,639
8Huntington HospitalHospital / health system 738 #7,042 all time
9Huntington Medical Research InstitutesNonprofit 624 #12,437 all time
10Infrared Processing and Analysis CenterResearch facility 522 #4,973 all time
11Joint Center for Artificial PhotosynthesisResearch facility 384 #4,117 all time
12TMT ObservatoryResearch facility 327 #9,370 all time
13Lotus Clinical ResearchResearch facility 326 #25,376
14Materia (United States)Company 322 #27,324 all time
15Orbits Lightwave (United States)Company 219 #24,845 all time
16OEwaves (United States)Company 191 #6,010 all time
17NASA Exoplanet Science InstituteInstitution 178 #9,673 all time
18University of the PeopleUniversity 177 #21,199
19ArtCenter College of DesignUniversity 148 #41,875 all time
20Pacific Oaks CollegeUniversity 128 #38,080 all time
21FH FoundationNonprofit 107 not ranked
22Shriners for Children Medical Center - PasadenaHospital / health system 96 not ranked
23Planetary SocietyNonprofit 91 not ranked
24Platinum Group Coatings (United States)Company 91 not ranked
25Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (United States)Company 86 not ranked
26LIGO Scientific CollaborationResearch facility 75 not ranked
27California Liver Research InstituteNonprofit 47 not ranked
28Keck Institute for Space StudiesUniversity 46 not ranked
29Aeolis Research (United States)Company 37 not ranked
30Spectral Imaging Laboratory (United States)Company 33 not ranked
31Mathematical Systems & Solutions (United States)Company 29 not ranked
32Calando Pharmaceuticals (United States)Company 25 not ranked
33Ashima Group (United States)Company 24 not ranked
34Neumedicines (United States)Company 16 not ranked
35Eureka Aerospace (United States)Company 14 not ranked
36Foundation for Prader-Willi ResearchNonprofit 14 not ranked
37American Jazz InstituteNonprofit 10 not ranked
38Foundation for Advancements in Science and EducationInstitution 10 not ranked
39Evorx (United States)Company 10 not ranked
40Advanced HeliophysicsNonprofit 10 not ranked
41Auritec Pharmaceuticals (United States)Company 9 not ranked
42Western Systems Research (United States)Company 9 not ranked
43Protabit (United States)Company 8 not ranked
44Epicenter Software (United States)Company 7 not ranked
45Providence Christian CollegeUniversity 7 not ranked
46Day OneNonprofit 6 not ranked
47SAFCell (United States)Company 4 not ranked
48National Urea Cycle Disorders FoundationNonprofit 4 not ranked
49Hqphotonics (United States)Company 4 not ranked
50Havana Research InstituteResearch facility 4 not ranked
51O-Ray Pharma (United States)Company 4 not ranked
52National Hispanic Media CoalitionInstitution 4 not ranked
53Cloud Posse (United States)Company 3 not ranked
54Encode Bio (United States)Company 2 not ranked
55Fluid Synchrony (United States)Company 2 not ranked
56Northeast Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ConsortiumInstitution 2 not ranked
57Aim FoundationNonprofit 2 not ranked
58Ophidion (United States)Company 2 not ranked
59Infinid Technologies (United States)Company 1 not ranked
60Pasadena Child Health FoundationNonprofit 1 not ranked

By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022–2025. Bars are scaled to the largest institution in this city, not to anything off the page.

How concentrated the city is

The same institutions as shares of everything the list accounts for. A city that is one university and a city that is twelve read alike as a table and not at all alike here.

California Institute of Technology: 62.7%Jet Propulsion Laboratory: 27.9%Carnegie Observatories: 1.6%Fuller Theological Seminary: 1.4%56 others listed: 6.3%63%largest
California Institute of Technology85k · 62.7%Jet Propulsion Laboratory38k · 27.9%Carnegie Observatories2,221 · 1.6%Fuller Theological Seminary1,883 · 1.4%56 others listed8,572 · 6.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

What is Pasadena strongest at in research?

Relative to its size, research in Pasadena is most concentrated in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Physics and Astronomy (25.1× the world share in Astronomy and Astrophysics).

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 1,177.8 works25×
  2. InstrumentationSubfield · 108.8 works24×
  3. Physics and AstronomyField · 2,090.6 works10×
  4. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 298.1 works7.5×
  5. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 455.8 works7.0×
  6. GeophysicsSubfield · 201.4 works6.4×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient against the world baseline. Inside a single field a city is a meaningful unit, which is why this is where a city is measured at all.

Which keywords describe research in Pasadena?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Solar System Abundances, Terrestrial Planets, Mars, Martian Surface, Climate Change, Exoplanets, Stellar Astrophysics and Remote Sensing.

▲ more of its work than of the world’s◆ about the world’s share▼ less than the world’s

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this city's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change404▲ 1.66×99 topics
  2. Machine Learning310◆ 1.05×85 topics
  3. Remote Sensing265▲ 2.4×38 topics
  4. Solar System Abundances237▲ 54×1 topic
  5. Terrestrial Planets237▲ 54×1 topic
  6. Mars203▲ 70×1 topic
  7. Martian Surface203▲ 70×1 topic
  8. Exoplanets157▲ 44×1 topic
  9. Stellar Astrophysics157▲ 44×1 topic
  10. Biosensors144▲ 3.1×12 topics
  11. Gravitational Waves143▲ 28×2 topics
  12. Hydrological Modeling137▲ 6.4×5 topics
  13. Black Holes136▲ 16×3 topics
  14. Star Formation136▲ 29×2 topics
  15. Data Assimilation130▲ 9.2×4 topics
  16. Entanglement126▲ 9.4×4 topics
  17. Supernovae126▲ 17×2 topics
  18. Magnetic Fields125▲ 21×3 topics
  19. Accretion Disks123▲ 29×2 topics
  20. Satellite Observations117▲ 13×3 topics
  21. Tomography114▲ 7.0×5 topics
  22. Dark Matter105▲ 10×4 topics
  23. Ocean Circulation101▲ 8.6×3 topics
  24. Astronomical Instrumentation96▲ 42×1 topic
  25. Spectrograph96▲ 42×1 topic
  26. Sea Level Rise94▲ 8.2×3 topics
  27. Plate Tectonics91▲ 6.6×3 topics
  28. Turbulence91▲ 12×5 topics
  29. Geodetic Measurements89▲ 9.1×2 topics
  30. Thermodynamic Modeling88▲ 8.6×4 topics
  31. Nucleosynthesis88▲ 20×3 topics
  32. Cosmology83▲ 14×4 topics
  33. Optical Modulators83▲ 6.2×3 topics
  34. Gamma-Ray Bursts82▲ 34×1 topic
  35. Neutron Stars82▲ 34×1 topic
  36. Quantum Information82▲ 7.8×3 topics
  37. Molecular Clouds77▲ 34×1 topic
  38. Protoplanetary Disks77▲ 34×1 topic
  39. Galactic Center69▲ 17×2 topics
  40. Hydrological Cycle68▲ 7.9×2 topics

What research is done in Pasadena?

  1. 1 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 237 works
  2. 2 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 203 works
  3. 3 Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 157 works
  4. 4 Astronomy and Astrophysical Research Instrumentation 96 works
  5. 5 Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae Astronomy and Astrophysics 82 works
  6. 6 Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies Astronomy and Astrophysics 77 works
  7. 7 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 68 works
  8. 8 Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research Astronomy and Astrophysics 61 works
  9. 9 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 60 works
  10. 10 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 58 works

Research output over time

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more.