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Government institution · Pretoria · South Africa

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

In research, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research stands highest in Physical Sciences (#3,566 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#2,661 of 6,636 worldwide) and Environmental Science (#2,248 of 3,551 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Polymers and Plastics, Biomaterials and Materials Science — Polymers and Plastics is 8.2× its share of world research.

csir.co.zaROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#5,346
of 28,054 · #1,990 all time
Rank in South Africa
#27
of 87
Research works
7.2k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
158k
21.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
24%
world 28%

What is Council for Scientific and Industrial Research known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #3,566 of 12,888 18.4%580 #1483
EngineeringField #2,661 of 6,636 15.4%222 #1228
Environmental ScienceField #2,248 of 3,551 23.1%72 #918
Computer ScienceField #3,032 of 4,667 20.9%120 #2929
Life SciencesDomain #5,240 of 7,800 24.7%73 #3231
Social SciencesDomain #8,160 of 10,521 21.4%79 #4075
Materials ScienceField #1,981 of 2,468 21.1%103 #1696

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Council for Scientific and Industrial Research sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#1,483 #3,566
  2. Engineering#1,228 #2,661
  3. Environmental Science#918 #2,248
  4. Computer Science#2,929 #3,032
  5. Life Sciences#3,231 #5,240
  6. Social Sciences#4,075 #8,160
  7. Materials Science#1,696 #1,981
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does Council for Scientific and Industrial Research specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Polymers and Plastics takes 8.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Polymers and PlasticsSubfield · 26.2 works8.2×
  2. BiomaterialsSubfield · 25.4 works7.6×
  3. Materials ScienceField · 102.9 works3.8×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.75× its world share, 28 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.80× its world share, 34 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.52× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.30× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 1.29× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.80× its world share, 8 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.20× its world share, 15 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.96× its world share, 120 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.09× its world share, 13 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 2.12× its world share, 15 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.88× its world share, 222 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.86× its world share, 72 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 3.76× its world share, 103 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.40× its world share, 4 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.49× its world share, 9 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.47× its world share, 10 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.26× its world share, 40 worksMedicineNursing: 0.56× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.63× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.72× its world share, 18 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.21× its world share, 9 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.46× its world share, 8 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.25× its world share, 6 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.36× its world share, 36 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Materials Science, 3.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert J. Scholes, Belinda Reyers and Adnan M. Abu‐Mahfouz lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

  1. 1 Robert J. Scholes South Africa · #1,985 worldwide 1.7k citations · 134 works
  2. 2 Belinda Reyers South Africa · #29,429 worldwide 877 citations · 36 works
  3. 3 Adnan M. Abu‐Mahfouz South Africa · #67,308 worldwide 369 citations · 58 works
  4. 4 Konrad Wessels South Africa · #105,307 worldwide 321 citations · 31 works
  5. 5 J. C. Vogel South Africa · #108,626 worldwide 344 citations · 28 works
  6. 6 Patrick O’Farrell South Africa · #110,336 worldwide 280 citations · 36 works
  7. 7 Angela Dudley South Africa · #114,785 worldwide 210 citations · 38 works
  8. 8 F. van den Bergh South Africa · #130,706 worldwide 203 citations · 29 works
  9. 9 Richard D. Robarts South Africa · #167,624 worldwide 181 citations · 28 works
  10. 10 Pieter S. Steyn South Africa · #168,178 worldwide 172 citations · 44 works
All ranked researchers at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Which keywords describe research at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mechanical Properties, Nanocomposites, Biomedical Applications, Microstructure, Additive Manufacturing, Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Nanomaterials.

▲ 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 institution'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. Mechanical Properties54▲ 7.0×28 topics
  2. Biomedical Applications50▲ 5.4×28 topics
  3. Deep Learning48▲ 1.79×48 topics
  4. Machine Learning47▲ 1.84×48 topics
  5. Nanocomposites45▲ 7.1×21 topics
  6. Sustainability36▲ 1.90×37 topics
  7. Environmental Impact32▲ 2.4×38 topics
  8. Nanomaterials31▲ 3.8×17 topics
  9. Microstructure31▲ 7.6×13 topics
  10. Nanoparticles30▲ 3.0×31 topics
  11. Climate Change29▲ 1.36×62 topics
  12. Security26▲ 5.0×16 topics
  13. Internet of Things25▲ 3.7×13 topics
  14. Additive Manufacturing24▲ 9.7×5 topics
  15. Graphene21▲ 3.9×11 topics
  16. Renewable Energy21▲ 1.85×29 topics
  17. Tissue Engineering18▲ 3.8×12 topics
  18. Biodegradable Polymers18▲ 14×4 topics
  19. IoT Security17▲ 6.8×3 topics
  20. Energy Storage17▲ 3.3×10 topics
  21. Recycling17▲ 5.6×7 topics
  22. Polymer Composites17▲ 8.0×6 topics
  23. Cybersecurity14▲ 7.7×4 topics
  24. Drug Delivery14▲ 3.4×13 topics
  25. Privacy14▲ 6.1×4 topics
  26. Nanostructures13▲ 4.2×12 topics
  27. 3D Printing13▲ 7.1×3 topics
  28. Polyhydroxyalkanoates12▲ 20×1 topic
  29. Polylactic Acid12▲ 20×1 topic
  30. Applications12▲ 5.5×7 topics
  31. 5G Networks12▲ 7.3×5 topics
  32. Game Theory12▲ 8.7×3 topics
  33. Materials12▲ 6.3×4 topics
  34. Material Characterization11▲ 12×2 topics
  35. Process Parameters11▲ 13×3 topics
  36. Metallic Components10▲ 20×1 topic
  37. Selective Laser Melting10▲ 20×1 topic
  38. Biomedical Engineering10▲ 8.6×2 topics
  39. Challenges10▲ 10×1 topic
  40. Fused Deposition Modeling10▲ 11×1 topic

Which research topics does Council for Scientific and Industrial Research publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties, Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes, Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies and Information and Cyber Security.

biodegradable polymer sy…12biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties: 12 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing M…10Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes: 10 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 10 fractional worksInformation and Cyber Security: 8 fractional worksBlockchain Technology Applications and Security: 8 fractional worksHigh Entropy Alloys Studies: 7 fractional worksTitanium Alloys Microstructure and Properties: 7 fractional worksMicroplastics and Plasti…7Microplastics and Plastic Pollution: 7 fractional worksAdvanced Malware Detection Techniques: 6 fractional worksIoT and Edge/Fog Computing: 6 fractional works
BiomaterialsMechanical EngineeringAutomotive EngineeringInformation Systems4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties Biomaterials 12 works
  2. 2 Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes Mechanical Engineering 10 works
  3. 3 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies Automotive Engineering 10 works
  4. 4 Information and Cyber Security Information Systems 8 works
  5. 5 Blockchain Technology Applications and Security Information Systems 8 works
  6. 6 High Entropy Alloys Studies Mechanical Engineering 7 works
  7. 7 Titanium Alloys Microstructure and Properties Materials Chemistry 7 works
  8. 8 Microplastics and Plastic Pollution Pollution 7 works
  9. 9 Advanced Malware Detection Techniques Signal Processing 6 works
  10. 10 IoT and Edge/Fog Computing Computer Networks and Communications 6 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available23.8%not open76.2%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors16.6%domestic only83.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Other research institutions in Pretoria

All research institutions in Pretoria

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.