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Nonprofit · Reno · United States

Desert Research Institute

In research, Desert Research Institute stands highest in Physical Sciences (#2,498 of 12,888 worldwide), Earth and Planetary Sciences (#474 of 1,209 worldwide) and Environmental Science (#1,746 of 3,551 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Atmospheric Science, Global and Planetary Change and Earth and Planetary Sciences — Atmospheric Science is 41.6× its share of world research.

dri.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#4,267
of 28,054 · #2,004 all time
Rank in United States
#595
of 4,192
Research works
2.6k
▼ 16% vs 2013–17
Citations
109k
42.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
36%
world 28%

What is Desert Research Institute 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 #2,498 of 12,888 20.7%220 #1342
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #474 of 1,209 17.9%75 #263
Environmental ScienceField #1,746 of 3,551 23.4%108 #752

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Desert Research Institute 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#1,342 #2,498
  2. Earth and Planetary Sciences#263 #474
  3. Environmental Science#752 #1,746
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 Desert Research Institute specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Atmospheric Science takes 41.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 48.1 works42×
  2. Global and Planetary ChangeSubfield · 41.5 works21×
  3. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 75.0 works18×
← 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: 0.98× its world share, 12 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.41× its world share, 6 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.12× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.36× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.12× its world share, 2 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 18.27× its world share, 75 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.02× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.58× its world share, 23 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 8.32× its world share, 108 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.24× its world share, 2 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.27× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.53× its world share, 3 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.32× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.14× its world share, 7 worksMedicineNursing: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.53× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.24× its world share, 8 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 18.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Desert Research Institute?

Ranked on the composite score, Douglas H. Lowenthal, William R. Stockwell and Judith C. Chow lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Desert Research Institute.

  1. 1 Douglas H. Lowenthal United States · #48,468 worldwide 412 citations · 32 works
  2. 2 William R. Stockwell United States · #55,512 worldwide 319 citations · 51 works
  3. 3 Judith C. Chow United States · #57,309 worldwide 559 citations · 62 works
  4. 4 John G. Watson United States · #67,168 worldwide 899 citations · 179 works
  5. 5 G. M. Marion United States · #123,726 worldwide 210 citations · 32 works
  6. 6 Judith C. Chow United States · #200,632 worldwide 377 citations · 17 works
  7. 7 Glenn W. Berger United States · #217,286 worldwide 213 citations · 24 works
  8. 8 Justin Huntington United States · #232,138 worldwide 449 citations · 16 works
  9. 9 James G. Hudson United States · #234,696 worldwide 204 citations · 45 works
  10. 10 Nicholas Lancaster United States · #269,391 worldwide 444 citations · 67 works
All ranked researchers at Desert Research Institute

Which keywords describe research at Desert Research Institute?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Remote Sensing, Air Quality, Sediment Transport, Hydrological Modeling, Holocene, Ecosystem Resilience and Sea Level.

▲ 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. Climate Change90▲ 13×50 topics
  2. Remote Sensing43▲ 13×20 topics
  3. Air Quality22▲ 46×6 topics
  4. Sediment Transport20▲ 49×4 topics
  5. Hydrological Modeling17▲ 27×5 topics
  6. Holocene16▲ 54×3 topics
  7. Ecosystem Resilience16▲ 40×5 topics
  8. Sea Level15▲ 61×2 topics
  9. Hydrological Cycle15▲ 61×2 topics
  10. Paleoclimatology15▲ 69×2 topics
  11. Global Warming14▲ 13×8 topics
  12. Glacial Cycles14▲ 79×1 topic
  13. Monsoon Dynamics14▲ 79×1 topic
  14. Atmospheric Aerosols13▲ 90×1 topic
  15. Black Carbon13▲ 90×1 topic
  16. Land Use Change13▲ 16×3 topics
  17. Satellite Observations13▲ 51×3 topics
  18. Water Resources12▲ 20×4 topics
  19. Soil Properties11▲ 24×3 topics
  20. Health Effects11▲ 6.8×11 topics
  21. Aeolian Processes10▲ 211×1 topic
  22. Forest Fires10▲ 91×1 topic
  23. Wildfire Activity10▲ 91×1 topic
  24. Wind Erosion10▲ 211×1 topic
  25. Hydrology10▲ 31×4 topics
  26. Particulate Matter10▲ 25×2 topics
  27. Climate9▲ 41×2 topics
  28. Model Evaluation9▲ 28×2 topics
  29. Mortality9▲ 5.9×4 topics
  30. Global Hydrology9▲ 51×1 topic
  31. Uncertainty Assessment9▲ 51×1 topic
  32. Data Assimilation8▲ 21×4 topics
  33. Extreme Events8▲ 37×2 topics
  34. Ice Nucleation8▲ 79×2 topics
  35. Ocean Circulation8▲ 24×3 topics
  36. Aerosols8▲ 46×1 topic
  37. Atmospheric Dust8▲ 128×1 topic
  38. Water Quality8▲ 7.7×10 topics
  39. Air Pollution8▲ 23×2 topics
  40. Sea Level Rise8▲ 23×3 topics

Which research topics does Desert Research Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Geology and Paleoclimatology Research, Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols, Fire effects on ecosystems and Aeolian processes and effects.

Geology and Paleoclimato…14Geology and Paleoclimatology Research: 14 fractional worksAtmospheric chemistry an…13Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols: 13 fractional worksFire effects on ecosystems10Fire effects on ecosystems: 10 fractional worksAeolian processes and ef…10Aeolian processes and effects: 10 fractional worksHydrology and Watershed Management Studies: 9 fractional worksAtmospheric aerosols and clouds: 8 fractional worksAir Quality and Health I…7Air Quality and Health Impacts: 7 fractional worksClimate variability and …7Climate variability and models: 7 fractional worksCryospheric studies and …6Cryospheric studies and observations: 6 fractional worksMeteorological Phenomena…6Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations: 6 fractional works
Atmospheric ScienceGlobal and Planetary ChangeEarth-Surface ProcessesWater Science and Technology1 others

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

  1. 1 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 14 works
  2. 2 Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols Atmospheric Science 13 works
  3. 3 Fire effects on ecosystems Global and Planetary Change 10 works
  4. 4 Aeolian processes and effects Earth-Surface Processes 10 works
  5. 5 Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies Water Science and Technology 9 works
  6. 6 Atmospheric aerosols and clouds Global and Planetary Change 8 works
  7. 7 Air Quality and Health Impacts Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis 7 works
  8. 8 Climate variability and models Global and Planetary Change 7 works
  9. 9 Cryospheric studies and observations Atmospheric Science 6 works
  10. 10 Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations Atmospheric Science 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 available35.7%not open64.3%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors22.4%domestic only77.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Desert Research Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 16% 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 Reno

All research institutions in Reno

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.