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University · Lausanne · Switzerland

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

In research, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne stands highest in Physical Sciences (#49 of 12,888 worldwide), Computer Science (#39 of 4,667 worldwide) and Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (#39 of 3,579 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Condensed Matter Physics, Instrumentation and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics — Condensed Matter Physics is 6.5× its share of world research.

epfl.chROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#63
of 28,054 · #38 all time
Rank in Switzerland
#2
of 220
Research works
75k
▼ 13% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.2M
43.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
25.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
66%
world 28%

What is École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 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 #49 of 12,888 23.8%6,433 #28
Computer ScienceField #39 of 4,667 22.8%1,125 #24
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #39 of 3,579 33.5%521 #63
Physics and AstronomyField #21 of 1,646 29.3%859 #38
EngineeringField #87 of 6,636 22.0%2,567 #32
Life SciencesDomain #108 of 7,800 32.0%918 #116
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #72 of 2,318 19.8%785 #26
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #19 of 565 25.7%358 #31
Materials ScienceField #95 of 2,468 23.8%578 #21
Materials ChemistrySubfield #76 of 1,556 25.4%370 #12

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne 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#28 #49
  2. Computer Science#24 #39
  3. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#63 #39
  4. Physics and Astronomy#38 #21
  5. Engineering#32 #87
  6. Life Sciences#116 #108
  7. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#26 #72
  8. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#31 #19
  9. Materials Science#21 #95
  10. Materials Chemistry#12 #76
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 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Condensed Matter Physics takes 6.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 88.5 works6.5×
  2. InstrumentationSubfield · 25.0 works5.9×
  3. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 357.5 works5.9×
  4. BiophysicsSubfield · 50.5 works5.2×
  5. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 136.9 works5.1×
← 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: 0.19× its world share, 78 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.15× its world share, 520 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.40× its world share, 34 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.95× its world share, 269 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.58× its world share, 17 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.24× its world share, 67 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.43× its world share, 324 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.70× its world share, 1,125 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.26× its world share, 168 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.83× its world share, 143 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.01× its world share, 2,567 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.83× its world share, 351 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.94× its world share, 578 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.50× its world share, 250 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 4.54× its world share, 859 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.17× its world share, 39 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.30× its world share, 486 worksMedicineNursing: 0.18× its world share, 8 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.23× its world share, 58 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.22× its world share, 60 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.14× its world share, 94 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.49× its world share, 89 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.33× its world share, 86 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.22× its world share, 234 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 4.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne?

Ranked on the composite score, Pascal Frossard, Michaël Grätzel and Jean‐Pierre Hubaux lead among researchers whose main affiliation is École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

  1. 1 Pascal Frossard · #1,457 worldwide 3.8k citations · 208 works
  2. 2 Michaël Grätzel · #1,491 worldwide 13k citations · 436 works
  3. 3 Jean‐Pierre Hubaux · #1,638 worldwide 2.2k citations · 104 works
  4. 4 Tobias J. Kippenberg · #2,057 worldwide 3.1k citations · 224 works
  5. 5 Pierre Vandergheynst · #2,658 worldwide 3.1k citations · 129 works
  6. 6 Alexandre Alahi · #3,029 worldwide 3.3k citations · 68 works
  7. 7 Shaik M. Zakeeruddin · #3,324 worldwide 2.6k citations · 102 works
  8. 8 Karen Scrivener · #3,382 worldwide 2.4k citations · 110 works
  9. 9 Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin · #8,163 worldwide 3.5k citations · 186 works
  10. 10 András Kis · #8,733 worldwide 3.2k citations · 51 works
All ranked researchers at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Which keywords describe research at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Biosensors, Biomedical Applications, Optical Modulators, Molecular Dynamics and Nonlinear Optics.

▲ 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. Deep Learning506▲ 1.74×77 topics
  2. Machine Learning399▲ 1.43×76 topics
  3. Neural Networks292▲ 2.2×36 topics
  4. Biomedical Applications218▲ 2.2×34 topics
  5. Biosensors193▲ 4.4×12 topics
  6. Renewable Energy157▲ 1.28×41 topics
  7. Nanomaterials142▲ 1.58×20 topics
  8. Artificial Neural Networks127▲ 3.1×8 topics
  9. Catalysis122▲ 2.1×27 topics
  10. Molecular Dynamics108▲ 7.7×6 topics
  11. Optical Modulators107▲ 8.5×3 topics
  12. Efficiency100▲ 3.9×8 topics
  13. Semiconductors98▲ 3.8×5 topics
  14. Crystal Growth91▲ 3.8×12 topics
  15. Integrated Circuits88▲ 6.6×3 topics
  16. Nonlinear Optics87▲ 9.3×4 topics
  17. Microcavities82▲ 8.6×2 topics
  18. Silicon Photonics81▲ 8.8×2 topics
  19. Stability81▲ 4.2×8 topics
  20. Raman Lasers80▲ 8.3×2 topics
  21. Nanophotonic Waveguides78▲ 9.3×1 topic
  22. Whispering Gallery Mode78▲ 9.3×1 topic
  23. Light-Emitting Diodes77▲ 5.8×3 topics
  24. Microresonators72▲ 10×3 topics
  25. Entanglement72▲ 5.7×4 topics
  26. Actuators69▲ 5.1×5 topics
  27. Turbulence68▲ 9.1×5 topics
  28. Fiber Lasers66▲ 8.0×3 topics
  29. Backpropagation Learning66▲ 9.5×1 topic
  30. Self-Organizing Maps66▲ 9.5×1 topic
  31. Organometal Halide Perovskites63▲ 6.5×1 topic
  32. Perovskite Solar Cells63▲ 6.5×1 topic
  33. Microwave Photonics63▲ 8.3×2 topics
  34. Diagnostics61▲ 8.6×3 topics
  35. Quantum Mechanics57▲ 8.1×5 topics
  36. Optical Frequency Combs56▲ 12×1 topic
  37. Ultrafast Lasers56▲ 12×1 topic
  38. Transport56▲ 21×2 topics
  39. MHD Stability56▲ 31×1 topic
  40. Tokamak56▲ 31×1 topic

Which research topics does École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Photonic and Optical Devices, Neural Networks and Applications, Perovskite Materials and Applications and Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies.

Photonic and Optical Dev…78Photonic and Optical Devices: 78 fractional worksNeural Networks and Appl…66Neural Networks and Applications: 66 fractional worksPerovskite Materials and…63Perovskite Materials and Applications: 63 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Laser Tec…56Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies: 56 fractional worksMagnetic confinement fusion research: 56 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials: 49 fractional worksMachine Learning in Mate…46Machine Learning in Materials Science: 46 fractional worksAdvanced Memory and Neural Computing: 38 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brain function: 37 fractional worksConducting polymers and …36Conducting polymers and applications: 36 fractional works
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringArtificial IntelligenceAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsNuclear and High Energy Physics4 others

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

  1. 1 Photonic and Optical DevicesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 78 works
  2. 2 Neural Networks and ApplicationsArtificial Intelligence 66 works
  3. 3 Perovskite Materials and ApplicationsElectrical and Electronic Engineering 63 works
  4. 4 Advanced Fiber Laser TechnologiesAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 56 works
  5. 5 Magnetic confinement fusion researchNuclear and High Energy Physics 56 works
  6. 6 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting MaterialsBiomedical Engineering 49 works
  7. 7 Machine Learning in Materials ScienceMaterials Chemistry 46 works
  8. 8 Advanced Memory and Neural ComputingElectrical and Electronic Engineering 38 works
  9. 9 Neural dynamics and brain functionCognitive Neuroscience 37 works
  10. 10 Conducting polymers and applicationsPolymers and Plastics 36 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 available66.1%not open33.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors33.2%domestic only66.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 13% 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 Lausanne

All research institutions in Lausanne

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.