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University · Edinburgh · United Kingdom

Heriot-Watt University

In research, Heriot-Watt University stands highest in Physical Sciences (#813 of 12,888 worldwide), Social Sciences (#1,014 of 10,521 worldwide) and Engineering (#840 of 6,636 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Ocean Engineering, Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics and Environmental Chemistry — Ocean Engineering is 6.6× its share of world research.

hw.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,140
of 28,054 · #675 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#46
of 1,094
Research works
18k
▼ 2% vs 2013–17
Citations
446k
25.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
29%
world 28%

What is Heriot-Watt University 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 #813 of 12,888 19.2%1,559 #540
Social SciencesDomain #1,014 of 10,521 35.7%436 #859
EngineeringField #840 of 6,636 18.7%684 #383
Business, Management and AccountingField #493 of 2,578 42.8%103 #504
MedicineField #2,555 of 10,443 20.0%81 #4528
Environmental ScienceField #897 of 3,551 22.0%202 #725
Physics and AstronomyField #427 of 1,646 15.6%142 #329
Health SciencesDomain #3,165 of 11,982 22.3%113 #3085
Social SciencesField #1,727 of 6,365 40.3%130 #997
PsychologyField #720 of 2,181 27.2%67 #771

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Heriot-Watt University 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#540 #813
  2. Social Sciences#859 #1,014
  3. Engineering#383 #840
  4. Business, Management and Accounting#504 #493
  5. Medicine#4,528 #2,555
  6. Environmental Science#725 #897
  7. Physics and Astronomy#329 #427
  8. Health Sciences#3,085 #3,165
  9. Social Sciences#997 #1,727
  10. Psychology#771 #720
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 Heriot-Watt University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Ocean Engineering takes 6.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Ocean EngineeringSubfield · 75.6 works6.6×
  2. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 87.5 works5.5×
  3. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 21.5 works4.5×
  4. Environmental EngineeringSubfield · 51.4 works4.3×
← 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: 0.37× its world share, 39 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.36× its world share, 42 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.15× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.52× its world share, 19 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.28× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.64× its world share, 13 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.57× its world share, 55 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.29× its world share, 223 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.96× its world share, 68 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.65× its world share, 34 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.06× its world share, 684 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.84× its world share, 202 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.05× its world share, 81 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.26× its world share, 59 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.88× its world share, 142 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.50× its world share, 29 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.19× its world share, 81 worksMedicineNursing: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.35× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.41× its world share, 26 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.44× its world share, 103 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.81× its world share, 39 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.49× its world share, 71 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.00× its world share, 67 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.46× its world share, 130 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 2.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Heriot-Watt University?

Ranked on the composite score, M. Mercedes Maroto‐Valer, Daniel E. Clark and Jiju Antony lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Heriot-Watt University.

  1. 1 M. Mercedes Maroto‐Valer United Kingdom · #10,623 worldwide 1.3k citations · 90 works
  2. 2 Daniel E. Clark United Kingdom · #30,782 worldwide 531 citations · 76 works
  3. 3 Jiju Antony United Kingdom · #38,387 worldwide 960 citations · 129 works
  4. 4 David M. Lane United Kingdom · #42,461 worldwide 938 citations · 108 works
  5. 5 Alan Campbell McKinnon United Kingdom · #53,297 worldwide 435 citations · 57 works
  6. 6 Theodore Lim United Kingdom · #56,241 worldwide 277 citations · 53 works
  7. 7 Sen Wang United Kingdom · #62,245 worldwide 593 citations · 65 works
  8. 8 James Ritchie United Kingdom · #63,376 worldwide 236 citations · 53 works
  9. 9 Jia‐Sheng Hong United Kingdom · #72,512 worldwide 305 citations · 44 works
  10. 10 Frédéric Bosché United Kingdom · #88,801 worldwide 302 citations · 36 works
All ranked researchers at Heriot-Watt University

Which keywords describe research at Heriot-Watt University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Sustainability, Nonlinear Optics, Deep Learning, CO2 Sequestration, Hydraulic Fracturing, Machine Learning, Renewable Energy and Fiber Lasers.

▲ 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 Learning100▲ 1.32×70 topics
  2. Sustainability94▲ 1.73×64 topics
  3. Machine Learning86▲ 1.18×65 topics
  4. Climate Change78▲ 1.31×71 topics
  5. Renewable Energy62▲ 1.94×36 topics
  6. Environmental Impact57▲ 1.53×48 topics
  7. Neural Networks49▲ 1.45×35 topics
  8. Nonlinear Optics43▲ 17×4 topics
  9. CO2 Sequestration37▲ 8.8×4 topics
  10. Optimization34▲ 3.3×14 topics
  11. Hydraulic Fracturing32▲ 13×2 topics
  12. Fiber Lasers30▲ 14×3 topics
  13. Porous Media29▲ 10×6 topics
  14. Reactive Transport28▲ 25×2 topics
  15. Shale Gas26▲ 9.2×2 topics
  16. Fracture Propagation25▲ 18×1 topic
  17. Shale Gas Reservoirs25▲ 18×1 topic
  18. Surfactants24▲ 11×5 topics
  19. Human-Robot Interaction24▲ 10×3 topics
  20. Entanglement23▲ 7.0×4 topics
  21. Molecular Dynamics23▲ 6.4×6 topics
  22. Carbon Capture23▲ 26×1 topic
  23. Geological Storage23▲ 38×1 topic
  24. Microresonators22▲ 12×3 topics
  25. Nanofluids22▲ 12×2 topics
  26. Data Assimilation22▲ 6.2×4 topics
  27. Uncertainty Quantification21▲ 12×2 topics
  28. Microwave Photonics21▲ 11×2 topics
  29. Pore-scale Modeling21▲ 26×1 topic
  30. X-ray Computed Tomography21▲ 26×1 topic
  31. Optical Frequency Combs21▲ 17×1 topic
  32. Ultrafast Lasers21▲ 17×1 topic
  33. Pore Structure20▲ 7.3×3 topics
  34. Gas Permeability20▲ 9.0×2 topics
  35. Nanopores20▲ 9.1×2 topics
  36. Ensemble Kalman Filter19▲ 8.7×2 topics
  37. Mudstones19▲ 11×1 topic
  38. Thermal Maturity19▲ 11×1 topic
  39. Closed-Loop Control19▲ 18×1 topic
  40. Well Placement19▲ 18×1 topic

Which research topics does Heriot-Watt University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis, CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions, Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques and Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies.

Hydraulic Fracturing and…25Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis: 25 fractional worksCO2 Sequestration and Ge…23CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions: 23 fractional worksEnhanced Oil Recovery Techniques: 21 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Laser Tec…21Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies: 21 fractional worksHydrocarbon exploration …19Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis: 19 fractional worksReservoir Engineering and Simulation Methods: 19 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 15 fractional worksSocial Robot Interaction…14Social Robot Interaction and HRI: 14 fractional worksQuantum Information and Cryptography: 13 fractional worksAntenna Design and Analysis: 12 fractional works
Mechanical EngineeringEnvironmental EngineeringOcean EngineeringAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics5 others

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

  1. 1 Hydraulic Fracturing and Reservoir Analysis Mechanical Engineering 25 works
  2. 2 CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions Environmental Engineering 23 works
  3. 3 Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques Ocean Engineering 21 works
  4. 4 Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 21 works
  5. 5 Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis Mechanics of Materials 19 works
  6. 6 Reservoir Engineering and Simulation Methods Ocean Engineering 19 works
  7. 7 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 15 works
  8. 8 Social Robot Interaction and HRI Social Psychology 14 works
  9. 9 Quantum Information and Cryptography Artificial Intelligence 13 works
  10. 10 Antenna Design and Analysis Aerospace Engineering 12 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 available28.9%not open71.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors28.6%domestic only71.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Heriot-Watt University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 2% 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 Edinburgh

All research institutions in Edinburgh

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.