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University · Chennai · India

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

In research, Indian Institute of Technology Madras stands highest in Physical Sciences (#460 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#321 of 6,636 worldwide) and Mechanical Engineering (#115 of 1,351 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes, Computational Mechanics and Earth-Surface Processes — Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes is 8.4× its share of world research.

iitm.ac.inROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#748
of 28,054 · #884 all time
Rank in India
#24
of 1,840
Research works
44k
▲ 44% vs 2013–17
Citations
737k
17.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
12.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
17%
world 28%

What is Indian Institute of Technology Madras 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 #460 of 12,888 12.1%7,820 #628
EngineeringField #321 of 6,636 11.3%4,217 #331
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #115 of 1,351 12.8%642 #152
Materials ScienceField #251 of 2,468 11.1%846 #335
Civil and Structural EngineeringSubfield #110 of 896 10.5%447 #127
Computer ScienceField #657 of 4,667 12.3%821 #836
ChemistryField #205 of 1,330 11.0%424 #488
Biomedical EngineeringSubfield #243 of 1,568 10.1%521 #370
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #369 of 2,318 6.9%863 #467
Materials ChemistrySubfield #262 of 1,556 11.0%483 #312

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Indian Institute of Technology Madras 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#628 #460
  2. Engineering#331 #321
  3. Mechanical Engineering#152 #115
  4. Materials Science#335 #251
  5. Civil and Structural Engineering#127 #110
  6. Computer Science#836 #657
  7. Chemistry#488 #205
  8. Biomedical Engineering#370 #243
  9. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#467 #369
  10. Materials Chemistry#312 #262
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 Indian Institute of Technology Madras specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes takes 8.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Fluid Flow and Transfer ProcessesSubfield · 60.4 works8.4×
  2. Computational MechanicsSubfield · 411.0 works7.7×
  3. Earth-Surface ProcessesSubfield · 54.2 works4.9×
  4. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 65.6 works4.4×
  5. Chemical EngineeringField · 137.1 works4.2×
  6. Mechanics of MaterialsSubfield · 275.4 works4.2×
  7. Civil and Structural EngineeringSubfield · 447.2 works4.1×
← 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: 0.18× its world share, 79 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.53× its world share, 262 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.11× its world share, 10 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.58× its world share, 87 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.42× its world share, 14 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 4.23× its world share, 137 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.91× its world share, 424 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.14× its world share, 821 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.49× its world share, 217 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.93× its world share, 164 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.04× its world share, 4,217 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.94× its world share, 432 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.62× its world share, 846 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.54× its world share, 168 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.91× its world share, 394 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.19× its world share, 9 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.15× its world share, 36 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.20× its world share, 349 worksMedicineNursing: 0.28× its world share, 13 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.23× its world share, 62 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.44× its world share, 133 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.82× its world share, 74 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.45× its world share, 89 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.21× its world share, 60 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.14× its world share, 165 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Chemical Engineering, 4.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Madras?

Ranked on the composite score, Chandrasekharan Rajendran, Rajnish Kumar and Thalappil Pradeep lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

  1. 1 Chandrasekharan Rajendran · #16,205 worldwide 822 citations · 65 works
  2. 2 Rajnish Kumar · #28,407 worldwide 453 citations · 49 works
  3. 3 Thalappil Pradeep · #29,066 worldwide 1.2k citations · 124 works
  4. 4 Raghunathan Rengaswamy · #55,632 worldwide 681 citations · 68 works
  5. 5 B. Yegnanarayana · #62,926 worldwide 709 citations · 89 works
  6. 6 K. Ramamurthy · #67,174 worldwide 487 citations · 52 works
  7. 7 B.S. Murty · #75,865 worldwide 1.1k citations · 129 works
  8. 8 Radha Krishna Ganti · #91,956 worldwide 376 citations · 48 works
  9. 9 Sankaran Subramanian · #92,868 worldwide 269 citations · 37 works
  10. 10 Manu Santhanam · #94,333 worldwide 482 citations · 41 works
All ranked researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Which keywords describe research at Indian Institute of Technology Madras?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Heat Transfer, Mechanical Properties, Large-Eddy Simulation, Biomedical Applications, Numerical Simulation, Deep Learning, Microstructure and Fluid-Structure Interaction.

▲ 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 Learning403▲ 1.27×79 topics
  2. Mechanical Properties363▲ 4.0×39 topics
  3. Heat Transfer345▲ 7.5×17 topics
  4. Machine Learning334◆ 1.10×79 topics
  5. Biomedical Applications274▲ 2.5×36 topics
  6. Nanoparticles232▲ 1.99×44 topics
  7. Nanomaterials205▲ 2.1×20 topics
  8. Neural Networks200▲ 1.40×37 topics
  9. Renewable Energy198▲ 1.49×41 topics
  10. Nanocomposites197▲ 2.6×22 topics
  11. Large-Eddy Simulation189▲ 11×5 topics
  12. Catalysis182▲ 3.0×28 topics
  13. Microstructure182▲ 3.8×19 topics
  14. Environmental Impact181◆ 1.15×47 topics
  15. Graphene181▲ 2.9×12 topics
  16. Numerical Simulation169▲ 6.2×13 topics
  17. Energy Efficiency150▲ 1.72×36 topics
  18. Energy Storage146▲ 2.4×12 topics
  19. Additive Manufacturing142▲ 4.9×8 topics
  20. Thermal Management140▲ 4.5×8 topics
  21. Power Electronics126▲ 4.1×8 topics
  22. Fluid-Structure Interaction125▲ 8.9×6 topics
  23. Renewable Energy Integration110▲ 3.5×6 topics
  24. Chemical Kinetics106▲ 13×3 topics
  25. Finite Element Analysis103▲ 4.8×9 topics
  26. Polymer Composites96▲ 3.9×6 topics
  27. Turbulent Flows96▲ 10×3 topics
  28. Vortex Dynamics95▲ 8.9×4 topics
  29. Nonlinear Dynamics94▲ 4.6×7 topics
  30. Emissions93▲ 5.0×6 topics
  31. Turbulent Flow93▲ 8.4×4 topics
  32. Composite Materials84▲ 4.5×10 topics
  33. Transition Metal Catalysis81▲ 10×4 topics
  34. Fluid Dynamics78▲ 6.1×6 topics
  35. Multiphase Flow74▲ 9.1×4 topics
  36. Fluid Mechanics72▲ 11×2 topics
  37. Boundary Layer Transition70▲ 11×1 topic
  38. Particle Image Velocimetry70▲ 11×1 topic
  39. Combustion Instabilities70▲ 12×2 topics
  40. Radial Basis Functions68▲ 10×2 topics

Which research topics does Indian Institute of Technology Madras publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows, Combustion and flame dynamics, Advanced Combustion Engine Technologies and Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies.

Fluid Dynamics and Turbu…70Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows: 70 fractional worksCombustion and flame dyn…55Combustion and flame dynamics: 55 fractional worksAdvanced Combustion Engine Technologies: 49 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 46 fractional worksAdvanced Battery Technologies Research: 45 fractional worksCatalytic C–H Functionalization Methods: 45 fractional worksComputational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics: 40 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Ener…39Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials: 39 fractional worksCoastal and Marine Dynamics: 38 fractional worksFluid Dynamics and Vibration Analysis: 38 fractional works
Computational MechanicsFluid Flow and Transfer ProcessesAutomotive EngineeringOrganic Chemistry2 others

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

  1. 1 Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent FlowsComputational Mechanics 70 works
  2. 2 Combustion and flame dynamicsComputational Mechanics 55 works
  3. 3 Advanced Combustion Engine TechnologiesFluid Flow and Transfer Processes 49 works
  4. 4 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing TechnologiesAutomotive Engineering 46 works
  5. 5 Advanced Battery Technologies ResearchAutomotive Engineering 45 works
  6. 6 Catalytic C–H Functionalization MethodsOrganic Chemistry 45 works
  7. 7 Computational Fluid Dynamics and AerodynamicsComputational Mechanics 40 works
  8. 8 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting MaterialsBiomedical Engineering 39 works
  9. 9 Coastal and Marine DynamicsEarth-Surface Processes 38 works
  10. 10 Fluid Dynamics and Vibration AnalysisComputational Mechanics 38 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 available17.4%not open82.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors11.5%domestic only88.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Indian Institute of Technology Madras's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 44% higher 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 Chennai

All research institutions in Chennai

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.