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Research facility · Brussels · Belgium

Institute of Natural Sciences

In research, Institute of Natural Sciences stands highest in Physical Sciences (#5,239 of 12,888 worldwide), Environmental Science (#2,166 of 3,551 worldwide) and Agricultural and Biological Sciences (#2,098 of 3,409 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Insect Science, Paleontology and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics — Insect Science is 119.5× its share of world research.

naturalsciences.beROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#7,749
of 28,054 · #8,152 all time
Rank in Belgium
#44
of 138
Research works
3.1k
▼ 10% vs 2013–17
Citations
44k
14.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
4.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
67%
world 28%

What is Institute of Natural Sciences 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 #5,239 of 12,888 13.5%296 #5730
Environmental ScienceField #2,166 of 3,551 9.6%167 #1352
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #2,098 of 3,409 1.2%692 #2410
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #899 of 1,209 20.5%99 #1336
Life SciencesDomain #6,151 of 7,800 1.2%982 #8542
Insect ScienceSubfield #84 of 102 0.3%452 #448
EcologySubfield #493 of 578 7.8%90 #662
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield #228 of 255 2.3%192 #611
GeneticsSubfield #463 of 489 0.7%262 #1224
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #3,536 of 3,579 1.1%283 #6192

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Institute of Natural Sciences 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#5,730 #5,239
  2. Environmental Science#1,352 #2,166
  3. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#2,410 #2,098
  4. Earth and Planetary Sciences#1,336 #899
  5. Life Sciences#8,542 #6,151
  6. Insect Science#448 #84
  7. Ecology#662 #493
  8. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics#611 #228
  9. Genetics#1,224 #463
  10. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#6,192 #3,536
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 Institute of Natural Sciences specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Insect Science takes 119.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Insect ScienceSubfield · 452.3 works119×
  2. PaleontologySubfield · 51.9 works32×
  3. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 191.9 works31×
  4. GeneticsSubfield · 262.4 works24×
  5. Agricultural and Biological SciencesField · 692.4 works11×
  6. EcologySubfield · 90.1 works8.6×
← 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: 10.90× its world share, 692 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 3.97× its world share, 283 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.32× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.03× its world share, 3 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4.71× its world share, 99 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.06× its world share, 11 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.52× its world share, 167 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.22× its world share, 10 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.13× its world share, 2 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.04× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.06× its world share, 16 worksMedicineVeterinary: 0.28× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.44× its world share, 17 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 1 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.17× its world share, 7 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 11 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Agricultural and Biological Sciences, 10.9×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Institute of Natural Sciences?

Ranked on the composite score, Thierry Backeljau, Kevin Ruddick and Mietje Germonpré lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Institute of Natural Sciences.

  1. 1 Thierry Backeljau Belgium · #103,923 worldwide 358 citations · 70 works
  2. 2 Kevin Ruddick Belgium · #227,366 worldwide 171 citations · 43 works
  3. 3 Mietje Germonpré Belgium · #232,933 worldwide 182 citations · 24 works
  4. 4 Anton Ervynck Belgium · #262,745 worldwide 90 citations · 76 works
  5. 5 Koen Martens Belgium · #325,699 worldwide 236 citations · 76 works
  6. 6 Caroline Polet Belgium · #336,506 worldwide 69 citations · 49 works
  7. 7 Erik Verheyen Belgium · #380,002 worldwide 118 citations · 53 works
  8. 8 Pascal Godefroit Belgium · #453,053 worldwide 84 citations · 25 works
  9. 9 Thierry Smith Belgium · #667,195 worldwide 140 citations · 48 works
  10. 10 Dirk Nolf Belgium · #682,406 worldwide 62 citations · 16 works
All ranked researchers at Institute of Natural Sciences

Which keywords describe research at Institute of Natural Sciences?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Phylogeny, Biodiversity, Taxonomy, Evolution, Invasive Species, DNA Barcoding, Biological Control and Cryptic Species.

▲ 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. Phylogeny372▲ 184×17 topics
  2. Biodiversity350▲ 35×24 topics
  3. Taxonomy342▲ 197×13 topics
  4. Evolution340▲ 102×14 topics
  5. Invasive Species336▲ 59×19 topics
  6. DNA Barcoding327▲ 150×9 topics
  7. Biological Control281▲ 141×9 topics
  8. Cryptic Species253▲ 816×2 topics
  9. Lepidoptera247▲ 983×1 topic
  10. Molecular Phylogenetics247▲ 983×1 topic
  11. Conservation240▲ 42×18 topics
  12. Host Specificity226▲ 150×4 topics
  13. Ecological Impact194▲ 293×3 topics
  14. Pest Management193▲ 172×4 topics
  15. Sustainable Energy191▲ 79×2 topics
  16. Economic Assessment191▲ 517×1 topic
  17. Water Hyacinth191▲ 1251×1 topic
  18. Climate Change145▲ 4.0×57 topics
  19. Pheromones143▲ 205×3 topics
  20. Chemical Ecology139▲ 1292×1 topic
  21. Odor Source Localization139▲ 1292×1 topic
  22. Biogeography110▲ 31×20 topics
  23. Morphology98▲ 43×6 topics
  24. Population Dynamics98▲ 29×11 topics
  25. Environmental Impact61▲ 2.7×19 topics
  26. Food Security53▲ 7.2×4 topics
  27. Molecular Phylogeny52▲ 25×10 topics
  28. Nutritional Composition51▲ 74×2 topics
  29. Waste Management50▲ 9.2×5 topics
  30. Animal Feed49▲ 118×1 topic
  31. Edible Insects49▲ 118×1 topic
  32. Phylogenetic Analysis47▲ 12×14 topics
  33. Biodiversity Loss42▲ 61×3 topics
  34. Ecology41▲ 20×9 topics
  35. Eutrophication37▲ 27×3 topics
  36. Microbiota36▲ 12×4 topics
  37. Speciation35▲ 68×3 topics
  38. Ecosystem Functioning35▲ 14×7 topics
  39. Tropical Forests33▲ 70×2 topics
  40. Gall-Inducing Insects33▲ 314×1 topic

Which research topics does Institute of Natural Sciences publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy, Biological Control of Invasive Species, Insect Pheromone Research and Control and Insect Utilization and Effects.

Lepidoptera: Biology and…247Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy: 247 fractional worksBiological Control of In…191Biological Control of Invasive Species: 191 fractional worksInsect Pheromone Researc…139Insect Pheromone Research and Control: 139 fractional worksInsect Utilization and E…49Insect Utilization and Effects: 49 fractional worksHymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny: 33 fractional worksEntomological Studies and Ecology: 31 fractional worksInsect behavior and control techniques: 29 fractional worksAquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity: 26 fractional worksSubterranean biodiversity and taxonomy: 24 fractional worksColeoptera Taxonomy and Distribution: 22 fractional works
GeneticsInsect ScienceEcology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsEcology1 others

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

  1. 1 Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy Genetics 247 works
  2. 2 Biological Control of Invasive Species Insect Science 191 works
  3. 3 Insect Pheromone Research and Control Insect Science 139 works
  4. 4 Insect Utilization and Effects Insect Science 49 works
  5. 5 Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 33 works
  6. 6 Entomological Studies and Ecology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 31 works
  7. 7 Insect behavior and control techniques Insect Science 29 works
  8. 8 Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity Ecology 26 works
  9. 9 Subterranean biodiversity and taxonomy Paleontology 24 works
  10. 10 Coleoptera Taxonomy and Distribution Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 22 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 available66.9%not open33.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors65.8%domestic only34.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Institute of Natural Sciences's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 10% 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 Brussels

All research institutions in Brussels

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.