Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Research facility · Livermore · United States

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

In research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#373 of 12,888 worldwide), Physics and Astronomy (#160 of 1,646 worldwide) and Computer Science (#473 of 4,667 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Nuclear and High Energy Physics and Environmental Chemistry — Radiation is 23.9× its share of world research.

llnl.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#619
of 28,054 · #114 all time
Rank in United States
#125
of 4,192
Research works
38k
▲ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.3M
33.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
16.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
39%
world 28%

What is Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 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 #373 of 12,888 16.2%2,976 #63
Physics and AstronomyField #160 of 1,646 22.8%684 #37
Computer ScienceField #473 of 4,667 14.8%275 #174
EngineeringField #864 of 6,636 15.0%897 #150
Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield #49 of 263 39.5%215 #32
Materials ScienceField #483 of 2,468 14.7%305 #91
GeophysicsSubfield #47 of 237 26.2%130 #33
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #262 of 1,209 15.2%366 #104
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #158 of 565 21.6%115 #37
Materials ChemistrySubfield #484 of 1,556 15.0%229 #108

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 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#63 #373
  2. Physics and Astronomy#37 #160
  3. Computer Science#174 #473
  4. Engineering#150 #864
  5. Nuclear and High Energy Physics#32 #49
  6. Materials Science#91 #483
  7. Geophysics#33 #47
  8. Earth and Planetary Sciences#104 #262
  9. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#37 #158
  10. Materials Chemistry#108 #484
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 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Radiation takes 23.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. RadiationSubfield · 106.4 works24×
  2. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 215.2 works21×
  3. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 137.1 works19×
  4. OceanographySubfield · 151.6 works17×
  5. GeophysicsSubfield · 129.9 works11×
  6. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 192.9 works11×
  7. Physics and AstronomyField · 684.1 works9.5×
  8. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 31.0 works8.5×
← 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: 0.14× its world share, 21 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.40× its world share, 69 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.29× its world share, 10 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.26× its world share, 14 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.17× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.82× its world share, 32 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.72× its world share, 88 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.09× its world share, 276 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 7.19× its world share, 366 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.18× its world share, 35 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.84× its world share, 896 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.71× its world share, 275 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.70× its world share, 305 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.51× its world share, 19 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 9.49× its world share, 684 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.09× its world share, 8 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.12× its world share, 77 worksMedicineNursing: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.05× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.04× its world share, 4 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.06× its world share, 33 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.07× its world share, 5 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.01× its world share, 1 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.04× its world share, 17 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 9.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, James Tobin, R. A. Soltz and M. D. Perry lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

  1. 1 James Tobin United States · #336 worldwide 3.1k citations · 172 works
  2. 2 R. A. Soltz United States · #3,441 worldwide 1.5k citations · 89 works
  3. 3 M. D. Perry United States · #3,792 worldwide 1.3k citations · 73 works
  4. 4 T.G. Nieh United States · #4,307 worldwide 1.5k citations · 72 works
  5. 5 Michael D. Feit United States · #5,139 worldwide 1k citations · 84 works
  6. 6 William G. Hoover United States · #5,304 worldwide 4.2k citations · 57 works
  7. 7 Christopher Hahn United States · #5,423 worldwide 1.1k citations · 60 works
  8. 8 T. P. Guilderson United States · #5,856 worldwide 1.5k citations · 68 works
  9. 9 Alan K. Burnham United States · #7,002 worldwide 1.4k citations · 71 works
  10. 10 Alexander M. Rubenchik United States · #9,135 worldwide 805 citations · 66 works
All ranked researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Tomography, Geodetic Measurements, Sea Level Rise, Hydrological Modeling, GRACE, groundwater depletion, Microbial Communities and Solar Wind.

▲ 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 Change226▲ 2.6×55 topics
  2. Tomography168▲ 29×5 topics
  3. Geodetic Measurements156▲ 44×2 topics
  4. Sea Level Rise151▲ 37×3 topics
  5. Hydrological Modeling149▲ 20×5 topics
  6. GRACE143▲ 86×1 topic
  7. groundwater depletion143▲ 86×1 topic
  8. Microbial Communities143▲ 10×9 topics
  9. Solar Wind141▲ 47×2 topics
  10. Anaerobic133▲ 59×1 topic
  11. Methane Oxidation133▲ 50×1 topic
  12. Electron Acceleration132▲ 60×2 topics
  13. Ionosphere126▲ 70×1 topic
  14. Magnetosphere126▲ 70×1 topic
  15. Machine Learning121◆ 1.14×62 topics
  16. Electron Beams104▲ 184×1 topic
  17. Laser-Plasma Accelerators104▲ 184×1 topic
  18. Remote Sensing84▲ 2.1×24 topics
  19. Mechanical Properties77▲ 2.5×31 topics
  20. Data Analysis72▲ 8.2×9 topics
  21. Spectroscopy72▲ 13×11 topics
  22. Superconductivity72▲ 13×9 topics
  23. Small-Angle Scattering64▲ 37×2 topics
  24. Molecular Dynamics64▲ 12×7 topics
  25. Plate Tectonics64▲ 13×3 topics
  26. Neutron Activation Analysis63▲ 54×1 topic
  27. Neutron Imaging63▲ 54×1 topic
  28. Additive Manufacturing61▲ 6.1×8 topics
  29. Crystal Structure Prediction57▲ 38×1 topic
  30. Mantle Dynamics57▲ 38×1 topic
  31. Crystal Growth55▲ 6.0×11 topics
  32. Space Exploration55▲ 39×2 topics
  33. Material Analysis53▲ 80×1 topic
  34. Plasma53▲ 77×1 topic
  35. High-Performance Computing50▲ 19×2 topics
  36. Molecular Dynamics Simulations49▲ 35×2 topics
  37. Turbulence48▲ 17×4 topics
  38. Parallel Computing44▲ 12×5 topics
  39. Oxidation Resistance40▲ 12×3 topics
  40. Density Functional Theory40▲ 12×6 topics

Which research topics does Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Geophysics and Gravity Measurements, Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics and Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics.

Geophysics and Gravity Measurements: 143 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 133 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 126 fractional worksLaser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics: 104 fractional worksNuclear Physics and Applications: 63 fractional worksHigh-pressure geophysics…57High-pressure geophysics and materials: 57 fractional worksLaser-induced spectroscopy and plasma: 53 fractional worksMagnetic confinement fusion research: 38 fractional worksSeismic Waves and Analysis: 36 fractional worksNuclear Materials and Properties: 30 fractional works
OceanographyEnvironmental ChemistryAstronomy and AstrophysicsNuclear and High Energy Physics4 others

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

  1. 1 Geophysics and Gravity Measurements Oceanography 143 works
  2. 2 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 133 works
  3. 3 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 126 works
  4. 4 Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics Nuclear and High Energy Physics 104 works
  5. 5 Nuclear Physics and Applications Radiation 63 works
  6. 6 High-pressure geophysics and materials Geophysics 57 works
  7. 7 Laser-induced spectroscopy and plasma Mechanics of Materials 53 works
  8. 8 Magnetic confinement fusion research Nuclear and High Energy Physics 38 works
  9. 9 Seismic Waves and Analysis Geophysics 36 works
  10. 10 Nuclear Materials and Properties Materials Chemistry 30 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 available38.9%not open61.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors10.5%domestic only89.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% 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 Livermore

All research institutions in Livermore

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.