Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
Research facility · Los Alamos · United States

Los Alamos National Laboratory

In research, Los Alamos National Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#350 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#451 of 5,901 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#118 of 1,417 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Nuclear and High Energy Physics and Condensed Matter Physics (Radiation is 26.5× its share of world research).

World rank, 2022-now
#665
of 22,385 · #422 all time
Rank in United States
#167
of 3,332
Research works
60k
▲ 18% vs 2018-21
Citations
2.1M
35.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
7.8%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.92×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
37%
world 40%
International
14%
world 18%

What is Los Alamos National Laboratory known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #350 of 10,670 7.8%4,611 #196
EngineeringField #451 of 5,901 6.6%1,502 #200
Physics and AstronomyField #118 of 1,417 8.9%1,218 #64
Computer ScienceField #553 of 4,417 9.6%367 #385
Health SciencesDomain #1,393 of 9,902 9.1%165 #722
Materials ScienceField #342 of 2,276 7.4%637 #193
Materials ChemistrySubfield #235 of 1,473 7.3%489 #125
Artificial IntelligenceSubfield #329 of 1,862 11.8%175 #337
Environmental ScienceField #634 of 3,334 7.2%238 #602
MedicineField #1,716 of 8,541 10.0%137 #852

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Los Alamos 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 average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022-now. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Physical Sciences#196 #350
  2. Engineering#200 #451
  3. Physics and Astronomy#64 #118
  4. Computer Science#385 #553
  5. Health Sciences#722 #1,393
  6. Materials Science#193 #342
  7. Materials Chemistry#125 #235
  8. Artificial Intelligence#337 #329
  9. Environmental Science#602 #634
  10. Medicine#852 #1,716
all time2022-now, better2022-now, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

Which fields of science does Los Alamos National Laboratory work in?

In 2022-now, 90% of research at Los Alamos National Laboratory is in Physical Sciences, 5% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (29%), Physics and Astronomy (24%), Materials Science (12%). It does 2.3× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 4,974 fractional works · 89.6% of its workEngineering: 1,604 fractional works · 28.9% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 338 fractional works · 6.1% of its workAerospace Engineering: 256 fractional works · 4.6% of its workMechanical Engineering: 212 fractional works · 3.8% of its workMechanics of Materials: 195 fractional works · 3.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 151 fractional works · 2.7% of its workComputational Mechanics: 149 fractional works · 2.7% of its workOcean Engineering: 84 fractional works · 1.5% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 59 fractional works · 1.1% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 53 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 36 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 25 fractional works · 0.4% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMedia Technology: 15 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 12 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1,312 fractional works · 23.6% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 350 fractional works · 6.3% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 315 fractional works · 5.7% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 232 fractional works · 4.2% of its workRadiation: 202 fractional works · 3.6% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 125 fractional works · 2.3% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 73 fractional works · 1.3% of its workInstrumentation: 12 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 688 fractional works · 12.4% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 527 fractional works · 9.5% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 84 fractional works · 1.5% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 29 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSurfaces, Coatings and Films: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiomaterials: 13 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Science: 406 fractional works · 7.3% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 193 fractional works · 3.5% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 60 fractional works · 1.1% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 43 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 42 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHardware and Architecture: 31 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInformation Systems: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 22 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 337 fractional works · 6.1% of its workGeophysics: 171 fractional works · 3.1% of its workAtmospheric Science: 95 fractional works · 1.7% of its workOceanography: 38 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 257 fractional works · 4.6% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 87 fractional works · 1.6% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 66 fractional works · 1.2% of its workEcology: 26 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 23 fractional works · 0.4% of its workWater Science and Technology: 13 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 43 fractional works · 0.8% of its workChemistry: 185 fractional works · 3.3% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 66 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSpectroscopy: 42 fractional works · 0.8% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 35 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 22 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 85 fractional works · 1.5% of its workApplied Mathematics: 23 fractional works · 0.4% of its workStatistics and Probability: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNumerical Analysis: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workModeling and Simulation: 12 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 23 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnergy: 60 fractional works · 1.1% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 51 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSmaller subfields together: 10 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 39 fractional works · 0.7% of its workCatalysis: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workFluid Flow and Transfer Processes: 13 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 10 fractional works · 0.2% of its workLife Sciences: 253 fractional works · 4.6% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 154 fractional works · 2.8% of its workMolecular Biology: 103 fractional works · 1.8% of its workGenetics: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiophysics: 13 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 25 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 43 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPlant Science: 22 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 21 fractional works · 0.4% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 38 fractional works · 0.7% of its workImmunology: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workVirology: 15 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 177 fractional works · 3.2% of its workMedicine: 146 fractional works · 2.6% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 39 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInfectious Diseases: 24 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 17 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEpidemiology: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 34 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth Professions: 29 fractional works · 0.5% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 14 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 15 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 148 fractional works · 2.7% of its workDecision Sciences: 67 fractional works · 1.2% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 34 fractional works · 0.6% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 18 fractional works · 0.3% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 16 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 41 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSociology and Political Science: 12 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 14 fractional works · 0.3% of its workArts and Humanities: 15 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 9 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 9 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 6 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKLos AlamosNational…5,552fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences5%Physical Sciences90%Health Sciences3%Social Sciences3%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering1,60428.9%
    2. Physics and Astronomy1,31223.6%
    3. Materials Science68812.4%
    4. Computer Science4067.3%
    5. Earth and Planetary Sciences3376.1%
    6. Environmental Science2574.6%
    7. Chemistry1853.3%
    8. Mathematics851.5%
    9. Energy601.1%
    10. Chemical Engineering390.7%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology1542.8%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences430.8%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology380.7%
    4. Neuroscience160.3%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics20.0%
    1. Medicine1462.6%
    2. Health Professions290.5%
    3. Nursing10.0%
    4. Veterinary10.0%
    5. Dentistry00.0%
    1. Decision Sciences671.2%
    2. Social Sciences410.7%
    3. Arts and Humanities150.3%
    4. Business, Management and Accounting90.2%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance90.2%
    6. Psychology60.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Los Alamos National Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Radiation takes 26.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. RadiationSubfield · 202.1 works26×
  2. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 350.4 works20×
  3. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 125.0 works14×
  4. Physics and AstronomyField · 1,311.9 works11×
  5. GeophysicsSubfield · 170.6 works8.8×
  6. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 231.5 works8.0×
← 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: 0.16× its world share, 43 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.52× its world share, 154 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.67× its world share, 38 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.18× its world share, 16 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.12× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.01× its world share, 39 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.12× its world share, 185 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.94× its world share, 406 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 3.87× its world share, 337 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.19× its world share, 60 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.93× its world share, 1,604 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.93× its world share, 257 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 3.55× its world share, 688 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.30× its world share, 85 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 10.62× its world share, 1,312 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.20× its world share, 29 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.14× its world share, 146 worksMedicineNursing: 0.03× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.09× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.09× its world share, 15 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.05× its world share, 9 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.25× its world share, 67 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.08× its world share, 9 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.04× its world share, 6 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.06× its world share, 41 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 10.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 25 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy10.62×1,312 works
  2. Earth and Planetary Sciences3.87×337 works
  3. Materials Science3.55×688 works
  4. Chemistry2.12×185 works
  5. Chemical Engineering2.01×39 works
  6. Engineering1.93×1,604 works
  7. Mathematics1.30×85 works
  8. Decision Sciences1.25×67 works
  9. Energy1.19×60 works
  10. Computer Science0.94×406 works
  11. Environmental Science0.93×257 works
  12. Immunology and Microbiology0.67×38 works
  13. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.52×154 works
  14. Health Professions0.20×29 works
  15. Neuroscience0.18×16 works
  16. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.16×43 works
  17. Medicine0.14×146 works
  18. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.12×2 works
  19. Veterinary0.09×1 works
  20. Arts and Humanities0.09×15 works
  21. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.08×9 works
  22. Social Sciences0.06×41 works
  23. Business, Management and Accounting0.05×9 works
  24. Psychology0.04×6 works
  25. Nursing0.03×1 works

Who are the top researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory?

Ranked on the quality score, Grant David Meadors, Bette Korber and Qinjun Kang lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Los Alamos National Laboratory.

  1. 1 Grant David Meadors United States · #1,208 worldwide 84k citations · 210 works
  2. 2 Bette Korber United States · #8,251 worldwide 59k citations · 512 works
  3. 3 Qinjun Kang United States · #10,765 worldwide 17k citations · 283 works
  4. 4 Wojciech Hubert Zurek United States · #11,124 worldwide 43k citations · 327 works
  5. 5 Patrick J. Coles United States · #13,689 worldwide 10k citations · 178 works
  6. 6 J. R. Asbridge United States · #15,335 worldwide 14k citations · 136 works
  7. 7 Victor I. Klimov United States · #15,897 worldwide 54k citations · 478 works
  8. 8 Sowjanya Gollapinni United States · #15,979 worldwide 27k citations · 343 works
  9. 9 Marco Cerezo United States · #16,047 worldwide 6.8k citations · 94 works
  10. 10 Samuel J. Bame United States · #18,555 worldwide 37k citations · 463 works
All ranked researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory

What are the most cited papers from Los Alamos National Laboratory?

The most cited paper from Los Alamos National Laboratory is "SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python" (Pauli Virtanen et al., 2020), with 40,161 citations. Next come "Equation of State Calculations by Fast Computing Machines" (37,517) and "PHENIX : a comprehensive Python-based system for macromolecular structure solution" (24,924).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python Pauli Virtanen et al. · Nature Methods Open access112 authors 3 Feb 2020 40,161
2 Equation of State Calculations by Fast Computing Machines N. Metropolis, Arianna W. Rosenbluth, M. N. Rosenbluth et al. · The Journal of Chemical Physics Jun 1953 37,517
3 PHENIX : a comprehensive Python-based system for macromolecular structure solution Paul D. Adams, Pavel V. Afonine, G. Bunkóczi et al. · Acta Crystallographica Section D Biological Crystallography Open access 21 Jan 2010 24,924
4 Array programming with NumPy Charles R. Harris et al. · Nature Open access 16 Sep 2020 23,885
5 Array programming with NumPy Cr Harris et al. · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics Open access 17 Sep 2020 18,804
All 59 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Los Alamos National Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Tomography, Superconductivity, Data Analysis, Small-Angle Scattering, Radiography, Neutron Activation Analysis, Neutron Imaging and Density Functional Theory.

▲ 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-now 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. Machine Learning244▲ 1.32×61 topics
  2. Tomography234▲ 24×5 topics
  3. Superconductivity165▲ 17×9 topics
  4. Data Analysis148▲ 10×9 topics
  5. Radiography135▲ 70×2 topics
  6. Small-Angle Scattering135▲ 47×2 topics
  7. Neutron Activation Analysis131▲ 73×1 topic
  8. Neutron Imaging131▲ 73×1 topic
  9. Mechanical Properties126▲ 2.3×33 topics
  10. Nanoparticles124▲ 1.78×39 topics
  11. Remote Sensing123▲ 1.82×30 topics
  12. Density Functional Theory122▲ 21×5 topics
  13. Molten Salt106▲ 61×1 topic
  14. Nuclear Reactor106▲ 61×1 topic
  15. Oxidation Resistance101▲ 17×3 topics
  16. Hydrogen Embrittlement96▲ 21×3 topics
  17. High Temperature Behavior94▲ 31×2 topics
  18. Crystal Growth91▲ 6.0×11 topics
  19. Molecular Dynamics Simulations88▲ 37×2 topics
  20. Accident Tolerant Fuels88▲ 46×1 topic
  21. Fuel Cladding88▲ 46×1 topic
  22. Molecular Dynamics86▲ 8.9×7 topics
  23. Solar Wind85▲ 17×2 topics
  24. Entanglement84▲ 10.0×4 topics
  25. Quantum Information78▲ 12×3 topics
  26. Thermal Decomposition74▲ 30×2 topics
  27. Electronic Structure74▲ 7.4×8 topics
  28. Dark Matter72▲ 11×4 topics
  29. Electron Acceleration70▲ 19×2 topics
  30. Plate Tectonics68▲ 8.0×3 topics
  31. Particle Physics67▲ 16×2 topics
  32. Nucleosynthesis63▲ 23×3 topics
  33. Actinides62▲ 22×2 topics
  34. Quantum Simulation61▲ 14×2 topics
  35. Electron Beams61▲ 63×1 topic
  36. Laser-Plasma Accelerators61▲ 63×1 topic
  37. Quantum Mechanics58▲ 11×5 topics
  38. Lattice QCD58▲ 18×2 topics
  39. Crystal Structure Prediction58▲ 22×1 topic
  40. Mantle Dynamics58▲ 22×1 topic

Which research topics does Los Alamos National Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Nuclear Physics and Applications, Nuclear reactor physics and engineering, Nuclear Materials and Properties and Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics.

  1. 1 Nuclear Physics and Applications Radiation 131 works
  2. 2 Nuclear reactor physics and engineering Aerospace Engineering 106 works
  3. 3 Nuclear Materials and Properties Materials Chemistry 88 works
  4. 4 Laser-Plasma Interactions and Diagnostics Nuclear and High Energy Physics 61 works
  5. 5 High-pressure geophysics and materials Geophysics 58 works
  6. 6 Energetic Materials and Combustion Mechanics of Materials 54 works
  7. 7 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 54 works
  8. 8 Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies Nuclear and High Energy Physics 50 works
  9. 9 Radioactive element chemistry and processing Inorganic Chemistry 46 works
  10. 10 Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies Radiation 46 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 available37.1%not open62.9%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors13.5%domestic only86.5%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Los Alamos National Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 18% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Los Alamos National Laboratory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.033% in 2024.

still counting0.10%0.20%Los Alamos National Laboratory0.018% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Los Alamos National Laboratory over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025Los Alamos National Laboratory9.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 16.6% in 2013.

Other research institutions in Los Alamos

All research institutions in Los Alamos

Compare Los Alamos National Laboratory with

Compare any two

Share Los Alamos National Laboratory's ranking

Los Alamos National Laboratory on Science Explorer

A card with Los Alamos National Laboratory's standing and the fields it leads in, for a post or a slide. A link to this page previews as the same card.

Download the card

1200 × 630 PNG, sized for social posts, drawn from the latest snapshot.

Badges for a website2Each links back here and updates with every snapshot

Its overall standing, then the domains, fields and subfields where Los Alamos National Laboratory is in the world's top ten or its top 1%. Each has an image of its own.

Overall

Domains

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners have tabs of their own, above.

Questions people ask

What does Los Alamos National Laboratory research?

In research, Los Alamos National Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#350 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#451 of 5,901 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#118 of 1,417 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Nuclear and High Energy Physics and Condensed Matter Physics (Radiation is 26.5× its share of world research).

All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Los Alamos National Laboratory. Keep it to the research: no personal attacks, advertising or links. Any reader can report a post, which collapses it for everyone until it is opened.