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Funder · Gaithersburg · United States

National Institute of Standards and Technology

In research, National Institute of Standards and Technology stands highest in Physical Sciences (#262 of 12,888 worldwide), Physics and Astronomy (#50 of 1,646 worldwide) and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics (#30 of 565 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Radiation and Spectroscopy — Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics is 17.4× its share of world research.

nist.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#512
of 28,054 · #39 all time
Rank in United States
#102
of 4,192
Research works
47k
▼ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.7M
36.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
21%
world 28%

What is National Institute of Standards and Technology 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 #262 of 12,888 15.0%1,944 #18
Physics and AstronomyField #50 of 1,646 20.0%418 #9
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #30 of 565 20.4%290 #6
EngineeringField #1,025 of 6,636 11.6%770 #76
Materials ScienceField #548 of 2,468 13.8%226 #31
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #757 of 2,318 9.4%275 #110
Computer ScienceField #1,557 of 4,667 18.5%234 #213
Life SciencesDomain #2,688 of 7,800 18.1%177 —
Materials ChemistrySubfield #561 of 1,556 15.7%132 #78
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #1,294 of 3,579 17.7%140 #491

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Institute of Standards and Technology 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#18 #262
  2. Physics and Astronomy#9 #50
  3. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#6 #30
  4. Engineering#76 #1,025
  5. Materials Science#31 #548
  6. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#110 #757
  7. Computer Science#213 #1,557
  8. Materials Chemistry#78 #561
  9. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#491 #1,294
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 National Institute of Standards and Technology specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics takes 17.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 289.8 works17×
  2. RadiationSubfield · 37.0 works12×
  3. SpectroscopySubfield · 55.2 works11×
  4. Surfaces, Coatings and FilmsSubfield · 24.2 works11×
  5. Statistics, Probability and UncertaintySubfield · 34.6 works8.8×
  6. Physics and AstronomyField · 417.7 works8.1×
← 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: 0.15× its world share, 16 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.13× its world share, 140 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.15× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.28× its world share, 11 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.77× its world share, 6 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 3.37× its world share, 27 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 3.36× its world share, 122 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.30× its world share, 234 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.95× its world share, 35 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.63× its world share, 13 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.21× its world share, 770 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.69× its world share, 79 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.79× its world share, 226 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.71× its world share, 19 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 8.10× its world share, 418 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.10× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.12× its world share, 7 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.15× its world share, 66 worksMedicineNursing: 0.13× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.80× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.07× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.23× its world share, 17 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.03× its world share, 45 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.16× its world share, 8 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.10× its world share, 7 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.13× its world share, 38 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 8.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at National Institute of Standards and Technology?

Ranked on the composite score, Emanuel Knill, W. L. Wiese and D. J. Wineland lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Institute of Standards and Technology.

  1. 1 Emanuel Knill United States · #4,430 worldwide 1.6k citations · 72 works
  2. 2 W. L. Wiese United States · #7,568 worldwide 952 citations · 77 works
  3. 3 D. J. Wineland United States · #7,672 worldwide 1.6k citations · 135 works
  4. 4 Wayne M. Itano United States · #7,679 worldwide 1.5k citations · 115 works
  5. 5 Peter J. Mohr United States · #9,261 worldwide 884 citations · 80 works
  6. 6 Ellen M. Voorhees United States · #10,890 worldwide 1.2k citations · 49 works
  7. 7 John W. Cahn United States · #11,210 worldwide 2.6k citations · 46 works
  8. 8 C. J. Powell United States · #13,761 worldwide 677 citations · 57 works
  9. 9 C. W. Oates United States · #14,671 worldwide 617 citations · 56 works
  10. 10 Charles L. Wilson United States · #14,800 worldwide 717 citations · 72 works
All ranked researchers at National Institute of Standards and Technology

Which keywords describe research at National Institute of Standards and Technology?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biosensors, Entanglement, Integrated Circuits, Nonlinear Optics, Optical Modulators, Additive Manufacturing, Quantum Information and Microresonators.

▲ 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. Biosensors103▲ 8.6×12 topics
  2. Machine Learning93▲ 1.22×65 topics
  3. Nanoparticles77▲ 2.6×37 topics
  4. Entanglement70▲ 20×4 topics
  5. Mechanical Properties64▲ 2.8×29 topics
  6. Integrated Circuits60▲ 16×3 topics
  7. Nonlinear Optics57▲ 22×4 topics
  8. Additive Manufacturing55▲ 7.7×6 topics
  9. Optical Modulators55▲ 16×3 topics
  10. Quantum Information52▲ 19×3 topics
  11. Microresonators49▲ 26×3 topics
  12. Silicon Photonics49▲ 20×2 topics
  13. Raman Lasers49▲ 19×2 topics
  14. Microcavities48▲ 18×2 topics
  15. Security48▲ 3.2×18 topics
  16. Microwave Photonics47▲ 23×2 topics
  17. Nanophotonic Waveguides47▲ 21×1 topic
  18. Whispering Gallery Mode47▲ 21×1 topic
  19. Molecular Dynamics47▲ 12×6 topics
  20. Fiber Lasers46▲ 20×3 topics
  21. Microstructure46▲ 3.8×18 topics
  22. Optical Frequency Combs43▲ 34×1 topic
  23. Ultrafast Lasers43▲ 34×1 topic
  24. Quantum Simulation41▲ 22×2 topics
  25. Monte Carlo Simulation35▲ 7.5×9 topics
  26. Superfluidity34▲ 34×2 topics
  27. 3D Printing34▲ 6.2×5 topics
  28. Magnetic Resonance Imaging34▲ 5.7×7 topics
  29. Cryptography33▲ 12×4 topics
  30. Superconducting Circuits32▲ 20×2 topics
  31. Measurement32▲ 16×2 topics
  32. Bose-Einstein Condensation31▲ 38×2 topics
  33. Computation31▲ 19×2 topics
  34. Optical Lattices31▲ 21×3 topics
  35. Mass Spectrometry31▲ 8.7×6 topics
  36. Quality Assurance31▲ 8.0×6 topics
  37. Quantum31▲ 17×2 topics
  38. Metrology31▲ 22×1 topic
  39. Photon31▲ 22×1 topic
  40. Material Characterization30▲ 11×3 topics

Which research topics does National Institute of Standards and Technology publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Photonic and Optical Devices, Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies, Quantum Information and Cryptography and Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation.

Photonic and Optical Dev…47Photonic and Optical Devices: 47 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Laser Tec…43Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies: 43 fractional worksQuantum Information and Cryptography: 31 fractional worksScientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation: 29 fractional worksCold Atom Physics and Bo…29Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates: 29 fractional worksAtomic and Subatomic Physics Research: 26 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing Materials and Processes: 26 fractional worksMechanical and Optical R…25Mechanical and Optical Resonators: 25 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 25 fractional worksAdvanced Frequency and Time Standards: 25 fractional works
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsArtificial IntelligenceStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty2 others

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

  1. 1 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 47 works
  2. 2 Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 43 works
  3. 3 Quantum Information and Cryptography Artificial Intelligence 31 works
  4. 4 Scientific Measurement and Uncertainty Evaluation Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty 29 works
  5. 5 Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 29 works
  6. 6 Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 26 works
  7. 7 Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes Mechanical Engineering 26 works
  8. 8 Mechanical and Optical Resonators Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 25 works
  9. 9 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies Automotive Engineering 25 works
  10. 10 Advanced Frequency and Time Standards Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 25 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 available21.0%not open79.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors15.4%domestic only84.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Institute of Standards and Technology's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Gaithersburg

All research institutions in Gaithersburg

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.