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Government institution · Ottawa · Canada

National Research Council Canada

In research, National Research Council Canada stands highest in Physical Sciences (#814 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#719 of 6,636 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#1,808 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Automotive Engineering and Aerospace Engineering — Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics is 7.3× its share of world research.

nrc.canada.caROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,203
of 28,054 · #268 all time
Rank in Canada
#26
of 403
Research works
25k
▲ 28% vs 2013–17
Citations
780k
31.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
18.3%
record average 16.5%
Open access
28%
world 28%

What is National Research Council Canada 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 #814 of 12,888 16.6%1,678 #182
EngineeringField #719 of 6,636 16.1%859 #216
Life SciencesDomain #1,808 of 7,800 28.8%202 #980
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #431 of 1,351 18.0%115 #125
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #749 of 2,318 11.7%201 #343
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #1,163 of 3,579 26.3%127 #555
Physics and AstronomyField #546 of 1,646 11.6%153 #167
Materials ScienceField #819 of 2,468 15.8%140 #163
Environmental ScienceField #1,343 of 3,551 19.0%184 #496
Health SciencesDomain #5,425 of 11,982 21.0%131 #2747

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Research Council Canada 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#182 #814
  2. Engineering#216 #719
  3. Life Sciences#980 #1,808
  4. Mechanical Engineering#125 #431
  5. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#343 #749
  6. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#555 #1,163
  7. Physics and Astronomy#167 #546
  8. Materials Science#163 #819
  9. Environmental Science#496 #1,343
  10. Health Sciences#2,747 #5,425
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 Research Council Canada specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics takes 7.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 109.4 works7.3×
  2. Automotive EngineeringSubfield · 51.1 works4.6×
  3. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 109.5 works4.5×
← 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: 0.40× its world share, 40 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.14× its world share, 127 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.78× its world share, 16 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.49× its world share, 17 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.32× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 3.83× its world share, 28 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.54× its world share, 50 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.97× its world share, 158 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.15× its world share, 70 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.54× its world share, 30 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.74× its world share, 860 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.78× its world share, 184 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.92× its world share, 140 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.22× its world share, 5 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 3.28× its world share, 153 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.30× its world share, 3 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.28× its world share, 16 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.27× its world share, 107 worksMedicineNursing: 0.39× its world share, 4 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.34× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.10× its world share, 6 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.09× its world share, 6 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.86× its world share, 17 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.06× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.32× its world share, 21 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.10× its world share, 25 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Chemical Engineering, 3.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at National Research Council Canada?

Ranked on the composite score, G. Herzberg, P. B. Corkum and Saif M. Mohammad lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Research Council Canada.

  1. 1 G. Herzberg Canada · #3,884 worldwide 1.2k citations · 71 works
  2. 2 P. B. Corkum Canada · #4,425 worldwide 2.1k citations · 165 works
  3. 3 Saif M. Mohammad Canada · #17,392 worldwide 633 citations · 63 works
  4. 4 Ian C. P. Smith Canada · #17,456 worldwide 708 citations · 55 works
  5. 5 J. A. Dobrowolski Canada · #32,368 worldwide 270 citations · 51 works
  6. 6 Hongsheng Guo Canada · #36,615 worldwide 377 citations · 44 works
  7. 7 M. Cohen Canada · #38,667 worldwide 340 citations · 57 works
  8. 8 Y. Le Page Canada · #38,719 worldwide 519 citations · 53 works
  9. 9 Ralph E. Sturgeon Canada · #38,932 worldwide 643 citations · 75 works
  10. 10 W. R. McKinnon Canada · #40,464 worldwide 666 citations · 44 works
All ranked researchers at National Research Council Canada

Which keywords describe research at National Research Council Canada?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Biosensors, Mechanical Properties, Optical Modulators, Integrated Circuits, Remote Sensing, Raman Lasers, Microcavities and Silicon Photonics.

▲ 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. Machine Learning88▲ 1.29×58 topics
  2. Deep Learning87▲ 1.21×67 topics
  3. Mechanical Properties78▲ 3.8×31 topics
  4. Climate Change77▲ 1.36×49 topics
  5. Biosensors74▲ 6.9×12 topics
  6. Remote Sensing71▲ 2.7×25 topics
  7. Environmental Impact68▲ 1.92×37 topics
  8. Microstructure52▲ 4.8×15 topics
  9. Optical Modulators45▲ 15×3 topics
  10. Integrated Circuits43▲ 13×3 topics
  11. Raman Lasers42▲ 18×2 topics
  12. Microcavities42▲ 18×2 topics
  13. Silicon Photonics41▲ 18×2 topics
  14. Nanophotonic Waveguides41▲ 20×1 topic
  15. Whispering Gallery Mode41▲ 20×1 topic
  16. Additive Manufacturing35▲ 5.4×6 topics
  17. Artificial Neural Networks35▲ 3.5×8 topics
  18. Air Quality34▲ 8.7×6 topics
  19. Thermal Comfort32▲ 12×2 topics
  20. Glycosylation32▲ 14×3 topics
  21. Lithium-ion Batteries32▲ 3.6×3 topics
  22. Large-Eddy Simulation32▲ 7.9×5 topics
  23. Microwave Photonics29▲ 16×2 topics
  24. Model Predictive Control29▲ 5.3×5 topics
  25. Carbon Nanotubes28▲ 3.9×7 topics
  26. Nonlinear Optics28▲ 12×4 topics
  27. Optical Fiber26▲ 12×3 topics
  28. Emissions25▲ 6.0×6 topics
  29. Entanglement25▲ 7.9×4 topics
  30. Climate Change Impact24▲ 5.2×4 topics
  31. CFD Simulation24▲ 9.9×5 topics
  32. Boundary Layer23▲ 8.9×4 topics
  33. Turbulent Flow23▲ 9.2×3 topics
  34. Microstructural Evolution23▲ 7.2×4 topics
  35. Fiber Lasers22▲ 11×2 topics
  36. Microresonators21▲ 12×3 topics
  37. Energy Simulation21▲ 11×2 topics
  38. Building Energy Consumption21▲ 13×1 topic
  39. Sustainable Buildings21▲ 13×1 topic
  40. Optical Frequency Combs20▲ 17×1 topic

Which research topics does National Research Council Canada publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Photonic and Optical Devices, Building Energy and Comfort Optimization, Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies and Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies.

Photonic and Optical Dev…41Photonic and Optical Devices: 41 fractional worksBuilding Energy and Comfort Optimization: 21 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Laser Technologies: 20 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 16 fractional worksWind and Air Flow Studies: 16 fractional worksIcing and De-icing Technologies: 14 fractional worksHigh-Temperature Coating…14High-Temperature Coating Behaviors: 14 fractional worksAdvanced Fiber Optic Sensors: 14 fractional worksAdvanced Battery Technologies Research: 13 fractional worksMonoclonal and Polyclona…13Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research: 13 fractional works
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringBuilding and ConstructionAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsAutomotive Engineering3 others

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

  1. 1 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 41 works
  2. 2 Building Energy and Comfort Optimization Building and Construction 21 works
  3. 3 Advanced Fiber Laser Technologies Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 20 works
  4. 4 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies Automotive Engineering 16 works
  5. 5 Wind and Air Flow Studies Environmental Engineering 16 works
  6. 6 Icing and De-icing Technologies Aerospace Engineering 14 works
  7. 7 High-Temperature Coating Behaviors Aerospace Engineering 14 works
  8. 8 Advanced Fiber Optic Sensors Electrical and Electronic Engineering 14 works
  9. 9 Advanced Battery Technologies Research Automotive Engineering 13 works
  10. 10 Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging 13 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 available28.3%not open71.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.6%domestic only80.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has National Research Council Canada's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 28% 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 Ottawa

All research institutions in Ottawa

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.