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University · Shenyang · China

Northeastern University

In research, Northeastern University stands highest in Engineering (#28 of 6,636 worldwide), Control and Systems Engineering (#4 of 793 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#69 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Metals and Alloys, Mechanical Engineering and Ceramics and Composites — Metals and Alloys is 16.6× its share of world research.

neu.edu.cnROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#125
of 28,054 · #505 all time
Rank in China
#51
of 3,058
Research works
60k
▲ 79% vs 2013–17
Citations
833k
14.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
18%
world 28%

What is Northeastern University 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
EngineeringField #28 of 6,636 22.9%9,209 #123
Control and Systems EngineeringSubfield #4 of 793 23.7%1,259 #8
Physical SciencesDomain #69 of 12,888 22.2%16,081 #360
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #9 of 1,351 20.4%2,559 #22
Materials ScienceField #25 of 2,468 18.8%1,902 #116
Mechanics of MaterialsSubfield #6 of 458 25.0%656 #59
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #47 of 2,318 21.0%1,626 #203
Materials ChemistrySubfield #34 of 1,556 18.8%1,203 #135
Computer ScienceField #113 of 4,667 22.0%2,820 #271
Computer Networks and CommunicationsSubfield #18 of 705 24.9%591 #82

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Northeastern University 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. Engineering#123 #28
  2. Control and Systems Engineering#8 #4
  3. Physical Sciences#360 #69
  4. Mechanical Engineering#22 #9
  5. Materials Science#116 #25
  6. Mechanics of Materials#59 #6
  7. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#203 #47
  8. Materials Chemistry#135 #34
  9. Computer Science#271 #113
  10. Computer Networks and Communications#82 #18
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 Northeastern University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Metals and Alloys takes 16.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Metals and AlloysSubfield · 99.4 works17×
  2. Mechanical EngineeringSubfield · 2,559.4 works7.7×
  3. Ceramics and CompositesSubfield · 82.2 works6.5×
  4. Control and Systems EngineeringSubfield · 1,258.5 works6.4×
  5. BioengineeringSubfield · 73.4 works6.1×
  6. Mechanics of MaterialsSubfield · 655.6 works5.1×
  7. Computer Networks and CommunicationsSubfield · 590.5 works3.7×
  8. Materials ChemistrySubfield · 1,203.4 works3.4×
← 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: 0.10× its world share, 82 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.29× its world share, 278 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.11× its world share, 19 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.45× its world share, 133 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.10× its world share, 7 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.77× its world share, 175 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.84× its world share, 238 worksChemistryComputer Science: 2.00× its world share, 2,820 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.72× its world share, 203 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.87× its world share, 311 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.39× its world share, 9,209 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.81× its world share, 731 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 3.01× its world share, 1,902 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.67× its world share, 142 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.87× its world share, 349 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.16× its world share, 14 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.11× its world share, 52 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.13× its world share, 435 worksMedicineNursing: 0.08× its world share, 7 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.05× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.06× its world share, 32 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.41× its world share, 239 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.07× its world share, 188 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.46× its world share, 178 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.19× its world share, 105 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.11× its world share, 244 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Engineering, 3.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Northeastern University?

Ranked on the composite score, Tong Xiao, Yong Zhao and Heng Yue lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Northeastern University.

  1. 1 Tong Xiao China · #25,088 worldwide 941 citations · 75 works
  2. 2 Yong Zhao China · #25,924 worldwide 756 citations · 38 works
  3. 3 Heng Yue China · #29,664 worldwide 561 citations · 37 works
  4. 4 Xiaodong Liu China · #41,154 worldwide 408 citations · 55 works
  5. 5 Dingyü Xue China · #49,654 worldwide 472 citations · 69 works
  6. 6 Huaguang Zhang China · #55,514 worldwide 422 citations · 37 works
  7. 7 Hui Ma China · #58,206 worldwide 572 citations · 62 works
  8. 8 Guang‐Hong Yang China · #59,020 worldwide 1.9k citations · 238 works
  9. 9 Zhi‐Ping Fan China · #60,624 worldwide 561 citations · 64 works
  10. 10 Yong Zhao China · #64,979 worldwide 929 citations · 159 works
All ranked researchers at Northeastern University

Which keywords describe research at Northeastern University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mechanical Properties, Microstructure, Deep Learning, Neural Networks, Machine Learning, Grain Refinement, Microstructural Evolution and Metallurgy.

▲ 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. Deep Learning1,620▲ 2.6×84 topics
  2. Mechanical Properties1,326▲ 7.5×39 topics
  3. Machine Learning1,194▲ 2.0×87 topics
  4. Microstructure1,148▲ 12×19 topics
  5. Neural Networks951▲ 3.4×38 topics
  6. Nanomaterials571▲ 3.0×19 topics
  7. Energy Efficiency539▲ 3.2×38 topics
  8. Energy Storage534▲ 4.5×12 topics
  9. Grain Refinement524▲ 25×4 topics
  10. Nanoparticles494▲ 2.2×41 topics
  11. Graphene465▲ 3.8×12 topics
  12. Microstructural Evolution459▲ 17×4 topics
  13. Metallurgy440▲ 40×2 topics
  14. Lithium-ion Batteries420▲ 5.5×4 topics
  15. Cathode Materials408▲ 5.7×3 topics
  16. Metal Recovery363▲ 9.9×3 topics
  17. Nonlinear Systems353▲ 9.2×8 topics
  18. Vibration Analysis337▲ 6.9×9 topics
  19. Optimization290▲ 3.5×26 topics
  20. Databases286▲ 54×1 topic
  21. Thermochemical286▲ 54×1 topic
  22. Stability Analysis284▲ 9.6×6 topics
  23. Rechargeable Batteries279▲ 5.7×2 topics
  24. Corrosion Behavior274▲ 19×3 topics
  25. Carbon Nanotubes268▲ 4.4×9 topics
  26. Numerical Simulation264▲ 4.9×14 topics
  27. Multi-Agent Systems252▲ 7.4×6 topics
  28. Nonlinear Dynamics251▲ 6.3×8 topics
  29. Circular Economy241▲ 4.9×6 topics
  30. High-Strength Steels236▲ 38×1 topic
  31. Martensite Transformation236▲ 38×1 topic
  32. Aerospace Applications229▲ 13×3 topics
  33. Processing Techniques224▲ 14×2 topics
  34. Event-Triggered Control220▲ 18×2 topics
  35. Sintering215▲ 9.1×5 topics
  36. Adaptive Control202▲ 8.3×7 topics
  37. Rare Earth Elements202▲ 7.7×4 topics
  38. Grain Boundary Engineering201▲ 18×2 topics
  39. Microstructure Evolution198▲ 16×5 topics
  40. Distributed Control191▲ 9.4×3 topics

Which research topics does Northeastern University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steels, Aluminum Alloys Composites Properties and Advancements in Battery Materials.

Metallurgical Processes …286Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics: 286 fractional worksMicrostructure and Mecha…236Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steels: 236 fractional worksAluminum Alloys Composites Properties: 177 fractional worksAdvancements in Battery Materials: 176 fractional worksAluminum Alloy Microstructure Properties: 172 fractional worksExtraction and Separation Processes: 168 fractional worksFault Detection and Control Systems: 165 fractional worksMetallurgy and Material …164Metallurgy and Material Forming: 164 fractional worksIron and Steelmaking Processes: 162 fractional worksMetal Extraction and Bioleaching: 154 fractional works
Mechanical EngineeringElectrical and Electronic EngineeringAerospace EngineeringControl and Systems Engineering2 others

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

  1. 1 Metallurgical Processes and Thermodynamics Mechanical Engineering 286 works
  2. 2 Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Steels Mechanical Engineering 236 works
  3. 3 Aluminum Alloys Composites Properties Mechanical Engineering 177 works
  4. 4 Advancements in Battery Materials Electrical and Electronic Engineering 176 works
  5. 5 Aluminum Alloy Microstructure Properties Aerospace Engineering 172 works
  6. 6 Extraction and Separation Processes Mechanical Engineering 168 works
  7. 7 Fault Detection and Control Systems Control and Systems Engineering 165 works
  8. 8 Metallurgy and Material Forming Mechanics of Materials 164 works
  9. 9 Iron and Steelmaking Processes Mechanical Engineering 162 works
  10. 10 Metal Extraction and Bioleaching Biomedical Engineering 154 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 available18.1%not open81.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors11.8%domestic only88.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Northeastern University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 79% 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 Shenyang

All research institutions in Shenyang

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.