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Research facility · Oak Ridge · United States

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#168 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#277 of 6,636 worldwide) and Materials Science (#108 of 2,468 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Structural Biology and Condensed Matter Physics — Radiation is 22.1× its share of world research.

ornl.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#324
of 28,054 · #43 all time
Rank in United States
#67
of 4,192
Research works
59k
▲ 14% vs 2013–17
Citations
2M
33.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
34%
world 28%

What is Oak Ridge 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 #168 of 12,888 15.4%5,961 #25
EngineeringField #277 of 6,636 14.7%2,445 #56
Materials ScienceField #108 of 2,468 13.8%1,152 #3
Physics and AstronomyField #85 of 1,646 19.2%767 #25
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #90 of 1,351 15.0%525 #11
Materials ChemistrySubfield #105 of 1,556 14.0%807 #4
Computer ScienceField #380 of 4,667 17.5%556 #231
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #190 of 2,318 15.8%632 #76
Life SciencesDomain #1,115 of 7,800 21.4%332 #290
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #515 of 3,579 18.5%207 #154

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Oak Ridge 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#25 #168
  2. Engineering#56 #277
  3. Materials Science#3 #108
  4. Physics and Astronomy#25 #85
  5. Mechanical Engineering#11 #90
  6. Materials Chemistry#4 #105
  7. Computer Science#231 #380
  8. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#76 #190
  9. Life Sciences#290 #1,115
  10. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#154 #515
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 Oak Ridge National Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Radiation takes 22.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. RadiationSubfield · 201.8 works22×
  2. Structural BiologySubfield · 23.4 works22×
  3. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 122.4 works12×
  4. General Materials ScienceSubfield · 27.2 works9.4×
  5. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 54.4 works7.3×
  6. Ceramics and CompositesSubfield · 32.9 works7.1×
  7. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 134.1 works6.4×
← 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: 0.30× its world share, 95 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.58× its world share, 207 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.12× its world share, 8 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.14× its world share, 16 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.27× its world share, 6 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 4.10× its world share, 95 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.06× its world share, 215 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.07× its world share, 556 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.08× its world share, 217 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.76× its world share, 108 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.45× its world share, 2,445 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.14× its world share, 378 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 4.96× its world share, 1,152 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.36× its world share, 28 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 5.19× its world share, 767 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.06× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.11× its world share, 20 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.09× its world share, 115 worksMedicineNursing: 0.06× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.03× its world share, 6 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 17 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.47× its world share, 95 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.10× its world share, 15 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.07× its world share, 14 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.08× its world share, 70 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 5.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, G.R. Satchler, Alvin M. Weinberg and Karren L. More lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

  1. 1 G.R. Satchler · #3,741 worldwide 1.7k citations · 78 works
  2. 2 Alvin M. Weinberg · #8,341 worldwide 563 citations · 86 works
  3. 3 Karren L. More · #9,459 worldwide 1.8k citations · 98 works
  4. 4 Mao‐Hua Du · #10,384 worldwide 786 citations · 61 works
  5. 5 C. Böttcher · #11,623 worldwide 1.1k citations · 71 works
  6. 6 E.P. George · #12,679 worldwide 1.1k citations · 62 works
  7. 7 M. R. Strayer · #12,715 worldwide 1.1k citations · 49 works
  8. 8 Jeremy C. Smith · #13,917 worldwide 2.3k citations · 194 works
  9. 9 S.J. Zinkle · #16,884 worldwide 1.4k citations · 108 works
  10. 10 C.T. Liu · #17,857 worldwide 2k citations · 187 works
All ranked researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mechanical Properties, Microstructure, Oxidation Resistance, Tomography, Superconductivity, Hydrogen Embrittlement, Data Analysis 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 2022–2025 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. Mechanical Properties301▲ 4.7×35 topics
  2. Machine Learning280▲ 1.29×73 topics
  3. Climate Change231▲ 1.29×76 topics
  4. Microstructure224▲ 6.5×18 topics
  5. Oxidation Resistance185▲ 26×3 topics
  6. Nanoparticles178▲ 2.1×40 topics
  7. Tomography178▲ 15×5 topics
  8. Energy Efficiency168▲ 2.7×34 topics
  9. Superconductivity167▲ 15×9 topics
  10. Energy Storage167▲ 3.8×12 topics
  11. Hydrogen Embrittlement162▲ 29×3 topics
  12. Data Analysis160▲ 8.8×8 topics
  13. Lithium-ion Batteries160▲ 5.7×4 topics
  14. Density Functional Theory159▲ 23×6 topics
  15. Cathode Materials155▲ 5.9×3 topics
  16. Small-Angle Scattering154▲ 43×2 topics
  17. High Temperature Behavior154▲ 39×2 topics
  18. Molten Salt149▲ 70×1 topic
  19. Nuclear Reactor149▲ 70×1 topic
  20. Radiography146▲ 59×2 topics
  21. Neutron Activation Analysis145▲ 61×1 topic
  22. Neutron Imaging145▲ 61×1 topic
  23. Accident Tolerant Fuels145▲ 59×1 topic
  24. Fuel Cladding145▲ 59×1 topic
  25. Additive Manufacturing141▲ 6.8×8 topics
  26. Catalysis136▲ 3.1×26 topics
  27. Electronic Structure125▲ 10×8 topics
  28. Raman Spectroscopy117▲ 9.0×6 topics
  29. Thermal Management109▲ 4.9×7 topics
  30. Polymer Composites104▲ 5.9×7 topics
  31. Molecular Dynamics100▲ 9.1×6 topics
  32. Materials98▲ 6.3×6 topics
  33. Oxidation Behavior96▲ 23×2 topics
  34. High-Performance Computing86▲ 16×3 topics
  35. Ceramics83▲ 8.2×4 topics
  36. Molecular Dynamics Simulations82▲ 29×2 topics
  37. Thermal Properties81▲ 9.7×6 topics
  38. Workflow Management81▲ 18×2 topics
  39. Parallel Computing81▲ 10×4 topics
  40. fusion materials80▲ 66×1 topic

Which research topics does Oak Ridge National Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Nuclear reactor physics and engineering, Nuclear Physics and Applications, Nuclear Materials and Properties and Fusion materials and technologies.

Nuclear reactor physics and engineering: 149 fractional worksNuclear Physics and Applications: 145 fractional worksNuclear Materials and Pr…145Nuclear Materials and Properties: 145 fractional worksFusion materials and tec…80Fusion materials and technologies: 80 fractional worksAdvancements in Battery Materials: 73 fractional worksGraphite, nuclear technology, radiation studies: 70 fractional worksAdvanced Battery Materia…63Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies: 63 fractional worksAdditive Manufacturing Materials and Processes: 62 fractional worksMachine Learning in Materials Science: 62 fractional worksAdvanced Condensed Matter Physics: 60 fractional works
Aerospace EngineeringRadiationMaterials ChemistryElectrical and Electronic Engineering2 others

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

  1. 1 Nuclear reactor physics and engineeringAerospace Engineering 149 works
  2. 2 Nuclear Physics and ApplicationsRadiation 145 works
  3. 3 Nuclear Materials and PropertiesMaterials Chemistry 145 works
  4. 4 Fusion materials and technologiesMaterials Chemistry 80 works
  5. 5 Advancements in Battery MaterialsElectrical and Electronic Engineering 73 works
  6. 6 Graphite, nuclear technology, radiation studiesMaterials Chemistry 70 works
  7. 7 Advanced Battery Materials and TechnologiesElectrical and Electronic Engineering 63 works
  8. 8 Additive Manufacturing Materials and ProcessesMechanical Engineering 62 works
  9. 9 Machine Learning in Materials ScienceMaterials Chemistry 62 works
  10. 10 Advanced Condensed Matter PhysicsCondensed Matter Physics 60 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 available34.4%not open65.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.8%domestic only87.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Oak Ridge National Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 14% 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 Oak Ridge

All research institutions in Oak Ridge

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.