Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
Research facility · Oak Ridge · United States

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#160 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#189 of 5,901 worldwide) and Materials Science (#106 of 2,276 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Structural Biology, Radiation and Condensed Matter Physics (Structural Biology is 24.1× its share of world research).

World rank, 2022-now
#427
of 22,385 · #263 all time
Rank in United States
#107
of 3,332
Research works
59k
▲ 25% vs 2018-21
Citations
2M
33.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
8.8%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.01×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
34%
world 40%
International
13%
world 18%

What is Oak Ridge 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 #160 of 10,670 8.7%6,028 #89
EngineeringField #189 of 5,901 7.7%2,466 #111
Materials ScienceField #106 of 2,276 8.0%1,175 #23
Materials ChemistrySubfield #81 of 1,473 7.3%821 #28
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #92 of 1,319 7.9%528 #57
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #164 of 2,176 8.7%640 #129
Computer ScienceField #389 of 4,417 8.2%558 #378
Physics and AstronomyField #125 of 1,417 8.6%778 #46
Environmental ScienceField #352 of 3,334 10.1%380 #211
Health SciencesDomain #1,176 of 9,902 10.7%141 #1044

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 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#89 #160
  2. Engineering#111 #189
  3. Materials Science#23 #106
  4. Materials Chemistry#28 #81
  5. Mechanical Engineering#57 #92
  6. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#129 #164
  7. Computer Science#378 #389
  8. Physics and Astronomy#46 #125
  9. Environmental Science#211 #352
  10. Health Sciences#1,044 #1,176
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 Oak Ridge National Laboratory work in?

In 2022-now, 89% of research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is in Physical Sciences, 5% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (36%), Materials Science (17%), Physics and Astronomy (11%). It does 2.3× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 6,554 fractional works · 89.3% of its workEngineering: 2,666 fractional works · 36.3% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 693 fractional works · 9.4% of its workMechanical Engineering: 575 fractional works · 7.8% of its workAerospace Engineering: 311 fractional works · 4.2% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 252 fractional works · 3.4% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 153 fractional works · 2.1% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 138 fractional works · 1.9% of its workMechanics of Materials: 122 fractional works · 1.7% of its workComputational Mechanics: 111 fractional works · 1.5% of its workBuilding and Construction: 81 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 74 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 51 fractional works · 0.7% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 51 fractional works · 0.7% of its workOcean Engineering: 38 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 14 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 1,284 fractional works · 17.5% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 894 fractional works · 12.2% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 148 fractional works · 2.0% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 74 fractional works · 1.0% of its workBiomaterials: 45 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSurfaces, Coatings and Films: 42 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCeramics and Composites: 35 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeneral Materials Science: 28 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMetals and Alloys: 17 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 841 fractional works · 11.5% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 222 fractional works · 3.0% of its workRadiation: 212 fractional works · 2.9% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 150 fractional works · 2.0% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 135 fractional works · 1.8% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 87 fractional works · 1.2% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 30 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.1% of its workComputer Science: 613 fractional works · 8.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 230 fractional works · 3.1% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 125 fractional works · 1.7% of its workInformation Systems: 62 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHardware and Architecture: 59 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 55 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 45 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSignal Processing: 16 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 21 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 421 fractional works · 5.7% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 104 fractional works · 1.4% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 60 fractional works · 0.8% of its workWater Science and Technology: 51 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEcology: 46 fractional works · 0.6% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 42 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 38 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 33 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPollution: 28 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workChemistry: 241 fractional works · 3.3% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 100 fractional works · 1.4% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 46 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSpectroscopy: 40 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 24 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 13 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 230 fractional works · 3.1% of its workGeophysics: 83 fractional works · 1.1% of its workOceanography: 62 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAtmospheric Science: 54 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeochemistry and Petrology: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 13 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 120 fractional works · 1.6% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 101 fractional works · 1.4% of its workEnergy Engineering and Power Technology: 16 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.0% of its workChemical Engineering: 108 fractional works · 1.5% of its workCatalysis: 53 fractional works · 0.7% of its workFluid Flow and Transfer Processes: 36 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 18 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 31 fractional works · 0.4% of its workLife Sciences: 387 fractional works · 5.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 242 fractional works · 3.3% of its workMolecular Biology: 146 fractional works · 2.0% of its workStructural Biology: 28 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiophysics: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 49 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 110 fractional works · 1.5% of its workPlant Science: 55 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSmaller subfields together: 55 fractional works · 0.7% of its workNeuroscience: 19 fractional works · 0.3% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 9 fractional works · 0.1% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 8 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 240 fractional works · 3.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 102 fractional works · 1.4% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 47 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 35 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 20 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 79 fractional works · 1.1% of its workTransportation: 23 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 55 fractional works · 0.8% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 20 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 16 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 15 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 7 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 159 fractional works · 2.2% of its workMedicine: 131 fractional works · 1.8% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 43 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 22 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 66 fractional works · 0.9% of its workHealth Professions: 22 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNursing: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workDentistry: 2 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKOak RidgeNational…7,339fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences5%Physical Sciences89%Health Sciences2%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. Engineering2,66636.3%
    2. Materials Science1,28417.5%
    3. Physics and Astronomy84111.5%
    4. Computer Science6138.4%
    5. Environmental Science4215.7%
    6. Chemistry2413.3%
    7. Earth and Planetary Sciences2303.1%
    8. Energy1201.6%
    9. Chemical Engineering1081.5%
    10. Mathematics310.4%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2423.3%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1101.5%
    3. Neuroscience190.3%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology90.1%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics80.1%
    1. Decision Sciences1021.4%
    2. Social Sciences791.1%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting200.3%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance160.2%
    5. Psychology150.2%
    6. Arts and Humanities70.1%
    1. Medicine1311.8%
    2. Health Professions220.3%
    3. Nursing20.0%
    4. Dentistry20.0%
    5. Veterinary10.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Oak Ridge National Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Structural Biology takes 24.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Structural BiologySubfield · 28.2 works24×
  2. RadiationSubfield · 212.4 works21×
  3. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 135.3 works12×
  4. General Materials ScienceSubfield · 28.3 works8.8×
  5. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 59.3 works7.2×
  6. Ceramics and CompositesSubfield · 35.4 works6.9×
  7. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 150.3 works6.5×
← 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: 0.31× its world share, 110 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.62× its world share, 242 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.12× its world share, 9 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.16× its world share, 19 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.31× its world share, 8 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 4.19× its world share, 108 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.09× its world share, 241 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.07× its world share, 613 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.00× its world share, 230 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.78× its world share, 120 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.42× its world share, 2,666 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.16× its world share, 421 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 5.01× its world share, 1,284 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.36× its world share, 31 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 5.15× its world share, 841 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.06× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.11× its world share, 22 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.09× its world share, 131 worksMedicineNursing: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.03× its world share, 7 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.09× its world share, 20 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.44× its world share, 102 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.10× its world share, 16 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.07× its world share, 15 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.08× its world share, 79 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.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy5.15×841 works
  2. Materials Science5.01×1,284 works
  3. Chemical Engineering4.19×108 works
  4. Engineering2.42×2,666 works
  5. Chemistry2.09×241 works
  6. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.00×230 works
  7. Energy1.78×120 works
  8. Decision Sciences1.44×102 works
  9. Environmental Science1.16×421 works
  10. Computer Science1.07×613 works
  11. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.62×242 works
  12. Mathematics0.36×31 works
  13. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.31×110 works
  14. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.31×8 works
  15. Neuroscience0.16×19 works
  16. Veterinary0.14×1 works
  17. Immunology and Microbiology0.12×9 works
  18. Health Professions0.11×22 works
  19. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.10×16 works
  20. Medicine0.09×131 works
  21. Business, Management and Accounting0.09×20 works
  22. Social Sciences0.08×79 works
  23. Nursing0.07×2 works
  24. Psychology0.07×15 works
  25. Dentistry0.06×2 works
  26. Arts and Humanities0.03×7 works

Who are the top researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

Ranked on the quality score, C.T. Liu, J. Newby and De‐en Jiang lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

  1. 1 C.T. Liu United States · #7,739 worldwide 69k citations · 795 works
  2. 2 J. Newby United States · #7,922 worldwide 31k citations · 337 works
  3. 3 De‐en Jiang United States · #12,149 worldwide 41k citations · 610 works
  4. 4 Sheng Dai United States · #12,436 worldwide 101k citations · 1,502 works
  5. 5 P. W. Stankus United States · #12,628 worldwide 28k citations · 309 works
  6. 6 Hongbin Bei United States · #14,942 worldwide 33k citations · 339 works
  7. 7 T. C. Awes United States · #15,177 worldwide 22k citations · 212 works
  8. 8 Ilias Belharouak United States · #15,478 worldwide 22k citations · 379 works
  9. 9 G. Hagen United States · #16,704 worldwide 10k citations · 216 works
  10. 10 Chengdu Liang United States · #17,186 worldwide 22k citations · 225 works
All ranked researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

What are the most cited papers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

The most cited paper from Oak Ridge National Laboratory is "An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments" (W. C. Oliver, George M. Pharr, 1992), with 27,030 citations. Next come "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital" (22,491) and "A new hybrid exchange–correlation functional using the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP)" (15,226).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments W. C. Oliver, George M. Pharr · Journal of materials research/Pratt's guide to venture capital sources Jun 1992 27,030
2 The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital Robert Costanza, Ralph C. d’Arge, R.S. de Groot et al. · Nature May 1997 22,491
3 A new hybrid exchange–correlation functional using the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP) Takeshi Yanai, David P. Tew, Nicholas Charles Handy · Chemical Physics Letters Jul 2004 15,226
4 Prodigal: prokaryotic gene recognition and translation initiation site identification Doug Hyatt, Gwo-Liang Chen, Philip F. LoCascio et al. · BMC Bioinformatics Open access 8 Mar 2010 13,697
5 Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome Curtis Huttenhower et al. · Nature Open access248 authors Jun 2012 12,195
All 56 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022-now, 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-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. Mechanical Properties334▲ 4.6×36 topics
  2. Machine Learning319▲ 1.31×74 topics
  3. Climate Change254▲ 1.27×78 topics
  4. Microstructure245▲ 6.5×18 topics
  5. Nanoparticles199▲ 2.2×40 topics
  6. Oxidation Resistance196▲ 25×3 topics
  7. Tomography187▲ 14×5 topics
  8. Energy Storage186▲ 3.9×12 topics
  9. Superconductivity186▲ 15×9 topics
  10. Energy Efficiency179▲ 2.6×34 topics
  11. Cathode Materials174▲ 6.1×3 topics
  12. Lithium-ion Batteries172▲ 5.7×4 topics
  13. Hydrogen Embrittlement172▲ 28×3 topics
  14. Data Analysis171▲ 8.9×8 topics
  15. Density Functional Theory170▲ 23×6 topics
  16. High Temperature Behavior163▲ 40×2 topics
  17. Small-Angle Scattering163▲ 43×2 topics
  18. Molten Salt158▲ 69×1 topic
  19. Nuclear Reactor158▲ 69×1 topic
  20. Radiography156▲ 61×2 topics
  21. Additive Manufacturing154▲ 6.8×8 topics
  22. Accident Tolerant Fuels153▲ 60×1 topic
  23. Fuel Cladding153▲ 60×1 topic
  24. Neutron Activation Analysis152▲ 64×1 topic
  25. Neutron Imaging152▲ 64×1 topic
  26. Catalysis151▲ 3.1×26 topics
  27. Electronic Structure141▲ 11×8 topics
  28. Raman Spectroscopy124▲ 8.8×6 topics
  29. Molecular Dynamics118▲ 9.2×6 topics
  30. Thermal Management117▲ 4.9×7 topics
  31. Polymer Composites116▲ 5.9×7 topics
  32. Materials110▲ 6.4×6 topics
  33. Rechargeable Batteries103▲ 5.3×2 topics
  34. Oxidation Behavior101▲ 23×2 topics
  35. High-Performance Computing90▲ 15×3 topics
  36. Molecular Dynamics Simulations90▲ 28×2 topics
  37. Ceramics88▲ 8.2×4 topics
  38. fusion materials88▲ 64×1 topic
  39. radiation damage88▲ 64×1 topic
  40. Workflow Management86▲ 16×2 topics

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

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

  1. 1 Nuclear reactor physics and engineering Aerospace Engineering 158 works
  2. 2 Nuclear Materials and Properties Materials Chemistry 153 works
  3. 3 Nuclear Physics and Applications Radiation 152 works
  4. 4 Fusion materials and technologies Materials Chemistry 88 works
  5. 5 Advancements in Battery Materials Electrical and Electronic Engineering 80 works
  6. 6 Machine Learning in Materials Science Materials Chemistry 73 works
  7. 7 Graphite, nuclear technology, radiation studies Materials Chemistry 73 works
  8. 8 Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies Electrical and Electronic Engineering 71 works
  9. 9 Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes Mechanical Engineering 68 works
  10. 10 Advanced Condensed Matter Physics Condensed Matter Physics 65 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 available34.5%not open65.5%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.9%domestic only87.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

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

Output in 2022-2025 was 25% 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 Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.030% in 2024.

still counting0.10%0.20%0.30%Oak Ridge National Laboratory0.024% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Oak Ridge 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 2025Oak Ridge 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 18.0% in 2011.

Other research institutions in Oak Ridge

All research institutions in Oak Ridge

Compare Oak Ridge National Laboratory with

Compare any two

Share Oak Ridge National Laboratory's ranking

Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Science Explorer

A card with Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge National Laboratory research?

In research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#160 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#189 of 5,901 worldwide) and Materials Science (#106 of 2,276 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Structural Biology, Radiation and Condensed Matter Physics (Structural Biology is 24.1× its share of world research).

All 1,273 questions in the Question Catalogue

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Oak Ridge 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.