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Research facility · Villigen · Switzerland

Paul Scherrer Institute

In research, Paul Scherrer Institute stands highest in Physical Sciences (#368 of 10,670 worldwide), Engineering (#401 of 5,901 worldwide) and Materials Science (#212 of 2,276 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Condensed Matter Physics and Nuclear and High Energy Physics (Radiation is 52.7× its share of world research).

psi.chROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#669
of 22,385 · #375 all time
Rank in Switzerland
#11
of 186
Research works
13k
▼ 4% vs 2018-21
Citations
470k
35.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
11.6%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.30×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
47%
world 40%
International
43%
world 18%
Paul Scherrer Institute

What is Paul Scherrer Institute 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 #368 of 10,670 11.8%1,527 #183
EngineeringField #401 of 5,901 11.6%489 #192
Materials ScienceField #212 of 2,276 8.7%282 #112
Physics and AstronomyField #155 of 1,417 13.6%388 #73
Materials ChemistrySubfield #189 of 1,473 8.9%189 #99
Health SciencesDomain #1,282 of 9,902 12.1%107 #738
Environmental ScienceField #479 of 3,334 14.9%79 #335
Life SciencesDomain #920 of 6,403 10.9%107 #592
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #338 of 2,176 12.4%165 #169
MedicineField #1,500 of 8,541 12.9%94 #919

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Paul Scherrer Institute 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#183 #368
  2. Engineering#192 #401
  3. Materials Science#112 #212
  4. Physics and Astronomy#73 #155
  5. Materials Chemistry#99 #189
  6. Health Sciences#738 #1,282
  7. Environmental Science#335 #479
  8. Life Sciences#592 #920
  9. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#169 #338
  10. Medicine#919 #1,500
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 Paul Scherrer Institute work in?

In 2022-now, 85% of research at Paul Scherrer Institute is in Physical Sciences, 6% in Life Sciences. Its largest fields are Engineering (27%), Physics and Astronomy (22%), Materials Science (16%). It does 2.2× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 1,677 fractional works · 85.5% of its workEngineering: 537 fractional works · 27.4% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 179 fractional works · 9.1% of its workAerospace Engineering: 84 fractional works · 4.3% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 83 fractional works · 4.2% of its workMechanical Engineering: 67 fractional works · 3.4% of its workComputational Mechanics: 34 fractional works · 1.7% of its workMechanics of Materials: 27 fractional works · 1.4% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 22 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 18 fractional works · 0.9% of its workBuilding and Construction: 7 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOcean Engineering: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 423 fractional works · 21.6% of its workRadiation: 142 fractional works · 7.2% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 103 fractional works · 5.2% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 84 fractional works · 4.3% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 78 fractional works · 4.0% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 9 fractional works · 0.5% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 310 fractional works · 15.8% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 209 fractional works · 10.6% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 56 fractional works · 2.8% of its workSurfaces, Coatings and Films: 18 fractional works · 0.9% of its workBiomaterials: 10 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 8 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 8 fractional works · 0.4% of its workChemistry: 95 fractional works · 4.8% of its workInorganic Chemistry: 30 fractional works · 1.6% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 24 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSpectroscopy: 18 fractional works · 0.9% of its workPhysical and Theoretical Chemistry: 11 fractional works · 0.5% of its workElectrochemistry: 9 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnvironmental Science: 89 fractional works · 4.5% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 28 fractional works · 1.4% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 19 fractional works · 1.0% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 16 fractional works · 0.8% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 7 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPollution: 5 fractional works · 0.3% of its workWater Science and Technology: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEcology: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 66 fractional works · 3.4% of its workAtmospheric Science: 45 fractional works · 2.3% of its workGeophysics: 11 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 10 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnergy: 62 fractional works · 3.2% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 50 fractional works · 2.6% of its workEnergy Engineering and Power Technology: 11 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.0% of its workChemical Engineering: 48 fractional works · 2.4% of its workCatalysis: 35 fractional works · 1.8% of its workFluid Flow and Transfer Processes: 8 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Science: 38 fractional works · 1.9% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 16 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 5 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 9 fractional works · 0.5% of its workLife Sciences: 126 fractional works · 6.4% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 94 fractional works · 4.8% of its workMolecular Biology: 51 fractional works · 2.6% of its workStructural Biology: 20 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCell Biology: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiophysics: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGenetics: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 14 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPlant Science: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workFood Science: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 11 fractional works · 0.6% of its workCellular and Molecular Neuroscience: 7 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 4 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 3 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 118 fractional works · 6.0% of its workMedicine: 106 fractional works · 5.4% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 31 fractional works · 1.6% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 31 fractional works · 1.6% of its workSurgery: 7 fractional works · 0.4% of its workOncology: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysiology: 5 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 26 fractional works · 1.3% of its workHealth Professions: 9 fractional works · 0.5% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 7 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNursing: 2 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 1 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 41 fractional works · 2.1% of its workDecision Sciences: 14 fractional works · 0.7% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 7 fractional works · 0.3% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 12 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSociology and Political Science: 5 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 7 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 6 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.0% of its workArts and Humanities: 5 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 2 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKPaul ScherrerInstitute1,962fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences6%Physical Sciences85%Health Sciences6%Social Sciences2%

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. Engineering53727.4%
    2. Physics and Astronomy42321.6%
    3. Materials Science31015.8%
    4. Chemistry954.8%
    5. Environmental Science894.5%
    6. Earth and Planetary Sciences663.4%
    7. Energy623.2%
    8. Chemical Engineering482.4%
    9. Computer Science381.9%
    10. Mathematics90.5%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology944.8%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences140.7%
    3. Neuroscience110.6%
    4. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics40.2%
    5. Immunology and Microbiology30.1%
    1. Medicine1065.4%
    2. Health Professions90.5%
    3. Nursing20.1%
    4. Dentistry10.1%
    5. Veterinary00.0%
    1. Decision Sciences140.7%
    2. Social Sciences120.6%
    3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance60.3%
    4. Arts and Humanities50.2%
    5. Psychology20.1%
    6. Business, Management and Accounting20.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Paul Scherrer Institute specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Radiation takes 52.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. RadiationSubfield · 142.2 works53×
  2. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 84.1 works27×
  3. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 78.0 works13×
  4. CatalysisSubfield · 34.7 works12×
  5. Physics and AstronomyField · 422.9 works9.7×
  6. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 102.7 works7.3×
← 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, 14 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.90× its world share, 94 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.13× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.36× its world share, 12 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.59× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 6.93× its world share, 48 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 3.08× its world share, 95 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.25× its world share, 38 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.15× its world share, 66 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 3.44× its world share, 62 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.82× its world share, 537 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.92× its world share, 89 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 4.52× its world share, 310 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.38× its world share, 9 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 9.69× its world share, 423 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.18× its world share, 10 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.28× its world share, 106 worksMedicineNursing: 0.22× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.08× its world share, 5 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.03× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.76× its world share, 14 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.13× its world share, 6 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.04× its world share, 2 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.05× its world share, 12 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 9.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy9.69×423 works
  2. Chemical Engineering6.93×48 works
  3. Materials Science4.52×310 works
  4. Energy3.44×62 works
  5. Chemistry3.08×95 works
  6. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.15×66 works
  7. Engineering1.82×537 works
  8. Environmental Science0.92×89 works
  9. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.90×94 works
  10. Decision Sciences0.76×14 works
  11. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.59×4 works
  12. Mathematics0.38×9 works
  13. Neuroscience0.36×12 works
  14. Medicine0.28×106 works
  15. Computer Science0.25×38 works
  16. Nursing0.22×2 works
  17. Health Professions0.18×10 works
  18. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.15×14 works
  19. Immunology and Microbiology0.13×3 works
  20. Economics, Econometrics and Finance0.13×6 works
  21. Dentistry0.11×1 works
  22. Arts and Humanities0.08×5 works
  23. Social Sciences0.05×12 works
  24. Psychology0.04×2 works
  25. Business, Management and Accounting0.03×2 works
  26. Veterinary0.02×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Paul Scherrer Institute?

Ranked on the quality score, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Andreas Crivellin and Urs Baltensperger lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Paul Scherrer Institute.

  1. 1 Kaspar R. Daellenbach Switzerland · #14,674 worldwide 13k citations · 231 works
  2. 2 Andreas Crivellin Switzerland · #15,322 worldwide 14k citations · 297 works
  3. 3 Urs Baltensperger Switzerland · #16,363 worldwide 85k citations · 1,157 works
  4. 4 D. Renker Switzerland · #18,078 worldwide 52k citations · 555 works
  5. 5 Andrê S. H. Prévôt Switzerland · #18,538 worldwide 73k citations · 1,202 works
  6. 6 P. F. DeCarlo Switzerland · #20,039 worldwide 38k citations · 326 works
  7. 7 Michel Olivier Steinmetz Switzerland · #25,621 worldwide 23k citations · 324 works
  8. 8 Imad El Haddad Switzerland · #26,642 worldwide 22k citations · 494 works
  9. 9 G. Tinti Switzerland · #27,211 worldwide 29k citations · 296 works
  10. 10 K. Gabathuler Switzerland · #27,963 worldwide 39k citations · 356 works
All ranked researchers at Paul Scherrer Institute

What are the most cited papers from Paul Scherrer Institute?

The most cited paper from Paul Scherrer Institute is "From molecules to solids with the DMol3 approach" (B. Delley, 2000), with 11,112 citations. Next come "An all-electron numerical method for solving the local density functional for polyatomic molecules" (10,599) and "Review of Particle Physics" (6,020).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 From molecules to solids with the DMol3 approach B. Delley · The Journal of Chemical Physics Open access 8 Nov 2000 11,112
2 An all-electron numerical method for solving the local density functional for polyatomic molecules B. Delley · The Journal of Chemical Physics Open access 1990 10,599
3 Review of Particle Physics J. Beringer et al. · Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields Open access195 authors 20 Jul 2012 6,020
4 The ecoinvent database version 3 (part I): overview and methodology Gregor Wernet, Christian Bauer, Bernhard R.P. Steubing et al. · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 21 Apr 2016 5,553
5 The CMS experiment at the CERN LHC S. Chatrchyan et al. · Journal of Instrumentation Open access2,047 authors 14 Aug 2008 5,508
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Paul Scherrer Institute?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Tomography, Catalysis, Superconductivity, X-ray Imaging, Small-Angle Scattering, Nanoscale Imaging, Nanoparticles and Electronic Structure.

▲ 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. Tomography93▲ 27×4 topics
  2. Catalysis85▲ 6.5×24 topics
  3. Nanoparticles77▲ 3.1×37 topics
  4. Superconductivity74▲ 22×9 topics
  5. X-ray Imaging60▲ 89×2 topics
  6. Small-Angle Scattering55▲ 54×2 topics
  7. Nanomaterials51▲ 2.5×17 topics
  8. Nanoscale Imaging51▲ 31×2 topics
  9. Electronic Structure48▲ 14×8 topics
  10. Data Analysis48▲ 9.4×5 topics
  11. Radiography44▲ 64×2 topics
  12. Neutron Activation Analysis43▲ 68×1 topic
  13. Neutron Imaging43▲ 68×1 topic
  14. Energy Storage43▲ 3.4×11 topics
  15. Density Functional Theory42▲ 21×6 topics
  16. Phase Retrieval42▲ 140×1 topic
  17. Ptychography42▲ 140×1 topic
  18. Crystal Growth39▲ 7.2×12 topics
  19. Electronic Structure Calculations37▲ 29×2 topics
  20. Air Quality37▲ 9.9×6 topics
  21. Electrocatalysis36▲ 6.5×5 topics
  22. Catalysts36▲ 9.0×3 topics
  23. Synchrotron Radiation35▲ 36×4 topics
  24. Spin Dynamics35▲ 44×2 topics
  25. Spectroscopy35▲ 10×10 topics
  26. Molten Salt34▲ 55×1 topic
  27. Nuclear Reactor34▲ 55×1 topic
  28. Topological Order34▲ 36×2 topics
  29. Hydrogen Embrittlement32▲ 20×3 topics
  30. High Temperature Behavior31▲ 29×2 topics
  31. Oxidation31▲ 10×3 topics
  32. Frustrated Magnets30▲ 61×1 topic
  33. Quantum Spin Liquids30▲ 61×1 topic
  34. Selective Oxidation30▲ 12×2 topics
  35. Oxidation Resistance30▲ 14×3 topics
  36. Ceria30▲ 13×1 topic
  37. Gold30▲ 13×1 topic
  38. Accident Tolerant Fuels28▲ 41×1 topic
  39. Fuel Cladding28▲ 41×1 topic
  40. Molecular Dynamics28▲ 8.1×6 topics

Which research topics does Paul Scherrer Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Nuclear Physics and Applications, Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques, Nuclear reactor physics and engineering and Advanced Condensed Matter Physics.

Nuclear Physics and Appl…43Nuclear Physics and Applications: 43 fractional worksAdvanced X-ray Imaging T…42Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques: 42 fractional worksNuclear reactor physics and engineering: 34 fractional worksAdvanced Condensed Matter Physics: 30 fractional worksCatalytic Processes in Materials Science: 30 fractional worksNuclear Materials and Properties: 28 fractional worksRadiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies: 26 fractional worksAtmospheric chemistry an…26Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols: 26 fractional worksPhysics of Superconductivity and Magnetism: 25 fractional worksParticle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers: 24 fractional works
RadiationAerospace EngineeringCondensed Matter PhysicsMaterials Chemistry2 others

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

  1. 1 Nuclear Physics and Applications Radiation 43 works
  2. 2 Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques Radiation 42 works
  3. 3 Nuclear reactor physics and engineering Aerospace Engineering 34 works
  4. 4 Advanced Condensed Matter Physics Condensed Matter Physics 30 works
  5. 5 Catalytic Processes in Materials Science Materials Chemistry 30 works
  6. 6 Nuclear Materials and Properties Materials Chemistry 28 works
  7. 7 Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies Radiation 26 works
  8. 8 Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols Atmospheric Science 26 works
  9. 9 Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism Condensed Matter Physics 25 works
  10. 10 Particle Accelerators and Free-Electron Lasers Electrical and Electronic Engineering 24 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 available46.8%not open53.2%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors42.9%domestic only57.1%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Paul Scherrer Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 4% lower 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 Paul Scherrer Institute as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0087% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%Paul Scherrer Institute0.0063% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Paul Scherrer Institute 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%Paul Scherrer Institute10.5% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 18.6% in 2002.

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Paul Scherrer Institute on Science Explorer

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Its overall standing, then the domains, fields and subfields where Paul Scherrer Institute is in the world's top ten or its top 1%. Each has an image of its own.

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