Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Research facility · Villigen · Switzerland

Paul Scherrer Institute

In research, Paul Scherrer Institute stands highest in Physical Sciences (#283 of 12,888 worldwide), Physics and Astronomy (#80 of 1,646 worldwide) and Radiation (#5 of 42 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Radiation, Condensed Matter Physics and Nuclear and High Energy Physics — Radiation is 53.0× its share of world research.

psi.chROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#552
of 28,054 · #302 all time
Rank in Switzerland
#8
of 220
Research works
13k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
470k
35.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
47%
world 28%

What is Paul Scherrer Institute 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 #283 of 12,888 21.3%1,527 #206
Physics and AstronomyField #80 of 1,646 25.0%388 #104
RadiationSubfield #5 of 42 21.4%130 #11
EngineeringField #1,097 of 6,636 19.9%489 #411
Materials ScienceField #422 of 2,468 15.8%282 #226
Materials ChemistrySubfield #411 of 1,556 17.0%189 #170
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #327 of 1,209 32.3%60 #180
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #997 of 3,579 20.0%79 #473
Life SciencesDomain #2,175 of 7,800 22.3%107 #1039
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield #205 of 565 22.9%96 #234

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 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#206 #283
  2. Physics and Astronomy#104 #80
  3. Radiation#11 #5
  4. Engineering#411 #1,097
  5. Materials Science#226 #422
  6. Materials Chemistry#170 #411
  7. Earth and Planetary Sciences#180 #327
  8. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#473 #997
  9. Life Sciences#1,039 #2,175
  10. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics#234 #205
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 Paul Scherrer Institute specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Radiation takes 53.0× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. RadiationSubfield · 129.6 works53×
  2. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 77.1 works27×
  3. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 71.4 works13×
  4. CatalysisSubfield · 32.1 works12×
  5. Physics and AstronomyField · 388.1 works9.8×
  6. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 95.7 works7.5×
← 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: 0.15× its world share, 13 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.83× its world share, 79 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.14× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.32× its world share, 9 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.64× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 6.96× its world share, 43 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 3.08× its world share, 86 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.26× its world share, 36 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.16× its world share, 60 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 3.46× its world share, 57 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.83× its world share, 489 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.90× its world share, 79 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 4.54× its world share, 282 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.31× its world share, 6 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 9.81× its world share, 388 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.20× its world share, 9 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.28× its world share, 94 worksMedicineNursing: 0.19× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.09× its world share, 5 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.03× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.80× its world share, 14 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.14× its world share, 5 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, 9.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Paul Scherrer Institute?

Ranked on the composite score, B. Delley, R. Eichler and H. Van Swygenhoven lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Paul Scherrer Institute.

  1. 1 B. Delley Switzerland · #2,845 worldwide 2.6k citations · 86 works
  2. 2 R. Eichler Switzerland · #4,827 worldwide 1.4k citations · 68 works
  3. 3 H. Van Swygenhoven Switzerland · #16,892 worldwide 974 citations · 46 works
  4. 4 R. Kötz Switzerland · #18,294 worldwide 1.6k citations · 50 works
  5. 5 D. Rochman Switzerland · #20,803 worldwide 647 citations · 59 works
  6. 6 K. Thomsen Switzerland · #21,848 worldwide 505 citations · 62 works
  7. 7 D. Renker Switzerland · #29,160 worldwide 1.4k citations · 123 works
  8. 8 Christian Bauer Switzerland · #35,643 worldwide 336 citations · 56 works
  9. 9 Manuel Guizar‐Sicairos Switzerland · #39,782 worldwide 303 citations · 41 works
  10. 10 Ian Johnson Switzerland · #51,548 worldwide 289 citations · 61 works
All ranked researchers at Paul Scherrer Institute

Which keywords describe research at Paul Scherrer Institute?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Tomography, Catalysis, Superconductivity, X-ray Imaging, Small-Angle Scattering, Nanoparticles, Nanoscale Imaging 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 2022–2025 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. Tomography86▲ 26×4 topics
  2. Catalysis77▲ 6.5×24 topics
  3. Nanoparticles71▲ 3.2×37 topics
  4. Superconductivity70▲ 23×9 topics
  5. X-ray Imaging55▲ 88×2 topics
  6. Small-Angle Scattering50▲ 52×2 topics
  7. Nanomaterials48▲ 2.5×17 topics
  8. Nanoscale Imaging46▲ 29×2 topics
  9. Electronic Structure46▲ 14×8 topics
  10. Data Analysis45▲ 9.3×5 topics
  11. Radiography41▲ 62×2 topics
  12. Neutron Activation Analysis41▲ 64×1 topic
  13. Neutron Imaging41▲ 64×1 topic
  14. Density Functional Theory40▲ 22×6 topics
  15. Energy Storage40▲ 3.4×11 topics
  16. Phase Retrieval37▲ 137×1 topic
  17. Ptychography37▲ 137×1 topic
  18. Crystal Growth36▲ 7.2×12 topics
  19. Electronic Structure Calculations34▲ 29×2 topics
  20. Spin Dynamics34▲ 45×2 topics
  21. Electrocatalysis34▲ 6.7×5 topics
  22. Catalysts33▲ 9.5×3 topics
  23. Topological Order32▲ 38×2 topics
  24. Air Quality32▲ 9.8×6 topics
  25. Molten Salt31▲ 55×1 topic
  26. Nuclear Reactor31▲ 55×1 topic
  27. Hydrogen Embrittlement31▲ 21×3 topics
  28. Synchrotron Radiation31▲ 37×4 topics
  29. Spectroscopy31▲ 10×9 topics
  30. High Temperature Behavior30▲ 29×2 topics
  31. Oxidation30▲ 10×3 topics
  32. Frustrated Magnets29▲ 60×1 topic
  33. Quantum Spin Liquids29▲ 60×1 topic
  34. Selective Oxidation29▲ 12×2 topics
  35. Oxidation Resistance29▲ 15×3 topics
  36. Ceria29▲ 13×1 topic
  37. Gold29▲ 13×1 topic
  38. Accident Tolerant Fuels27▲ 42×1 topic
  39. Fuel Cladding27▲ 42×1 topic
  40. Radiation Detection26▲ 33×2 topics

Which research topics does Paul Scherrer Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Nuclear Physics and Applications, Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques, Nuclear reactor physics and engineering and Advanced Condensed Matter Physics.

Nuclear Physics and Appl…41Nuclear Physics and Applications: 41 fractional worksAdvanced X-ray Imaging T…37Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques: 37 fractional worksNuclear reactor physics and engineering: 31 fractional worksAdvanced Condensed Matter Physics: 29 fractional worksCatalytic Processes in Materials Science: 29 fractional worksNuclear Materials and Properties: 27 fractional worksRadiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies: 24 fractional worksPhysics of Superconducti…23Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism: 23 fractional worksElectrocatalysts for Energy Conversion: 23 fractional worksAtmospheric chemistry and aerosols: 23 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 41 works
  2. 2 Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques Radiation 37 works
  3. 3 Nuclear reactor physics and engineering Aerospace Engineering 31 works
  4. 4 Advanced Condensed Matter Physics Condensed Matter Physics 29 works
  5. 5 Catalytic Processes in Materials Science Materials Chemistry 29 works
  6. 6 Nuclear Materials and Properties Materials Chemistry 27 works
  7. 7 Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies Radiation 24 works
  8. 8 Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism Condensed Matter Physics 23 works
  9. 9 Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 23 works
  10. 10 Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols Atmospheric Science 23 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: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Paul Scherrer Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% lower 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 Villigen

All research institutions in Villigen

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.