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Funder · Santa Fe · United States

Santa Fe Institute

In research, Santa Fe Institute stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,707 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#2,931 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#1,688 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Statistical and Nonlinear Physics — Statistical and Nonlinear Physics is 17.6× its share of world research.

santafe.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,645
of 28,054 · #1,557 all time
Rank in United States
#387
of 4,192
Research works
2.9k
▲ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
227k
79.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
25.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
61%
world 28%

What is Santa Fe 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
Social SciencesDomain #1,707 of 10,521 35.7%154 #699
Physical SciencesDomain #2,931 of 12,888 16.7%291 #1823
Social SciencesField #1,688 of 6,365 36.8%74 #841
Life SciencesDomain #3,321 of 7,800 30.1%107 #1939
Physics and AstronomyField #1,360 of 1,646 22.0%62 #1183
EngineeringField #6,033 of 6,636 4.3%78 #6595

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Santa Fe 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. Social Sciences#699 #1,707
  2. Physical Sciences#1,823 #2,931
  3. Social Sciences#841 #1,688
  4. Life Sciences#1,939 #3,321
  5. Physics and Astronomy#1,183 #1,360
  6. Engineering#6,595 #6,033
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 Santa Fe Institute specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics takes 17.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Statistical and Nonlinear PhysicsSubfield · 32.2 works18×
← 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: 0.70× its world share, 19 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.85× its world share, 58 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.51× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.71× its world share, 26 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.42× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.98× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.20× its world share, 11 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.96× its world share, 44 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.59× its world share, 15 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.32× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.89× its world share, 78 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.33× its world share, 39 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.16× its world share, 24 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.27× its world share, 16 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 4.76× its world share, 62 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.23× its world share, 4 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.25× its world share, 29 worksMedicineNursing: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.22× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.69× its world share, 12 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.38× its world share, 7 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.51× its world share, 14 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.06× its world share, 26 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.20× its world share, 21 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.00× its world share, 74 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 4.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Santa Fe Institute?

Ranked on the composite score, Cristopher Moore, Herbert Gintis and Samuel Bowles lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Santa Fe Institute.

  1. 1 Cristopher Moore United States · #4,176 worldwide 2k citations · 82 works
  2. 2 Herbert Gintis United States · #5,111 worldwide 1.5k citations · 104 works
  3. 3 Samuel Bowles United States · #5,477 worldwide 1.2k citations · 107 works
  4. 4 J. Doyne Farmer United States · #6,960 worldwide 983 citations · 89 works
  5. 5 John L. Casti United States · #69,378 worldwide 322 citations · 65 works
  6. 6 Melanie Mitchell United States · #130,077 worldwide 250 citations · 34 works
  7. 7 Van M. Savage United States · #144,694 worldwide 575 citations · 20 works
  8. 8 W. Brian Arthur United States · #151,868 worldwide 234 citations · 24 works
  9. 9 Santiago F. Elena United States · #180,614 worldwide 318 citations · 61 works
  10. 10 David H. Wolpert United States · #249,466 worldwide 416 citations · 84 works
All ranked researchers at Santa Fe Institute

Which keywords describe research at Santa Fe Institute?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Network Dynamics, Social Influence, Altruism, Cooperation, Social Networks, Evolution, Cultural Evolution and Agent-Based Modeling.

▲ 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. Climate Change25▲ 1.58×56 topics
  2. Machine Learning22◆ 1.13×44 topics
  3. Network Dynamics21▲ 36×3 topics
  4. Social Influence18▲ 14×2 topics
  5. Altruism17▲ 33×4 topics
  6. Cooperation16▲ 44×4 topics
  7. Social Networks16▲ 10×6 topics
  8. Microbial Communities16▲ 6.3×5 topics
  9. Evolution15▲ 11×6 topics
  10. Agent-Based Modeling15▲ 19×5 topics
  11. Cultural Evolution15▲ 51×2 topics
  12. Biodiversity13▲ 2.9×12 topics
  13. Evolutionary Games12▲ 104×1 topic
  14. Indirect Reciprocity12▲ 104×1 topic
  15. Mutation12▲ 11×2 topics
  16. Natural Selection12▲ 39×3 topics
  17. Network Analysis12▲ 18×3 topics
  18. Adaptation12▲ 7.2×8 topics
  19. Polarization12▲ 13×3 topics
  20. Population Genetics12▲ 15×4 topics
  21. Synchronization11▲ 16×4 topics
  22. Metal Nanoparticles11▲ 11×4 topics
  23. Experimental Evolution10▲ 74×1 topic
  24. Genetic Dynamics10▲ 74×1 topic
  25. Invasive Species10▲ 3.9×10 topics
  26. Bounded Confidence9▲ 57×1 topic
  27. Opinion Dynamics9▲ 57×1 topic
  28. Complex Systems9▲ 14×5 topics
  29. Community Structure9▲ 18×2 topics
  30. Epidemic Spreading9▲ 32×1 topic
  31. Infectious Diseases9▲ 4.6×6 topics
  32. Scale-Free Networks9▲ 32×1 topic
  33. Modeling8▲ 5.5×3 topics
  34. Habitat Fragmentation7▲ 5.5×3 topics
  35. Working Memory7▲ 14×2 topics
  36. Cortical Networks7▲ 21×1 topic
  37. Neuronal Oscillations7▲ 16×1 topic
  38. Phase Transitions7▲ 19×3 topics
  39. Fairness6▲ 12×2 topics
  40. Frequency Conversion6▲ 25×2 topics

Which research topics does Santa Fe Institute publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation, Evolution and Genetic Dynamics, Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence and Complex Network Analysis Techniques.

Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation: 12 fractional worksEvolution and Genetic Dynamics: 10 fractional worksOpinion Dynamics and Soc…9Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence: 9 fractional worksComplex Network Analysis…9Complex Network Analysis Techniques: 9 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brain function: 7 fractional worksLaser Design and Applications: 6 fractional worksCOVID-19 epidemiological…5COVID-19 epidemiological studies: 5 fractional worksEnergetic Materials and Combustion: 5 fractional worksMaterial Properties and Applications: 4 fractional worksPlant and animal studies: 4 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceGeneticsStatistical and Nonlinear PhysicsCognitive Neuroscience5 others

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

  1. 1 Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation Sociology and Political Science 12 works
  2. 2 Evolution and Genetic Dynamics Genetics 10 works
  3. 3 Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence Statistical and Nonlinear Physics 9 works
  4. 4 Complex Network Analysis Techniques Statistical and Nonlinear Physics 9 works
  5. 5 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 7 works
  6. 6 Laser Design and Applications Electrical and Electronic Engineering 6 works
  7. 7 COVID-19 epidemiological studies Modeling and Simulation 5 works
  8. 8 Energetic Materials and Combustion Mechanics of Materials 5 works
  9. 9 Material Properties and Applications General Materials Science 4 works
  10. 10 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 4 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 available61.0%not open39.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors39.0%domestic only61.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Santa Fe Institute's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Santa Fe

All research institutions in Santa Fe

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.