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Government institution · Washington · United States

Smithsonian Institution

In research, Smithsonian Institution stands highest in Social Sciences (#2,499 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#3,316 of 12,888 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#2,016 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Paleontology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Nature and Landscape Conservation — Paleontology is 48.1× its share of world research.

si.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#3,871
of 28,054 · #1,404 all time
Rank in United States
#544
of 4,192
Research works
9.5k
▼ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
265k
28.0 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
20.7%
record average 16.5%
Open access
30%
world 28%

What is Smithsonian Institution 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 #2,499 of 10,521 23.4%142 #708
Physical SciencesDomain #3,316 of 12,888 21.4%311 #1446
Social SciencesField #2,016 of 6,365 21.1%64 #547
Environmental ScienceField #1,469 of 3,551 19.6%131 #436
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield #128 of 255 19.5%84 #58
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #733 of 1,209 28.0%110 #304
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,259 of 1,998 26.3%61 #347
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #2,314 of 3,409 17.6%141 #407
Life SciencesDomain #5,349 of 7,800 18.8%224 #1672
EcologySubfield #436 of 578 17.7%63 #190

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Smithsonian Institution 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#708 #2,499
  2. Physical Sciences#1,446 #3,316
  3. Social Sciences#547 #2,016
  4. Environmental Science#436 #1,469
  5. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics#58 #128
  6. Earth and Planetary Sciences#304 #733
  7. Arts and Humanities#347 #1,259
  8. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#407 #2,314
  9. Life Sciences#1,672 #5,349
  10. Ecology#190 #436
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 Smithsonian Institution specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Paleontology takes 48.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. PaleontologySubfield · 40.6 works48×
  2. Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsSubfield · 83.6 works25×
  3. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 25.1 works15×
  4. EcologySubfield · 63.2 works11×
← 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: 4.23× its world share, 141 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.92× its world share, 72 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.07× its world share, 8 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.31× its world share, 4 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.17× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.18× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.34× its world share, 4 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.22× its world share, 12 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 10.00× its world share, 110 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.32× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.14× its world share, 15 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 3.77× its world share, 131 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.21× its world share, 5 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.31× its world share, 3 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.89× its world share, 30 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.26× its world share, 5 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.12× its world share, 17 worksMedicineNursing: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.43× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 3.02× its world share, 61 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.28× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.23× its world share, 3 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.42× its world share, 9 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.72× its world share, 64 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 10.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Smithsonian Institution?

Ranked on the composite score, Scott L. Wing, Betty J. Meggers and A. Elena Charola lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Smithsonian Institution.

  1. 1 Scott L. Wing United States · #19,001 worldwide 719 citations · 56 works
  2. 2 Betty J. Meggers United States · #32,691 worldwide 234 citations · 50 works
  3. 3 A. Elena Charola United States · #46,077 worldwide 214 citations · 35 works
  4. 4 Ian G. Macintyre United States · #49,604 worldwide 345 citations · 41 works
  5. 5 J. A. Grant United States · #59,663 worldwide 653 citations · 145 works
  6. 6 Robert M. King United States · #60,717 worldwide 291 citations · 78 works
  7. 7 Vicki A. Funk United States · #73,220 worldwide 312 citations · 46 works
  8. 8 Richard E. Blackwelder United States · #76,871 worldwide 231 citations · 29 works
  9. 9 Daniel Jean Stanley United States · #77,353 worldwide 483 citations · 59 works
  10. 10 Conrad C. Labandeira United States · #82,550 worldwide 318 citations · 42 works
All ranked researchers at Smithsonian Institution

Which keywords describe research at Smithsonian Institution?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Biogeography, Biodiversity, Invasive Species, Conservation, Phylogeny, Molecular Phylogeny and Population Dynamics.

▲ 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 Change125▲ 6.7×67 topics
  2. Biogeography75▲ 41×20 topics
  3. Biodiversity75▲ 14×25 topics
  4. Invasive Species62▲ 21×20 topics
  5. Conservation59▲ 20×21 topics
  6. Phylogeny52▲ 50×16 topics
  7. Molecular Phylogeny49▲ 46×10 topics
  8. Population Dynamics45▲ 25×11 topics
  9. Taxonomy39▲ 43×13 topics
  10. Evolution37▲ 21×15 topics
  11. Phylogenetic Analysis36▲ 17×15 topics
  12. DNA Barcoding35▲ 30×9 topics
  13. Habitat Fragmentation33▲ 21×5 topics
  14. Global Change29▲ 16×7 topics
  15. Ecosystem Services27▲ 9.9×8 topics
  16. Morphology26▲ 21×8 topics
  17. Cultural Heritage22▲ 5.8×15 topics
  18. Marine Ecosystems22▲ 59×2 topics
  19. Genetic Diversity21▲ 6.8×15 topics
  20. Plant-Animal Interactions19▲ 32×1 topic
  21. Pollinator Decline19▲ 32×1 topic
  22. Biological Control19▲ 18×9 topics
  23. Phylogenetics18▲ 58×3 topics
  24. Holocene18▲ 22×3 topics
  25. Adaptive Radiation18▲ 86×2 topics
  26. Ecology18▲ 16×9 topics
  27. Ocean Acidification17▲ 33×3 topics
  28. Conservation Biology17▲ 23×4 topics
  29. Sea Level16▲ 24×2 topics
  30. Diversification15▲ 56×2 topics
  31. Mammal Evolution15▲ 107×1 topic
  32. Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis15▲ 107×1 topic
  33. Fisheries15▲ 55×2 topics
  34. Ecosystem Functioning15▲ 11×7 topics
  35. Benthic Communities15▲ 36×2 topics
  36. Marine Biodiversity15▲ 36×2 topics
  37. Cretaceous14▲ 92×2 topics
  38. Evolutionary History13▲ 63×2 topics
  39. Tectonics13▲ 15×3 topics
  40. Paleoclimatology13▲ 22×2 topics

Which research topics does Smithsonian Institution publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Plant and animal studies, Evolution and Paleontology Studies, Geology and Paleoclimatology Research and Plant Diversity and Evolution.

Plant and animal studies19Plant and animal studies: 19 fractional worksEvolution and Paleontolo…15Evolution and Paleontology Studies: 15 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimato…12Geology and Paleoclimatology Research: 12 fractional worksPlant Diversity and Evol…12Plant Diversity and Evolution: 12 fractional worksCoral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 11 fractional worksIchthyology and Marine Biology: 11 fractional worksMarine Biology and Ecolo…10Marine Biology and Ecology Research: 10 fractional worksPlanetary Science and Exploration: 9 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and Climate Change: 8 fractional worksLepidoptera: Biology and…8Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy: 8 fractional works
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and SystematicsPaleontologyAtmospheric ScienceEcology5 others

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

  1. 1 Plant and animal studies Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 19 works
  2. 2 Evolution and Paleontology Studies Paleontology 15 works
  3. 3 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 12 works
  4. 4 Plant Diversity and Evolution Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics 12 works
  5. 5 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 11 works
  6. 6 Ichthyology and Marine Biology Nature and Landscape Conservation 11 works
  7. 7 Marine Biology and Ecology Research Oceanography 10 works
  8. 8 Planetary Science and Exploration Astronomy and Astrophysics 9 works
  9. 9 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 8 works
  10. 10 Lepidoptera: Biology and Taxonomy Genetics 8 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 available30.2%not open69.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors22.6%domestic only77.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Smithsonian Institution's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Washington

All research institutions in Washington

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.