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University · Sendai · Japan

Tohoku University

In research, Tohoku University stands highest in Physical Sciences (#140 of 12,888 worldwide), Physics and Astronomy (#61 of 1,646 worldwide) and Engineering (#255 of 6,636 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Condensed Matter Physics, Metals and Alloys and Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials — Condensed Matter Physics is 9.7× its share of world research.

tohoku.ac.jp/enROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#239
of 28,054 · #71 all time
Rank in Japan
#3
of 1,070
Research works
155k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
3M
19.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
13.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
39%
world 28%

What is Tohoku University 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 #140 of 12,888 12.9%8,220 #45
Physics and AstronomyField #61 of 1,646 18.1%1,047 #45
EngineeringField #255 of 6,636 12.1%3,203 #93
Health SciencesDomain #544 of 11,982 14.9%2,251 #440
MedicineField #576 of 10,443 14.2%1,945 #435
Materials ScienceField #161 of 2,468 7.7%1,456 #9
Life SciencesDomain #539 of 7,800 15.5%1,661 #279
Computer ScienceField #447 of 4,667 13.8%704 #304
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #353 of 3,579 15.6%914 #229
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #84 of 795 25.7%316 #72

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Tohoku University 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#45 #140
  2. Physics and Astronomy#45 #61
  3. Engineering#93 #255
  4. Health Sciences#440 #544
  5. Medicine#435 #576
  6. Materials Science#9 #161
  7. Life Sciences#279 #539
  8. Computer Science#304 #447
  9. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#229 #353
  10. Aerospace Engineering#72 #84
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 Tohoku University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Condensed Matter Physics takes 9.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Condensed Matter PhysicsSubfield · 201.4 works9.7×
  2. Metals and AlloysSubfield · 39.9 works9.3×
  3. Electronic, Optical and Magnetic MaterialsSubfield · 402.8 works6.8×
  4. RadiationSubfield · 105.3 works5.9×
  5. Ceramics and CompositesSubfield · 41.7 works4.6×
  6. GeophysicsSubfield · 185.5 works4.1×
  7. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 376.6 works4.0×
← 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: 0.43× its world share, 264 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.31× its world share, 914 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.07× its world share, 141 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.41× its world share, 299 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.97× its world share, 44 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.76× its world share, 126 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 2.22× its world share, 454 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.69× its world share, 704 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.73× its world share, 355 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.04× its world share, 125 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.64× its world share, 3,203 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.84× its world share, 545 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 3.20× its world share, 1,456 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.34× its world share, 205 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 3.61× its world share, 1,047 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.49× its world share, 94 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.42× its world share, 146 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.78× its world share, 1,945 worksMedicineNursing: 0.86× its world share, 55 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.61× its world share, 11 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.18× its world share, 70 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.16× its world share, 66 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.31× its world share, 40 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.43× its world share, 121 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.55× its world share, 217 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.24× its world share, 401 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 3.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Tohoku University?

Ranked on the composite score, Nei Kato, K. Ishida and Mingwei Chen lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Tohoku University.

  1. 1 Nei Kato · #9,415 worldwide 2.3k citations · 251 works
  2. 2 K. Ishida · #9,642 worldwide 1.1k citations · 114 works
  3. 3 Mingwei Chen · #9,727 worldwide 2.2k citations · 107 works
  4. 4 K. Murakami · #10,078 worldwide 1.5k citations · 132 works
  5. 5 Takeshi Yasumoto · #10,493 worldwide 741 citations · 66 works
  6. 6 Kazuo Fujihara · #14,497 worldwide 654 citations · 55 works
  7. 7 Ichiro Nakashima · #17,716 worldwide 701 citations · 85 works
  8. 8 Masaru Watanabe · #17,934 worldwide 1k citations · 83 works
  9. 9 Akihisa Inoue · #21,354 worldwide 4.7k citations · 595 works
  10. 10 Kazuichi Maruyama · #22,208 worldwide 576 citations · 83 works
All ranked researchers at Tohoku University

Which keywords describe research at Tohoku University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, Superconductivity, Nanoparticles, Electronic Structure, Room Temperature, Thin Films and Spintronics.

▲ 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. Mechanical Properties428▲ 3.4×39 topics
  2. Nanoparticles397▲ 2.4×44 topics
  3. Microstructure367▲ 5.4×19 topics
  4. Epidemiology335▼ 0.65×130 topics
  5. Inflammation319▲ 1.18×83 topics
  6. Biomedical Applications300▲ 1.94×35 topics
  7. Oxidative Stress238◆ 1.11×62 topics
  8. Superconductivity236▲ 11×9 topics
  9. Nanomaterials234▲ 1.70×20 topics
  10. Nanocomposites224▲ 2.1×22 topics
  11. Catalysis222▲ 2.5×29 topics
  12. Electronic Structure204▲ 8.7×8 topics
  13. Graphene183▲ 2.0×12 topics
  14. Biosensors166▲ 2.5×12 topics
  15. Thin Films165▲ 6.6×10 topics
  16. Room Temperature164▲ 7.9×3 topics
  17. Nanostructures156▲ 3.0×17 topics
  18. Spintronics150▲ 8.8×4 topics
  19. Crystal Growth129▲ 3.5×12 topics
  20. Carbon Nanotubes116▲ 2.6×9 topics
  21. Tomography114▲ 4.8×5 topics
  22. Metal-Insulator Transition112▲ 13×2 topics
  23. Materials108▲ 3.5×6 topics
  24. Phase Separation107▲ 9.8×2 topics
  25. Magnetocaloric Materials95▲ 23×1 topic
  26. Perovskites95▲ 23×1 topic
  27. Spin Dynamics91▲ 16×2 topics
  28. Ferroelectricity90▲ 7.4×4 topics
  29. Plate Tectonics89▲ 4.5×3 topics
  30. Oxidation Resistance88▲ 6.3×3 topics
  31. Topological Order86▲ 14×2 topics
  32. Grain Refinement85▲ 5.7×4 topics
  33. Perovskite Oxides84▲ 9.4×2 topics
  34. Frustrated Magnets81▲ 23×1 topic
  35. Quantum Spin Liquids81▲ 23×1 topic
  36. Magnetic Tunnel Junctions77▲ 22×1 topic
  37. Skyrmions77▲ 22×1 topic
  38. Hydrogen Embrittlement73▲ 6.6×3 topics
  39. Processing Techniques71▲ 6.0×2 topics
  40. Electronic Structure Calculations68▲ 7.8×2 topics

Which research topics does Tohoku University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials, Advanced Condensed Matter Physics, Magnetic properties of thin films and earthquake and tectonic studies.

Magnetic and transport p…95Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials: 95 fractional worksAdvanced Condensed Matte…81Advanced Condensed Matter Physics: 81 fractional worksMagnetic properties of t…77Magnetic properties of thin films: 77 fractional worksearthquake and tectonic …60earthquake and tectonic studies: 60 fractional worksMultiferroics and related materials: 55 fractional worksMetallic Glasses and Amorphous Alloys: 49 fractional worksHigh-pressure geophysics…47High-pressure geophysics and materials: 47 fractional worksPhysics of Superconductivity and Magnetism: 43 fractional worksMagnetic Properties and Applications: 43 fractional worksElectrocatalysts for Ene…42Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion: 42 fractional works
Electronic, Optical and Magnetic MaterialsCondensed Matter PhysicsAtomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsGeophysics2 others

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

  1. 1 Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materialsElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials 95 works
  2. 2 Advanced Condensed Matter PhysicsCondensed Matter Physics 81 works
  3. 3 Magnetic properties of thin filmsAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics 77 works
  4. 4 earthquake and tectonic studiesGeophysics 60 works
  5. 5 Multiferroics and related materialsElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials 55 works
  6. 6 Metallic Glasses and Amorphous AlloysMechanical Engineering 49 works
  7. 7 High-pressure geophysics and materialsGeophysics 47 works
  8. 8 Physics of Superconductivity and MagnetismCondensed Matter Physics 43 works
  9. 9 Magnetic Properties and ApplicationsElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials 43 works
  10. 10 Electrocatalysts for Energy ConversionRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 42 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 available39.1%not open60.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors12.6%domestic only87.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Tohoku University'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 Sendai

All research institutions in Sendai

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.