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University · Dayton · United States

U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology

In research, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology stands highest in Engineering (#2,449 of 6,636 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#4,901 of 12,888 worldwide) and Aerospace Engineering (#478 of 795 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Aerospace Engineering, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Computational Mechanics — Aerospace Engineering is 10.8× its share of world research.

afit.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,315
of 28,054 · #2,269 all time
Rank in United States
#1,112
of 4,192
Research works
6.2k
▼ 19% vs 2013–17
Citations
91k
14.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
20%
world 28%

What is U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology 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
EngineeringField #2,449 of 6,636 18.9%248 #637
Physical SciencesDomain #4,901 of 12,888 16.0%498 #1489
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #478 of 795 42.1%77 #250
Computer ScienceField #3,095 of 4,667 13.2%104 #1168
Social SciencesDomain #8,131 of 10,521 14.6%75 #5889
Physics and AstronomyField #1,479 of 1,646 18.1%65 #1203

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology 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. Engineering#637 #2,449
  2. Physical Sciences#1,489 #4,901
  3. Aerospace Engineering#250 #478
  4. Computer Science#1,168 #3,095
  5. Social Sciences#5,889 #8,131
  6. Physics and Astronomy#1,203 #1,479
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 U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Aerospace Engineering takes 10.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 76.7 works11×
  2. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 27.0 works8.5×
  3. Computational MechanicsSubfield · 20.6 works5.8×
  4. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 23.3 works5.3×
  5. Physics and AstronomyField · 64.5 works4.8×
← 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: 0.10× its world share, 3 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.12× its world share, 4 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.34× its world share, 3 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.81× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.44× its world share, 4 worksChemistryComputer Science: 2.19× its world share, 104 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.60× its world share, 15 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.50× its world share, 3 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.71× its world share, 248 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.86× its world share, 26 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.84× its world share, 18 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.92× its world share, 14 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 4.76× its world share, 64 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.45× its world share, 7 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.15× its world share, 18 worksMedicineNursing: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.12× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.85× its world share, 17 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.88× its world share, 17 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.71× its world share, 9 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.41× its world share, 8 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.29× its world share, 23 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 U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology?

Ranked on the composite score, Daniel T. Holt, Joseph J. Pignatiello and Matthew Kabrisky lead among researchers whose main affiliation is U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology.

  1. 1 Daniel T. Holt United States · #71,066 worldwide 291 citations · 30 works
  2. 2 Joseph J. Pignatiello United States · #100,007 worldwide 244 citations · 29 works
  3. 3 Matthew Kabrisky United States · #104,849 worldwide 299 citations · 24 works
  4. 4 Michael A. Temple United States · #107,538 worldwide 199 citations · 46 works
  5. 5 Richard K. Martin United States · #112,976 worldwide 233 citations · 57 works
  6. 6 P.S. Maybeck United States · #122,647 worldwide 261 citations · 33 works
  7. 7 S. Mall United States · #137,037 worldwide 528 citations · 85 works
  8. 8 Byron M. Welsh United States · #137,312 worldwide 143 citations · 37 works
  9. 9 Mark E. Oxley United States · #138,767 worldwide 272 citations · 51 works
  10. 10 Kenneth M. Hopkinson United States · #148,933 worldwide 184 citations · 24 works
All ranked researchers at U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology

Which keywords describe research at U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Heat Transfer, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Orbit Determination, Large-Eddy Simulation, Pose Estimation, On-Orbit Servicing and Space Debris.

▲ 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. Deep Learning46▲ 2.2×62 topics
  2. Machine Learning40▲ 1.98×55 topics
  3. Heat Transfer29▲ 9.5×14 topics
  4. Neural Networks19▲ 2.0×28 topics
  5. Sustainability17▲ 1.16×28 topics
  6. Orbit Determination15▲ 58×2 topics
  7. Remote Sensing14▲ 1.85×23 topics
  8. Mechanical Properties13▲ 2.2×24 topics
  9. Large-Eddy Simulation13▲ 11×5 topics
  10. Pose Estimation13▲ 18×3 topics
  11. Security12▲ 3.1×15 topics
  12. On-Orbit Servicing12▲ 92×1 topic
  13. Space Debris12▲ 92×1 topic
  14. Optimal Control12▲ 27×2 topics
  15. Supply Chain Management12▲ 2.1×13 topics
  16. IoT Security12▲ 5.9×3 topics
  17. Experimental Investigation11▲ 17×3 topics
  18. Solar System Abundances10▲ 34×1 topic
  19. Terrestrial Planets10▲ 34×1 topic
  20. Trajectory Optimization10▲ 28×2 topics
  21. Optimization9▲ 3.2×14 topics
  22. Anomaly Detection8▲ 4.7×3 topics
  23. Solar Sail8▲ 99×1 topic
  24. Spacecraft Formation Flying8▲ 99×1 topic
  25. Turbulent Flows8▲ 13×2 topics
  26. Security Analysis8▲ 7.4×4 topics
  27. Cybersecurity8▲ 5.2×3 topics
  28. Sensor Fusion8▲ 12×3 topics
  29. Vortex Dynamics7▲ 11×2 topics
  30. Collision Avoidance7▲ 6.6×4 topics
  31. Boundary Layer Transition7▲ 17×1 topic
  32. Particle Image Velocimetry7▲ 17×1 topic
  33. CFD Analysis7▲ 25×2 topics
  34. Boundary Layer7▲ 9.0×4 topics
  35. Solar Wind7▲ 12×2 topics
  36. Thermal Conductivity6▲ 6.9×6 topics
  37. Behavioral Analysis6▲ 8.2×2 topics
  38. Agent-Based Modeling6▲ 7.0×6 topics
  39. Ant Colony Optimization6▲ 17×3 topics
  40. Numerical Modeling6▲ 8.3×3 topics

Which research topics does U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Space Satellite Systems and Control, Astro and Planetary Science, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control and Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows.

Space Satellite Systems and Control: 12 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 10 fractional worksSpacecraft Dynamics and …8Spacecraft Dynamics and Control: 8 fractional worksFluid Dynamics and Turbu…7Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows: 7 fractional worksNetwork Security and Intrusion Detection: 5 fractional worksHeat Transfer Mechanisms: 5 fractional worksAdvanced Malware Detecti…5Advanced Malware Detection Techniques: 5 fractional worksRobotics and Sensor-Based Localization: 5 fractional worksSpacecraft Design and Technology: 4 fractional worksMilitary Defense Systems Analysis: 4 fractional works
Aerospace EngineeringAstronomy and AstrophysicsComputational MechanicsComputer Networks and Communications2 others

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

  1. 1 Space Satellite Systems and Control Aerospace Engineering 12 works
  2. 2 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 10 works
  3. 3 Spacecraft Dynamics and Control Aerospace Engineering 8 works
  4. 4 Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows Computational Mechanics 7 works
  5. 5 Network Security and Intrusion Detection Computer Networks and Communications 5 works
  6. 6 Heat Transfer Mechanisms Mechanical Engineering 5 works
  7. 7 Advanced Malware Detection Techniques Signal Processing 5 works
  8. 8 Robotics and Sensor-Based Localization Aerospace Engineering 5 works
  9. 9 Spacecraft Design and Technology Aerospace Engineering 4 works
  10. 10 Military Defense Systems Analysis Aerospace Engineering 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 available20.3%not open79.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors6.5%domestic only93.5%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 19% 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 Dayton

All research institutions in Dayton

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.