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Research facility · Wright-Patterson AFB · United States

United States Air Force Research Laboratory

In research, United States Air Force Research Laboratory stands highest in Engineering (#1,121 of 6,636 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#2,258 of 12,888 worldwide) and Computer Science (#1,991 of 4,667 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Computational Mechanics, Aerospace Engineering and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics — Computational Mechanics is 12.8× its share of world research.

afrl.af.milROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#3,631
of 28,054 · #474 all time
Rank in United States
#515
of 4,192
Research works
17k
▼ 19% vs 2013–17
Citations
322k
19.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
12.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
13%
world 28%

What is United States Air Force Research Laboratory 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 #1,121 of 6,636 13.1%752 #103
Physical SciencesDomain #2,258 of 12,888 11.8%1,358 #327
Computer ScienceField #1,991 of 4,667 12.4%245 #544
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #1,000 of 2,318 9.0%179 #341
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #405 of 795 23.2%174 #23
Computational MechanicsSubfield #196 of 376 16.3%113 #32
Social SciencesDomain #6,083 of 10,521 16.9%76 #3773
Physics and AstronomyField #1,060 of 1,646 8.9%148 #458
Materials ScienceField #1,900 of 2,468 7.2%104 #375
Artificial IntelligenceSubfield #1,460 of 1,884 12.1%100 #565

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where United States Air Force Research Laboratory 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#103 #1,121
  2. Physical Sciences#327 #2,258
  3. Computer Science#544 #1,991
  4. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#341 #1,000
  5. Aerospace Engineering#23 #405
  6. Computational Mechanics#32 #196
  7. Social Sciences#3,773 #6,083
  8. Physics and Astronomy#458 #1,060
  9. Materials Science#375 #1,900
  10. Artificial Intelligence#565 #1,460
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 United States Air Force Research Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Computational Mechanics takes 12.8× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Computational MechanicsSubfield · 112.7 works13×
  2. Aerospace EngineeringSubfield · 174.2 works9.8×
  3. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 69.8 works6.4×
← 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: 0.03× its world share, 2 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.27× its world share, 22 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.73× its world share, 18 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.78× its world share, 9 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.83× its world share, 20 worksChemistryComputer Science: 2.07× its world share, 245 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.94× its world share, 22 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.53× its world share, 7 worksEnergyEngineering: 3.30× its world share, 752 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.44× its world share, 33 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.96× its world share, 104 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.98× its world share, 18 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 4.39× its world share, 148 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.25× its world share, 10 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.11× its world share, 33 worksMedicineNursing: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.02× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.12× its world share, 6 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.80× its world share, 26 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.54× its world share, 25 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.08× its world share, 15 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 4.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at United States Air Force Research Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, D.B. Miracle, Miguel R. Visbal and Eloy García lead among researchers whose main affiliation is United States Air Force Research Laboratory.

  1. 1 D.B. Miracle United States · #9,524 worldwide 1.1k citations · 69 works
  2. 2 Miguel R. Visbal United States · #18,074 worldwide 1.3k citations · 124 works
  3. 3 Eloy García United States · #41,354 worldwide 387 citations · 46 works
  4. 4 Richard A. Vaia United States · #42,685 worldwide 1k citations · 92 works
  5. 5 Phillip Chandler United States · #44,015 worldwide 363 citations · 50 works
  6. 6 David Doman United States · #45,670 worldwide 488 citations · 70 works
  7. 7 Frederick Schauer United States · #64,010 worldwide 455 citations · 157 works
  8. 8 E. W. Cliver United States · #65,947 worldwide 341 citations · 67 works
  9. 9 Braham Himed United States · #73,512 worldwide 522 citations · 100 works
  10. 10 Dennis M. Dimiduk United States · #75,185 worldwide 333 citations · 35 works
All ranked researchers at United States Air Force Research Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at United States Air Force Research Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Large-Eddy Simulation, Heat Transfer, Deep Learning, Vortex Dynamics, Turbulent Flows, Fluid Mechanics, Boundary Layer Transition and Particle Image Velocimetry.

▲ 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 Learning103▲ 1.99×60 topics
  2. Large-Eddy Simulation83▲ 28×5 topics
  3. Heat Transfer81▲ 11×15 topics
  4. Machine Learning80▲ 1.60×57 topics
  5. Neural Networks56▲ 2.4×29 topics
  6. Vortex Dynamics40▲ 23×4 topics
  7. Turbulent Flows40▲ 26×3 topics
  8. Mechanical Properties38▲ 2.6×30 topics
  9. Fluid Mechanics37▲ 33×2 topics
  10. Boundary Layer Transition36▲ 34×1 topic
  11. Particle Image Velocimetry36▲ 34×1 topic
  12. Radial Basis Functions36▲ 33×2 topics
  13. Adaptive Mesh Refinement35▲ 37×2 topics
  14. High-Order Schemes35▲ 37×2 topics
  15. Shock-Wave Interactions35▲ 59×1 topic
  16. Turbulence Modeling35▲ 59×1 topic
  17. Turbulent Flow32▲ 18×4 topics
  18. Biosensors30▲ 3.8×10 topics
  19. Security29▲ 2.9×16 topics
  20. Semiconductor26▲ 5.0×7 topics
  21. Integrated Circuits25▲ 11×3 topics
  22. Optical Modulators24▲ 11×3 topics
  23. Combustion Instabilities24▲ 26×2 topics
  24. Solar Wind24▲ 17×2 topics
  25. Flow Control24▲ 29×2 topics
  26. Additive Manufacturing23▲ 5.0×6 topics
  27. Thermal Management22▲ 4.4×7 topics
  28. Autonomous Vehicles22▲ 7.0×5 topics
  29. Signal Processing22▲ 10×7 topics
  30. Multi-Agent Systems22▲ 7.6×6 topics
  31. Raman Lasers22▲ 13×2 topics
  32. Chemical Kinetics21▲ 16×2 topics
  33. Microcavities19▲ 11×2 topics
  34. Silicon Photonics19▲ 12×2 topics
  35. Nanophotonic Waveguides18▲ 12×1 topic
  36. Nonlinear Optics18▲ 11×4 topics
  37. Whispering Gallery Mode18▲ 12×1 topic
  38. Separation Control18▲ 44×2 topics
  39. Spectral Analysis18▲ 13×2 topics
  40. Boundary Layer18▲ 9.4×4 topics

Which research topics does United States Air Force Research Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics, Photonic and Optical Devices and Aerodynamics and Acoustics in Jet Flows.

Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows: 36 fractional worksComputational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics: 35 fractional worksPhotonic and Optical Devices: 18 fractional worksAerodynamics and Acoustics in Jet Flows: 17 fractional worksCombustion and flame dynamics: 15 fractional worksAdvanced SAR Imaging Techniques: 14 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosp…13Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 13 fractional worksHuman-Automation Interaction and Safety: 12 fractional worksPlasma and Flow Control in Aerodynamics: 12 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 11 fractional works
Computational MechanicsElectrical and Electronic EngineeringAerospace EngineeringAstronomy and Astrophysics1 others

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

  1. 1 Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows Computational Mechanics 36 works
  2. 2 Computational Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics Computational Mechanics 35 works
  3. 3 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 18 works
  4. 4 Aerodynamics and Acoustics in Jet Flows Aerospace Engineering 17 works
  5. 5 Combustion and flame dynamics Computational Mechanics 15 works
  6. 6 Advanced SAR Imaging Techniques Aerospace Engineering 14 works
  7. 7 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 13 works
  8. 8 Human-Automation Interaction and Safety Social Psychology 12 works
  9. 9 Plasma and Flow Control in Aerodynamics Aerospace Engineering 12 works
  10. 10 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 11 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 available13.3%not open86.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors7.4%domestic only92.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has United States Air Force Research Laboratory'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 Wright-Patterson AFB

All research institutions in Wright-Patterson AFB

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.