Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Research facility · Washington · United States

United States Naval Research Laboratory

In research, United States Naval Research Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#1,672 of 12,888 worldwide), Engineering (#1,888 of 6,636 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#644 of 1,646 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Oceanography and Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 11.5× its share of world research.

nrl.navy.milROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,850
of 28,054 · #115 all time
Rank in United States
#413
of 4,192
Research works
39k
▼ 24% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.1M
28.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
9.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
16%
world 28%

What is United States Naval 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
Physical SciencesDomain #1,672 of 12,888 9.0%1,386 #58
EngineeringField #1,888 of 6,636 8.8%571 #86
Physics and AstronomyField #644 of 1,646 11.6%267 #53
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #1,387 of 2,318 7.3%209 #85
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #778 of 1,209 9.1%103 #120
Life SciencesDomain #5,437 of 7,800 16.5%71 #2071
Materials ScienceField #1,762 of 2,468 7.4%158 #67
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #333 of 443 15.8%91 #73
Computer ScienceField #3,555 of 4,667 7.8%130 #399
Aerospace EngineeringSubfield #681 of 795 15.5%96 #41

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where United States Naval 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. Physical Sciences#58 #1,672
  2. Engineering#86 #1,888
  3. Physics and Astronomy#53 #644
  4. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#85 #1,387
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences#120 #778
  6. Life Sciences#2,071 #5,437
  7. Materials Science#67 #1,762
  8. Astronomy and Astrophysics#73 #333
  9. Computer Science#399 #3,555
  10. Aerospace Engineering#41 #681
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 Naval Research Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 11.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 91.2 works11×
  2. OceanographySubfield · 44.3 works10×
  3. Atomic and Molecular Physics, and OpticsSubfield · 100.8 works9.2×
  4. Physics and AstronomyField · 266.8 works7.8×
← 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: 0.09× its world share, 7 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.59× its world share, 48 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.12× its world share, 2 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.44× its world share, 11 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.52× its world share, 3 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 2.73× its world share, 15 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.92× its world share, 46 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.09× its world share, 130 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4.31× its world share, 103 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.83× its world share, 12 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.49× its world share, 571 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.95× its world share, 72 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 2.97× its world share, 158 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.65× its world share, 12 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 7.85× its world share, 267 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.05× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.11× its world share, 31 worksMedicineNursing: 0.12× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.18× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.04× its world share, 2 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.62× its world share, 9 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.13× its world share, 4 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.25× its world share, 12 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.05× its world share, 10 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 7.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at United States Naval Research Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, E. L. Wright, David J. Singh and Mark R. Pederson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is United States Naval Research Laboratory.

  1. 1 E. L. Wright United States · #13 worldwide 9.3k citations · 228 works
  2. 2 David J. Singh United States · #1,553 worldwide 5.1k citations · 208 works
  3. 3 Mark R. Pederson United States · #1,663 worldwide 4.2k citations · 82 works
  4. 4 R. A. Cameron United States · #2,565 worldwide 2.1k citations · 87 works
  5. 5 Mark Rubinstein United States · #4,933 worldwide 2.7k citations · 59 works
  6. 6 C. D. Dermer United States · #5,076 worldwide 2.2k citations · 137 works
  7. 7 W. N. Johnson United States · #5,558 worldwide 1.6k citations · 102 works
  8. 8 John H. Gardner United States · #8,065 worldwide 491 citations · 60 works
  9. 9 M. S. Strickman United States · #9,692 worldwide 1.2k citations · 71 works
  10. 10 G. H. Share United States · #13,622 worldwide 982 citations · 96 works
All ranked researchers at United States Naval Research Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at United States Naval Research Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Solar Wind, Semiconductor, Nanowires, Biosensors, Semiconductors, Crystal Growth, Electron Acceleration and Thin Films.

▲ 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. Machine Learning62▲ 1.25×44 topics
  2. Deep Learning53◆ 1.01×53 topics
  3. Solar Wind46▲ 33×2 topics
  4. Remote Sensing42▲ 2.2×24 topics
  5. Biosensors41▲ 5.2×11 topics
  6. Semiconductor38▲ 7.3×7 topics
  7. Nanowires36▲ 16×5 topics
  8. Mechanical Properties35▲ 2.4×29 topics
  9. Semiconductors34▲ 7.3×4 topics
  10. Crystal Growth30▲ 7.1×11 topics
  11. Electron Acceleration26▲ 25×2 topics
  12. Nanostructures25▲ 4.0×15 topics
  13. Thin Films25▲ 8.4×9 topics
  14. Band Parameters24▲ 29×2 topics
  15. Ionosphere24▲ 28×1 topic
  16. Magnetosphere24▲ 28×1 topic
  17. Photodetectors24▲ 19×2 topics
  18. Field-Effect Transistors23▲ 9.3×4 topics
  19. Light-Emitting Diodes22▲ 9.3×3 topics
  20. Coronal Mass Ejections22▲ 39×1 topic
  21. Power Devices22▲ 21×2 topics
  22. Solar Dynamics Observatory22▲ 39×1 topic
  23. Thermal Management22▲ 4.3×7 topics
  24. Data Assimilation21▲ 8.8×4 topics
  25. Raman Spectroscopy20▲ 6.8×6 topics
  26. Photovoltaics20▲ 8.1×4 topics
  27. Optical Modulators20▲ 8.7×3 topics
  28. Spintronics20▲ 9.8×4 topics
  29. Tomography20▲ 7.0×5 topics
  30. Integrated Circuits19▲ 8.1×3 topics
  31. Nanoelectronics19▲ 14×2 topics
  32. Nonlinear Optics19▲ 11×4 topics
  33. Large-Eddy Simulation19▲ 6.4×4 topics
  34. Marine Sediments18▲ 20×2 topics
  35. Acoustic Techniques18▲ 37×1 topic
  36. Seafloor Mapping18▲ 37×1 topic
  37. GaN18▲ 33×2 topics
  38. Silicon Photonics17▲ 10×2 topics
  39. Raman Lasers17▲ 9.9×2 topics
  40. Semiconductor Devices17▲ 16×2 topics

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

By volume in 2022–2025: Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics, Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics, Underwater Acoustics Research and Semiconductor materials and devices.

Ionosphere and magnetosp…24Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 24 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma D…22Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 22 fractional worksUnderwater Acoustics Res…18Underwater Acoustics Research: 18 fractional worksSemiconductor materials …16Semiconductor materials and devices: 16 fractional worksGaN-based semiconductor devices and materials: 16 fractional worksPhotonic and Optical Devices: 16 fractional worksGa2O3 and related materi…14Ga2O3 and related materials: 14 fractional worksPlasma Diagnostics and Applications: 12 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 10 fractional worksZnO doping and properties: 10 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsOceanographyElectrical and Electronic EngineeringCondensed Matter Physics2 others

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

  1. 1 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 24 works
  2. 2 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 22 works
  3. 3 Underwater Acoustics Research Oceanography 18 works
  4. 4 Semiconductor materials and devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 16 works
  5. 5 GaN-based semiconductor devices and materials Condensed Matter Physics 16 works
  6. 6 Photonic and Optical Devices Electrical and Electronic Engineering 16 works
  7. 7 Ga2O3 and related materials Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials 14 works
  8. 8 Plasma Diagnostics and Applications Electrical and Electronic Engineering 12 works
  9. 9 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 10 works
  10. 10 ZnO doping and properties Materials Chemistry 10 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 available16.0%not open84.0%

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 Naval Research Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 24% 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.