Science Explorer Interactive view Map
University · Barcelona · Spain

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

In research, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya stands highest in Physical Sciences (#594 of 12,888 worldwide), Computer Science (#216 of 4,667 worldwide) and Engineering (#334 of 6,636 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Hardware and Architecture, Earth-Surface Processes and Building and Construction — Hardware and Architecture is 9.2× its share of world research.

upc.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#891
of 28,054 · #459 all time
Rank in Spain
#15
of 658
Research works
44k
▼ 8% vs 2013–17
Citations
900k
20.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
17.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
56%
world 28%

What is Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya 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 #594 of 12,888 16.4%5,076 #326
Computer ScienceField #216 of 4,667 15.2%966 #102
EngineeringField #334 of 6,636 15.6%2,578 #138
Environmental ScienceField #406 of 3,551 21.9%490 #244
Social SciencesDomain #1,361 of 10,521 24.4%745 #1057
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #353 of 2,318 10.5%631 #159
Building and ConstructionSubfield #67 of 422 21.8%202 #63
Control and Systems EngineeringSubfield #150 of 793 12.7%236 #74
Health SciencesDomain #2,269 of 11,982 19.8%356 #2703
Computer Networks and CommunicationsSubfield #145 of 705 14.4%224 #78

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya 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#326 #594
  2. Computer Science#102 #216
  3. Engineering#138 #334
  4. Environmental Science#244 #406
  5. Social Sciences#1,057 #1,361
  6. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#159 #353
  7. Building and Construction#63 #67
  8. Control and Systems Engineering#74 #150
  9. Health Sciences#2,703 #2,269
  10. Computer Networks and Communications#78 #145
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 Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Hardware and Architecture takes 9.2× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Hardware and ArchitectureSubfield · 67.4 works9.2×
  2. Earth-Surface ProcessesSubfield · 42.1 works5.5×
  3. Building and ConstructionSubfield · 202.4 works5.0×
  4. Civil and Structural EngineeringSubfield · 308.2 works4.0×
  5. Computational MechanicsSubfield · 151.4 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: 0.37× its world share, 115 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.40× its world share, 139 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.08× its world share, 5 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.58× its world share, 61 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.18× its world share, 4 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.46× its world share, 33 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.53× its world share, 54 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.91× its world share, 966 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.98× its world share, 202 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.41× its world share, 84 worksEnergyEngineering: 2.64× its world share, 2,578 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.52× its world share, 490 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.27× its world share, 289 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.37× its world share, 105 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.90× its world share, 274 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.38× its world share, 12 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.30× its world share, 51 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.23× its world share, 284 worksMedicineNursing: 0.28× its world share, 9 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.09× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.63× its world share, 117 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.48× its world share, 100 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.34× its world share, 84 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.50× its world share, 70 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.35× its world share, 69 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.37× its world share, 304 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Engineering, 2.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya?

Ranked on the composite score, Pedro Rodríguez, Alfonso Valencia and Álvaro Luna lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

  1. 1 Pedro Rodríguez Spain · #4,663 worldwide 2.8k citations · 175 works
  2. 2 Alfonso Valencia Spain · #5,449 worldwide 1.4k citations · 97 works
  3. 3 Álvaro Luna Spain · #6,942 worldwide 1.3k citations · 64 works
  4. 4 Miguel Castilla Spain · #13,671 worldwide 752 citations · 55 works
  5. 5 Jaume Miret Spain · #21,142 worldwide 652 citations · 44 works
  6. 6 Josep Carmona Spain · #23,046 worldwide 494 citations · 44 works
  7. 7 Ferran Marqués Spain · #25,777 worldwide 526 citations · 59 works
  8. 8 Joan Rocabert Spain · #30,089 worldwide 934 citations · 35 works
  9. 9 J. Matas Spain · #32,742 worldwide 538 citations · 36 works
  10. 10 Jose Ignacio Candela Spain · #34,484 worldwide 575 citations · 59 works
All ranked researchers at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Which keywords describe research at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Energy Efficiency, Power Electronics, Remote Sensing, Sustainability, Climate Change and Renewable Energy Integration.

▲ 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 Learning358▲ 1.61×79 topics
  2. Machine Learning307▲ 1.44×81 topics
  3. Climate Change236▲ 1.35×92 topics
  4. Sustainability230▲ 1.45×87 topics
  5. Energy Efficiency190▲ 3.1×37 topics
  6. Environmental Impact184▲ 1.66×56 topics
  7. Remote Sensing178▲ 2.2×34 topics
  8. Neural Networks174▲ 1.74×36 topics
  9. Renewable Energy167▲ 1.79×46 topics
  10. Mechanical Properties149▲ 2.4×36 topics
  11. Power Electronics126▲ 5.8×8 topics
  12. Biomedical Applications116▲ 1.50×34 topics
  13. Renewable Energy Integration107▲ 4.8×6 topics
  14. Artificial Neural Networks104▲ 3.4×8 topics
  15. Cultural Heritage104▲ 2.9×27 topics
  16. Nanocomposites95▲ 1.81×22 topics
  17. Model Predictive Control90▲ 5.3×6 topics
  18. Heat Transfer86▲ 2.7×19 topics
  19. Smart Grid79▲ 3.2×9 topics
  20. Nonlinear Dynamics70▲ 4.9×7 topics
  21. 5G Networks70▲ 5.3×5 topics
  22. Sensor Networks68▲ 4.2×6 topics
  23. Fluid-Structure Interaction65▲ 6.5×6 topics
  24. Thermal Comfort65▲ 7.6×2 topics
  25. Finite Element Analysis64▲ 4.3×8 topics
  26. High-Performance Computing62▲ 12×3 topics
  27. Distributed Systems60▲ 5.6×6 topics
  28. Large-Eddy Simulation60▲ 4.8×5 topics
  29. Parallel Computing60▲ 7.9×5 topics
  30. Smart Grid Applications57▲ 6.8×2 topics
  31. Energy Storage Systems56▲ 6.1×2 topics
  32. Fault Tolerance52▲ 5.1×7 topics
  33. Decentralized Control52▲ 6.7×2 topics
  34. Construction50▲ 5.6×3 topics
  35. Distributed Power Generation49▲ 7.3×1 topic
  36. Microgrid Control49▲ 7.3×1 topic
  37. Durability Performance45▲ 7.2×2 topics
  38. Energy Simulation44▲ 7.4×2 topics
  39. Building Energy Consumption42▲ 8.3×1 topic
  40. Sustainable Buildings42▲ 8.3×1 topic

Which research topics does Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Microgrid Control and Optimization, Building Energy and Comfort Optimization, Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques and Structural Health Monitoring Techniques.

Microgrid Control and Op…49Microgrid Control and Optimization: 49 fractional worksBuilding Energy and Comf…42Building Energy and Comfort Optimization: 42 fractional worksParallel Computing and Optimization Techniques: 36 fractional worksStructural Health Monitoring Techniques: 34 fractional worksLatin American Urban Studies: 34 fractional worksStructural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete: 30 fractional worksAdvanced Battery Technologies Research: 30 fractional worksIoT and Edge/Fog Computing27IoT and Edge/Fog Computing: 27 fractional worksSmart Grid Energy Management: 26 fractional worksDistributed and Parallel Computing Systems: 25 fractional works
Control and Systems EngineeringBuilding and ConstructionHardware and ArchitectureCivil and Structural Engineering4 others

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

  1. 1 Microgrid Control and Optimization Control and Systems Engineering 49 works
  2. 2 Building Energy and Comfort Optimization Building and Construction 42 works
  3. 3 Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques Hardware and Architecture 36 works
  4. 4 Structural Health Monitoring Techniques Civil and Structural Engineering 34 works
  5. 5 Latin American Urban Studies Urban Studies 34 works
  6. 6 Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Building and Construction 30 works
  7. 7 Advanced Battery Technologies Research Automotive Engineering 30 works
  8. 8 IoT and Edge/Fog Computing Computer Networks and Communications 27 works
  9. 9 Smart Grid Energy Management Electrical and Electronic Engineering 26 works
  10. 10 Distributed and Parallel Computing Systems Computer Networks and Communications 25 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 available55.9%not open44.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors28.9%domestic only71.1%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 8% 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 Barcelona

All research institutions in Barcelona

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.