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University · Akron · United States

University of Akron

In research, University of Akron stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,273 of 10,521 worldwide), Physical Sciences (#1,601 of 12,888 worldwide) and Engineering (#2,257 of 6,636 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Polymers and Plastics and Biomaterials — Polymers and Plastics is 9.9× its share of world research.

uakron.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#1,946
of 28,054 · #903 all time
Rank in United States
#298
of 4,192
Research works
23k
▼ 43% vs 2013–17
Citations
517k
22.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.1%
record average 16.5%
Open access
25%
world 28%

What is University of Akron 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
Social SciencesDomain #1,273 of 10,521 23.8%351 #498
Physical SciencesDomain #1,601 of 12,888 11.5%786 #744
EngineeringField #2,257 of 6,636 10.1%334 #696
Social SciencesField #3,098 of 6,365 17.7%134 #519
Materials ScienceField #1,247 of 2,468 11.1%173 #428
Health SciencesDomain #6,601 of 11,982 12.1%99 #2354
Life SciencesDomain #5,715 of 7,800 16.6%78 #3070
Electrical and Electronic EngineeringSubfield #1,893 of 2,318 9.2%68 #732
Biomedical EngineeringSubfield #1,313 of 1,568 10.1%64 #531
Mechanical EngineeringSubfield #1,138 of 1,351 11.5%67 #487

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Akron 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. Social Sciences#498 #1,273
  2. Physical Sciences#744 #1,601
  3. Engineering#696 #2,257
  4. Social Sciences#519 #3,098
  5. Materials Science#428 #1,247
  6. Health Sciences#2,354 #6,601
  7. Life Sciences#3,070 #5,715
  8. Electrical and Electronic Engineering#732 #1,893
  9. Biomedical Engineering#531 #1,313
  10. Mechanical Engineering#487 #1,138
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 University of Akron specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Polymers and Plastics takes 9.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Polymers and PlasticsSubfield · 52.3 works9.9×
  2. BiomaterialsSubfield · 29.8 works5.3×
← 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: 0.29× its world share, 18 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.56× its world share, 40 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.20× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.81× its world share, 17 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.17× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 4.21× its world share, 19 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 3.25× its world share, 67 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.53× its world share, 54 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.93× its world share, 19 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.96× its world share, 12 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.70× its world share, 334 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.77× its world share, 50 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 3.76× its world share, 173 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.20× its world share, 18 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.31× its world share, 38 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.16× its world share, 1 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.61× its world share, 21 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.29× its world share, 74 worksMedicineNursing: 0.38× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.19× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.74× its world share, 28 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.33× its world share, 56 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.48× its world share, 19 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.02× its world share, 57 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.40× its world share, 56 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.81× its world share, 134 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Chemical Engineering, 4.2×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Akron?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert G. Lord, Paul E. Levy and Constance B. Bouchard lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Akron.

  1. 1 Robert G. Lord United States · #26,715 worldwide 1.3k citations · 36 works
  2. 2 Paul E. Levy United States · #27,063 worldwide 395 citations · 43 works
  3. 3 Constance B. Bouchard United States · #39,905 worldwide 90 citations · 56 works
  4. 4 A. N. Gent United States · #41,893 worldwide 634 citations · 64 works
  5. 5 Margaret M. Poloma United States · #45,064 worldwide 193 citations · 38 works
  6. 6 Darrell H. Reneker United States · #53,222 worldwide 491 citations · 53 works
  7. 7 John C. Green United States · #59,476 worldwide 239 citations · 47 works
  8. 8 William J. Miller United States · #68,789 worldwide 445 citations · 26 works
  9. 9 Irwin Deutscher United States · #83,022 worldwide 203 citations · 29 works
  10. 10 Dennis Doverspike United States · #83,146 worldwide 271 citations · 31 works
All ranked researchers at University of Akron

Which keywords describe research at University of Akron?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mechanical Properties, Nanocomposites, Nanoparticles, Polymer Composites, Biodegradable Polymers, Self-Assembly, Biomedical Applications and Additive Manufacturing.

▲ 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 Properties60▲ 4.7×35 topics
  2. Nanoparticles56▲ 3.4×32 topics
  3. Nanocomposites54▲ 5.1×19 topics
  4. Biomedical Applications47▲ 3.0×29 topics
  5. Polymer Composites35▲ 10×5 topics
  6. Self-Assembly31▲ 7.2×11 topics
  7. Biodegradable Polymers31▲ 14×4 topics
  8. Catalysis30▲ 3.5×22 topics
  9. Mental Health30▲ 1.55×29 topics
  10. Additive Manufacturing29▲ 7.1×8 topics
  11. Tissue Engineering28▲ 3.5×10 topics
  12. Applications22▲ 5.9×6 topics
  13. Corporate Governance21▲ 2.2×17 topics
  14. Recycling21▲ 4.2×6 topics
  15. Polymerization20▲ 16×6 topics
  16. 3D Printing20▲ 6.5×5 topics
  17. Hydrogels20▲ 8.2×5 topics
  18. Shape Memory Polymers19▲ 19×2 topics
  19. Biomedical Engineering18▲ 9.3×2 topics
  20. Renewable Resources18▲ 8.2×5 topics
  21. Conducting Polymers17▲ 9.4×2 topics
  22. Rheology17▲ 6.8×7 topics
  23. Materials17▲ 5.6×3 topics
  24. Ceramics17▲ 8.4×2 topics
  25. Challenges16▲ 11×2 topics
  26. Fused Deposition Modeling16▲ 11×1 topic
  27. Surface Roughness16▲ 8.8×4 topics
  28. Nanofibers16▲ 5.5×3 topics
  29. Finite Element Analysis15▲ 5.1×7 topics
  30. Biomaterials15▲ 4.9×7 topics
  31. Polyhydroxyalkanoates14▲ 14×1 topic
  32. Polylactic Acid14▲ 14×1 topic
  33. Self-Healing14▲ 29×1 topic
  34. Supramolecular Polymers14▲ 29×1 topic
  35. Monetary Policy14▲ 4.5×9 topics
  36. Properties13▲ 13×4 topics
  37. Polymer Blends12▲ 17×2 topics
  38. Nanotubes11▲ 11×3 topics
  39. Bioinspired Materials11▲ 8.5×3 topics
  40. Polymer11▲ 12×2 topics

Which research topics does University of Akron publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies, biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties, Polymer composites and self-healing and Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials.

Additive Manufacturing a…16Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies: 16 fractional worksbiodegradable polymer sy…14biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties: 14 fractional worksPolymer composites and s…14Polymer composites and self-healing: 14 fractional worksAdvanced Sensor and Ener…11Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials: 11 fractional worksPolymer crystallization and properties: 10 fractional worksPolymer Nanocomposites and Properties: 9 fractional worksCorrosion Behavior and I…8Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition: 8 fractional worksMarket Dynamics and Volatility: 8 fractional worksConcrete Corrosion and Durability: 8 fractional worksAdvanced Polymer Synthes…7Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization: 7 fractional works
Automotive EngineeringBiomaterialsPolymers and PlasticsBiomedical Engineering4 others

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

  1. 1 Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies Automotive Engineering 16 works
  2. 2 biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties Biomaterials 14 works
  3. 3 Polymer composites and self-healing Polymers and Plastics 14 works
  4. 4 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials Biomedical Engineering 11 works
  5. 5 Polymer crystallization and properties Polymers and Plastics 10 works
  6. 6 Polymer Nanocomposites and Properties Polymers and Plastics 9 works
  7. 7 Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition Materials Chemistry 8 works
  8. 8 Market Dynamics and Volatility Economics and Econometrics 8 works
  9. 9 Concrete Corrosion and Durability Civil and Structural Engineering 8 works
  10. 10 Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization Organic Chemistry 7 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 available25.2%not open74.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors9.6%domestic only90.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Akron's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 43% 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 Akron

All research institutions in Akron

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.