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Research facility · Seattle · United States

University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory

In research, University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory stands highest in Physical Sciences (#1,716 of 12,888 worldwide), Life Sciences (#3,274 of 7,800 worldwide) and Medicine (#4,443 of 10,443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Oceanography, Earth and Planetary Sciences and Atmospheric Science — Oceanography is 36.3× its share of world research.

apl.washington.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,216
of 28,054 · #1,021 all time
Rank in United States
#334
of 4,192
Research works
5.6k
▼ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
262k
47.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
21.8%
record average 16.5%
Open access
35%
world 28%

What is University of Washington Applied Physics 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 #1,716 of 12,888 22.2%327 #857
Life SciencesDomain #3,274 of 7,800 24.9%66 #1609
MedicineField #4,443 of 10,443 21.6%96 #2171
Health SciencesDomain #5,235 of 11,982 20.5%113 #2281
EngineeringField #3,203 of 6,636 20.6%74 #1617
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #769 of 1,209 19.5%97 #270

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where University of Washington Applied Physics 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#857 #1,716
  2. Life Sciences#1,609 #3,274
  3. Medicine#2,171 #4,443
  4. Health Sciences#2,281 #5,235
  5. Engineering#1,617 #3,203
  6. Earth and Planetary Sciences#270 #769
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 Washington Applied Physics Laboratory specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Oceanography takes 36.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. OceanographySubfield · 57.3 works36×
  2. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 97.5 works11×
  3. Atmospheric ScienceSubfield · 25.2 works10×
← 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: 0.28× its world share, 7 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.36× its world share, 41 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.84× its world share, 5 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.34× its world share, 12 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.40× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.38× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.39× its world share, 3 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.78× its world share, 34 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 11.05× its world share, 98 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.25× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.87× its world share, 74 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.55× its world share, 43 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.51× its world share, 10 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.96× its world share, 20 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 3.51× its world share, 44 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.61× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.87× its world share, 13 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.89× its world share, 96 worksMedicineNursing: 0.21× its world share, 1 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.66× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.22× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.38× its world share, 8 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.09× its world share, 13 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.81× its world share, 14 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.24× its world share, 17 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Earth and Planetary Sciences, 11.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert E. O’Malley, Darrell R. Jackson and R. Vandenbosch lead among researchers whose main affiliation is University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory.

  1. 1 Robert E. O’Malley United States · #51,602 worldwide 344 citations · 42 works
  2. 2 Darrell R. Jackson United States · #73,091 worldwide 291 citations · 62 works
  3. 3 R. Vandenbosch United States · #106,897 worldwide 277 citations · 60 works
  4. 4 Emilio Mayorga United States · #107,395 worldwide 331 citations · 23 works
  5. 5 Eric A. D’Asaro United States · #152,602 worldwide 363 citations · 63 works
  6. 6 Michael C. Gregg United States · #213,271 worldwide 314 citations · 34 works
  7. 7 Hong Qian United States · #275,092 worldwide 252 citations · 56 works
  8. 8 William E. Asher United States · #287,030 worldwide 138 citations · 38 works
  9. 9 Thomas B. Sanford United States · #293,253 worldwide 180 citations · 32 works
  10. 10 Jim Thomson United States · #326,508 worldwide 203 citations · 64 works
All ranked researchers at University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory

Which keywords describe research at University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Ocean Circulation, Data Assimilation, Machine Learning, Marine Sediments, Acoustic Techniques, Seafloor Mapping and Oceanic Modeling.

▲ 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. Climate Change52▲ 3.4×53 topics
  2. Machine Learning40▲ 2.2×48 topics
  3. Ocean Circulation33▲ 45×3 topics
  4. Data Assimilation23▲ 26×4 topics
  5. Deep Learning21◆ 1.09×47 topics
  6. Remote Sensing20▲ 2.9×20 topics
  7. Marine Sediments19▲ 56×2 topics
  8. Acoustic Techniques19▲ 104×1 topic
  9. Seafloor Mapping19▲ 104×1 topic
  10. Oceanic Modeling19▲ 101×1 topic
  11. Tidal Analysis19▲ 101×1 topic
  12. Tropical Cyclones17▲ 54×2 topics
  13. Global Warming16▲ 6.9×9 topics
  14. Wave Modeling15▲ 52×2 topics
  15. Rogue Waves11▲ 35×2 topics
  16. Ocean Waves11▲ 90×1 topic
  17. Wind Stress11▲ 90×1 topic
  18. Population Dynamics11▲ 7.5×8 topics
  19. Arctic10▲ 16×4 topics
  20. Inverse Problems9▲ 16×4 topics
  21. Sea Level Rise9▲ 13×3 topics
  22. Monte Carlo Simulation9▲ 7.6×7 topics
  23. Conservation8▲ 3.4×12 topics
  24. Decline8▲ 56×1 topic
  25. Sea Ice8▲ 56×1 topic
  26. Predator-Prey Interactions8▲ 17×3 topics
  27. Acoustic Communication7▲ 24×2 topics
  28. Fluid Dynamics7▲ 8.9×4 topics
  29. Anthropogenic Noise7▲ 41×1 topic
  30. Marine Mammals7▲ 41×1 topic
  31. Nonlinear Systems7▲ 5.6×3 topics
  32. Hydrological Cycle6▲ 12×2 topics
  33. Acoustic Communications6▲ 25×1 topic
  34. Extreme Events6▲ 13×2 topics
  35. Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks6▲ 25×1 topic
  36. Climate Modeling6▲ 15×1 topic
  37. Model Reduction6▲ 21×1 topic
  38. Partial Differential Equations6▲ 20×1 topic
  39. Precipitation Extremes6▲ 15×1 topic
  40. Hurricanes5▲ 30×1 topic

Which research topics does University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Underwater Acoustics Research, Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes, Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing and Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics.

Underwater Acoustics Res…19Underwater Acoustics Research: 19 fractional worksOceanographic and Atmospheric Processes: 19 fractional worksOcean Waves and Remote Sensing: 11 fractional worksArctic and Antarctic ice dynamics: 8 fractional worksMarine animal studies overview: 7 fractional worksUnderwater Vehicles and Communication Systems: 6 fractional worksClimate variability and models: 6 fractional worksModel Reduction and Neural Networks: 6 fractional worksTropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research: 5 fractional worksStochastic processes and financial applications: 4 fractional works
OceanographyAtmospheric ScienceEcologyOcean Engineering3 others

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

  1. 1 Underwater Acoustics Research Oceanography 19 works
  2. 2 Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes Oceanography 19 works
  3. 3 Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing Oceanography 11 works
  4. 4 Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics Atmospheric Science 8 works
  5. 5 Marine animal studies overview Ecology 7 works
  6. 6 Underwater Vehicles and Communication Systems Ocean Engineering 6 works
  7. 7 Climate variability and models Global and Planetary Change 6 works
  8. 8 Model Reduction and Neural Networks Statistical and Nonlinear Physics 6 works
  9. 9 Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research Atmospheric Science 5 works
  10. 10 Stochastic processes and financial applications Finance 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 available35.2%not open64.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors16.7%domestic only83.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Seattle

All research institutions in Seattle

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.