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University · Richland · United States

Washington State University Tri-Cities

In research, Washington State University Tri-Cities stands highest in Physical Sciences (#8,697 of 12,888 worldwide), Oceanography (#149 of 156 worldwide) and Astronomy and Astrophysics (#430 of 443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Oceanography, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Environmental Chemistry — Oceanography is 92.6× its share of world research.

tricities.wsu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#14,200
of 28,054 · #12,546 all time
Rank in United States
#1,982
of 4,192
Research works
1.2k
▲ 3% vs 2013–17
Citations
15k
13.1 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
4.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
60%
world 28%

What is Washington State University Tri-Cities 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 #8,697 of 12,888 2.1%598 #8824
OceanographySubfield #149 of 156 0.0%169 #657
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #430 of 443 0.0%250 #1143
Environmental ScienceField #3,496 of 3,551 2.1%79 —
Physics and AstronomyField #1,643 of 1,646 0.0%286 #3629
Earth and Planetary SciencesField #1,207 of 1,209 0.0%201 #2611
Environmental ChemistrySubfield #79 of 79 0.1%72 —

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Washington State University Tri-Cities 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#8,824 #8,697
  2. Oceanography#657 #149
  3. Astronomy and Astrophysics#1,143 #430
  4. Physics and Astronomy#3,629 #1,643
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences#2,611 #1,207
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 Washington State University Tri-Cities specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Oceanography takes 92.6× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. OceanographySubfield · 169.1 works93×
  2. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 250.0 works74×
  3. Environmental ChemistrySubfield · 72.2 works51×
  4. Physics and AstronomyField · 286.1 works20×
  5. Earth and Planetary SciencesField · 200.8 works20×
  6. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 33.9 works17×
  7. GeophysicsSubfield · 31.6 works14×
  8. Environmental ScienceField · 79.4 works2.5×
← 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: 0.31× its world share, 10 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.15× its world share, 5 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.01× its world share, 0 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.29× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.11× its world share, 1 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.07× its world share, 4 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 19.68× its world share, 201 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.22× its world share, 21 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 2.45× its world share, 79 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.15× its world share, 3 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.08× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 19.77× its world share, 286 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.18× its world share, 3 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.05× its world share, 6 worksMedicineNursing: 0.09× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 0.20× its world share, 4 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.08× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesPsychology: 0.37× its world share, 7 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.19× its world share, 16 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 19.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities?

Ranked on the composite score, L. C. Olsen, Robert R. Lewis and Changki Mo lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Washington State University Tri-Cities.

  1. 1 L. C. Olsen United States · #272,091 worldwide 141 citations · 25 works
  2. 2 Robert R. Lewis United States · #400,301 worldwide 46 citations · 19 works
  3. 3 Changki Mo United States · #677,910 worldwide 94 citations · 24 works
  4. 4 Bin Yang United States · #776,255 worldwide 266 citations · 179 works
  5. 5 Sergei Y. Tolmachev United States · #1,096,735 worldwide 30 citations · 15 works
  6. 6 Rafael C. Gómez León United States · #1,144,495 worldwide 1 citations · 17 works
  7. 7 Ying Wāng United States · #1,279,788 worldwide 13 citations · 18 works
  8. 8 K Fiedler United States · #1,320,968 worldwide 12 citations · 17 works
  9. 9 Austin Gluth United States · #1,380,082 worldwide 0 citations · 190 works
  10. 10 Austin Gluth United States · #1,403,955 worldwide 0 citations · 89 works
All ranked researchers at Washington State University Tri-Cities

Which keywords describe research at Washington State University Tri-Cities?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Solar Wind, Climate Change, Ionosphere, Magnetosphere, Hydrological Modeling, GRACE, Sea Level Rise and Coronal Mass Ejections.

▲ 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. Solar Wind248▲ 411×2 topics
  2. Climate Change172▲ 9.8×18 topics
  3. Ionosphere170▲ 466×1 topic
  4. Magnetosphere170▲ 466×1 topic
  5. GRACE169▲ 505×1 topic
  6. Hydrological Modeling169▲ 111×3 topics
  7. Sea Level Rise169▲ 204×1 topic
  8. Coronal Mass Ejections79▲ 328×1 topic
  9. Solar Dynamics Observatory79▲ 328×1 topic
  10. Microbial Communities72▲ 26×2 topics
  11. Anaerobic72▲ 159×1 topic
  12. Methane Oxidation72▲ 136×1 topic
  13. High-Energy Astrophysics34▲ 193×1 topic
  14. Particle Acceleration34▲ 193×1 topic
  15. Tomography16▲ 14×3 topics
  16. Ionospheric Anomalies16▲ 63×1 topic
  17. Seismic Electromagnetics16▲ 63×1 topic
  18. Seismic Noise16▲ 50×1 topic
  19. Surface Wave16▲ 50×1 topic
  20. Fermentation4▲ 4.3×3 topics
  21. Ionizing Radiation4▲ 7.8×2 topics
  22. Radionuclides3▲ 13×2 topics
  23. Waste-to-Energy3▲ 7.0×2 topics
  24. Microbial Community3▲ 5.6×2 topics
  25. Bioenergy3▲ 8.0×3 topics
  26. Lignocellulosic Biomass3▲ 4.1×2 topics
  27. Anaerobic Digestion3▲ 15×1 topic
  28. Biogas Production3▲ 15×1 topic
  29. Waste Treatment3▲ 12×2 topics
  30. Computed Tomography2▲ 7.3×2 topics
  31. Anthocyanins2▲ 4.5×2 topics
  32. Special Education2▲ 5.0×2 topics
  33. Grapevine2▲ 6.8×2 topics
  34. Radon2▲ 12×1 topic
  35. Black Studies2▲ 11×1 topic
  36. Civil Rights Movement2▲ 11×1 topic
  37. Co-Teaching2▲ 19×1 topic
  38. Paraprofessionals2▲ 19×1 topic
  39. Water Deficit2▲ 7.4×1 topic
  40. Wine Quality2▲ 7.4×1 topic

Which research topics does Washington State University Tri-Cities publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics, Geophysics and Gravity Measurements, Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics and Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena.

Ionosphere and magnetosp…170Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 170 fractional worksGeophysics and Gravity M…169Geophysics and Gravity Measurements: 169 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma D…79Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 79 fractional worksMethane Hydrates and Rel…72Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena: 72 fractional worksAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena: 34 fractional worksSeismic Waves and Analysis: 16 fractional worksEarthquake Detection and Analysis: 16 fractional worksAnaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production: 3 fractional worksBiofuel production and bioconversion: 2 fractional worksRadiation Dose and Imaging: 2 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsOceanographyEnvironmental ChemistryNuclear and High Energy Physics4 others

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

  1. 1 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 170 works
  2. 2 Geophysics and Gravity Measurements Oceanography 169 works
  3. 3 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 79 works
  4. 4 Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena Environmental Chemistry 72 works
  5. 5 Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena Nuclear and High Energy Physics 34 works
  6. 6 Seismic Waves and Analysis Geophysics 16 works
  7. 7 Earthquake Detection and Analysis Geophysics 16 works
  8. 8 Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production Building and Construction 3 works
  9. 9 Biofuel production and bioconversion Biomedical Engineering 2 works
  10. 10 Radiation Dose and Imaging Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging 2 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 available59.9%not open40.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors7.7%domestic only92.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Washington State University Tri-Cities's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 3% higher 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 Richland

All research institutions in Richland

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.