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Nonprofit · Denver · United States

Water Research Foundation

waterrf.orgROR OpenAlex
World rank, all time
#33,763
of 34,923
Rank in United States
#7,093
of 7,310
Research works
126
▲ 2% vs 2018-21
Citations
1.8k
13.9 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.6%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.96×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
16%
world 40%
International
20%
world 18%
Water Research Foundation

Which fields of science does Water Research Foundation work in?

In all years, 80% of research at Water Research Foundation is in Physical Sciences, 8% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Environmental Science (43%), Engineering (30%), Medicine (5%). It does 1.9× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 100 fractional works · 79.5% of its workEnvironmental Science: 54 fractional works · 42.9% of its workWater Science and Technology: 18 fractional works · 14.1% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 13 fractional works · 10.4% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 5 fractional works · 4.2% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 4 fractional works · 3.6% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 4 fractional works · 3.1% of its workPollution: 3 fractional works · 2.4% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 3 fractional works · 2.1% of its workEcology: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 38 fractional works · 30.1% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 15 fractional works · 11.7% of its workOcean Engineering: 9 fractional works · 7.4% of its workMechanical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 2.5% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workBuilding and Construction: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMedia Technology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workMechanics of Materials: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4 fractional works · 3.5% of its workAtmospheric Science: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workOceanography: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workGeology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeophysics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnergy: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workChemical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBioengineering: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workChemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 10 fractional works · 8.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 4 fractional works · 3.6% of its workSociology and Political Science: 3 fractional works · 2.0% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workAnthropology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workTransportation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workAccounting: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workArts and Humanities: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workHealth Sciences: 10 fractional works · 7.9% of its workMedicine: 6 fractional works · 4.9% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workPhysiology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInfectious Diseases: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workReproductive Medicine: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEpidemiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSpeech and Hearing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNursing: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 2 fractional works · 1.2% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workVeterinary: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 5 fractional works · 4.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEndocrinology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMolecular Biology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCancer Research: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workBiochemistry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 2 fractional works · 1.9% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workFood Science: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSoil Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workImmunology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workNeuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workALL ITS WORKWater ResearchFoundation126fractional works, all years
Life Sciences4%Physical Sciences80%Health Sciences8%Social Sciences8%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in all years. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 23 fields, with their numbers
    1. Environmental Science5442.9%
    2. Engineering3830.1%
    3. Earth and Planetary Sciences43.5%
    4. Energy21.2%
    5. Materials Science10.6%
    6. Chemical Engineering10.6%
    7. Computer Science00.4%
    8. Chemistry00.3%
    1. Social Sciences43.6%
    2. Decision Sciences21.7%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting21.6%
    4. Economics, Econometrics and Finance11.1%
    5. Arts and Humanities00.2%
    6. Psychology00.0%
    1. Medicine64.9%
    2. Health Professions21.5%
    3. Nursing21.2%
    4. Dentistry00.2%
    5. Veterinary00.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology21.9%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences21.9%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology10.5%
    4. Neuroscience00.0%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

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: 0.74× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Chemical Engineering: 1.03× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.57× its world share, 0 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.13× its world share, 0 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.10× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 3.91× its world share, 1 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.56× its world share, 4 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 10.51× its world share, 10 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.30× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMedicine: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksMedicineNursing: 2.36× its world share, 0 worksNursingBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.14× its world share, 0 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.79× its world share, 0 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.15× its world share, 0 worksEconomics, Econometr…Social Sciences: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Environmental Science, 10.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 17 fields, with their numbers
  1. Environmental Science10.51×10 works
  2. Energy3.91×1 works
  3. Decision Sciences2.79×0 works
  4. Nursing2.36×0 works
  5. Earth and Planetary Sciences2.10×1 works
  6. Engineering1.56×4 works
  7. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.15×0 works
  8. Chemical Engineering1.03×0 works
  9. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.74×1 works
  10. Chemistry0.57×0 works
  11. Materials Science0.30×0 works
  12. Immunology and Microbiology0.16×0 works
  13. Business, Management and Accounting0.14×0 works
  14. Computer Science0.13×0 works
  15. Medicine0.12×0 works
  16. Social Sciences0.10×0 works
  17. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.03×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Water Research Foundation?

Ranked on the quality score, Linda Blankenship, Frank J. Blaha and Harry X. Zhang lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Water Research Foundation.

  1. 1 Linda Blankenship United States · #4,035,438 worldwide 61 citations · 19 works
  2. 2 Frank J. Blaha United States · #4,280,762 worldwide 18 citations · 15 works
  3. 3 Harry X. Zhang United States · #4,637,486 worldwide 388 citations · 72 works
  4. 4 R Byrne United States · #4,754,066 worldwide 12 citations · 21 works
  5. 5 Lauren Fillmore United States · #4,798,865 worldwide 401 citations · 51 works
  6. 6 Walter Graf United States · #5,660,515 worldwide 714 citations · 107 works
All ranked researchers at Water Research Foundation

What are the most cited papers from Water Research Foundation?

The most cited paper from Water Research Foundation is "Global and regional potential of wastewater as a water, nutrient and energy source" (Manzoor Qadir, Pay Drechsel, Blanca Elena Jiménez et al., 2020), with 588 citations. Next come "Human domination of the global water cycle absent from depictions and perceptions" (538) and "Flash droughts present a new challenge for subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction" (503).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Global and regional potential of wastewater as a water, nutrient and energy source Manzoor Qadir, Pay Drechsel, Blanca Elena Jiménez et al. · Natural Resources Forum Open access 27 Jan 2020 588
2 Human domination of the global water cycle absent from depictions and perceptions Benjamin W. Abbott et al. · Nature Geoscience Open access 10 Jun 2019 538
3 Flash droughts present a new challenge for subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction Angeline Greene Pendergrass et al. · Nature Climate Change Open access Mar 2020 503
4 Heterotrophic plate count bacteria—what is their significance in drinking water? Martin J. Allen, Stephen C. Edberg, Donald J. Reasoner · International Journal of Food Microbiology May 2004 391
5 Characteristics and Reactivity of Algae-Produced Dissolved Organic Carbon My-Linh Nguyen, Paul K. Westerhoff, Lawrence A. Baker et al. · Journal of Environmental Engineering 17 Oct 2005 268
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Water Research Foundation?

By fractional works in all years, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Sustainability, Water Resources, Sustainability Assessment, Public Perception, Life Cycle Assessment, Water Scarcity and Decentralized Treatment.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in all years 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 Change26▲ 7.9×36 topics
  2. Sustainability20▲ 8.7×19 topics
  3. Water Resources11▲ 37×7 topics
  4. Sustainability Assessment9▲ 67×3 topics
  5. Life Cycle Assessment8▲ 36×4 topics
  6. Public Perception8▲ 67×3 topics
  7. Remote Sensing8▲ 5.7×16 topics
  8. Water Scarcity8▲ 108×2 topics
  9. Decentralized Treatment8▲ 364×1 topic
  10. Policy8▲ 35×3 topics
  11. Wastewater Reuse8▲ 364×1 topic
  12. Machine Learning7▲ 2.6×13 topics
  13. Water Quality7▲ 14×9 topics
  14. Water7▲ 128×2 topics
  15. System Dynamics7▲ 78×2 topics
  16. Energy7▲ 247×1 topic
  17. Nexus7▲ 247×1 topic
  18. Reservoir Operation6▲ 148×1 topic
  19. Water Demand6▲ 148×1 topic
  20. Environmental Impact6▲ 3.5×20 topics
  21. Hydrological Modeling6▲ 22×2 topics
  22. Optimization5▲ 7.1×2 topics
  23. Renewable Energy5▲ 3.8×16 topics
  24. Leak Detection5▲ 145×1 topic
  25. Water Distribution Networks5▲ 145×1 topic
  26. Risk Perception4▲ 17×5 topics
  27. Sediment Transport4▲ 19×3 topics
  28. Monitoring4▲ 25×3 topics
  29. Pipeline4▲ 32×3 topics
  30. Water Treatment4▲ 24×4 topics
  31. Liquefaction4▲ 36×2 topics
  32. Tunnel4▲ 36×2 topics
  33. Finite Element Analysis3▲ 12×5 topics
  34. Global Warming3▲ 7.4×7 topics
  35. Land Use Change3▲ 8.5×3 topics
  36. Global Hydrology3▲ 38×1 topic
  37. Model Evaluation3▲ 21×1 topic
  38. Analysis3▲ 20×1 topic
  39. Microbial Ecology3▲ 14×3 topics
  40. Wastewater3▲ 24×3 topics

Which research topics does Water Research Foundation publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies, Water resources management and optimization, Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies and Flood Risk Assessment and Management.

Water-Energy-Food Nexus …2Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies: 2 fractional worksWater resources management and optimization: 2 fractional worksHydrology and Watershed Management Studies: 1 fractional worksFlood Risk Assessment and Management: 1 fractional worksGlobal Energy and Sustainability Research: 1 fractional worksEnergy and Environment I…1Energy and Environment Impacts: 1 fractional worksWastewater Treatment and Reuse: 1 fractional worksUrban Stormwater Management Solutions: 0 fractional worksFault Detection and Control Systems: 0 fractional worksRisk and Safety Analysis: 0 fractional works
Water Science and TechnologyOcean EngineeringGlobal and Planetary ChangeRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment5 others

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

  1. 1 Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies Water Science and Technology 2 works
  2. 2 Water resources management and optimization Ocean Engineering 2 works
  3. 3 Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies Water Science and Technology 1 works
  4. 4 Flood Risk Assessment and Management Global and Planetary Change 1 works
  5. 5 Global Energy and Sustainability Research Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 1 works
  6. 6 Energy and Environment Impacts Pollution 1 works
  7. 7 Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 1 works
  8. 8 Urban Stormwater Management Solutions Environmental Engineering 0 works
  9. 9 Fault Detection and Control Systems Control and Systems Engineering 0 works
  10. 10 Risk and Safety Analysis Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty 0 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 available16.4%not open83.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors19.7%domestic only80.3%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Water Research Foundation's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 2% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Water Research Foundation as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0000092% in 2024.

still counting0.00050%0.0010%0.0015%Water Research Foundation0.000086% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Water Research Foundation over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

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Water Research Foundation on Science Explorer

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