2016 tables: Institutions - physical sciences

The 2016 tables are based on Nature Index data from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015.

Table criteria

# Institution Share 2015 Count 2015
1 University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK) 169.92 521
2 University of Oxford, United Kingdom (UK) 130.10 451
3 Imperial College London (ICL), United Kingdom (UK) 86.17 321
4 UCL, United Kingdom (UK) 51.21 236
5 Durham University, United Kingdom (UK) 41.69 119
6 University of Southampton (Soton), United Kingdom (UK) 41.45 138
7 King's College London (KCL), United Kingdom (UK) 38.57 140
8 The University of Nottingham (UoN), United Kingdom (UK) 31.64 65
9 The University of Manchester (UoM), United Kingdom (UK) 30.80 240
10 The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (UK) 30.27 240
11 The University of Warwick (Warwick), United Kingdom (UK) 28.02 212
12 University of Leeds, United Kingdom (UK) 25.64 69
13 University of Bristol (UoB), United Kingdom (UK) 25.05 143
14 The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom (UK) 23.18 134
15 UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), United Kingdom (UK) 22.49 326
16 Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), United Kingdom (UK) 21.19 144
17 University of St Andrews, United Kingdom (UK) 17.36 91
18 University of Glasgow, United Kingdom (UK) 16.81 181
19 University of Exeter, United Kingdom (UK) 15.44 45
20 Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom (UK) 14.89 35
21 University of Liverpool, United Kingdom (UK) 14.84 194
22 University of Sussex, United Kingdom (UK) 14.15 112
23 Queen's University Belfast (QUB), United Kingdom (UK) 12.76 38
24 Lancaster University, United Kingdom (UK) 12.72 123
25 University of Birmingham (UB), United Kingdom (UK) 12.69 169
26 University of York, United Kingdom (UK) 11.84 38
27 University of Surrey, United Kingdom (UK) 10.59 39
28 Swansea University, United Kingdom (UK) 9.25 21
29 University of Bath, United Kingdom (UK) 8.81 29
30 University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom (UK) 8.35 36
31 University of Leicester, United Kingdom (UK) 7.95 25
32 University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom (UK) 5.24 21
33 Newcastle University, United Kingdom (UK) 5.14 14
34 National Physical Laboratory (NPL), United Kingdom (UK) 4.72 17
35 University of London - Royal Holloway (RHUL), United Kingdom (UK) 4.04 105
36 Cardiff University, United Kingdom (UK) 3.66 18
37 Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), United Kingdom (UK) 3.45 21
38 Anglo American plc, United Kingdom (UK) 3.30 13
39 The Open University (OU), United Kingdom (UK) 2.71 17
40 Keele University, United Kingdom (UK) 2.67 14
41 Loughborough University, United Kingdom (UK) 2.57 10
42 University of Hertfordshire (UH), United Kingdom (UK) 2.34 20
43 University of Dundee, United Kingdom (UK) 2.30 8
44 Aston University, United Kingdom (UK) 2.27 8
45 City, University of London (CUL), United Kingdom (UK) 2.09 8
46 University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), United Kingdom (UK) 2.07 7
47 Armagh Observatory, United Kingdom (UK) 1.65 4
48 Oxford Instruments, United Kingdom (UK) 1.58 6
49 UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), United Kingdom (UK) 1.39 5
50 University of Ulster (UU), United Kingdom (UK) 1.30 2
51 University of Essex, United Kingdom (UK) 1.18 2
52 Coventry University, United Kingdom (UK) 1.17 2
53 Brunel University London, United Kingdom (UK) 1.11 49
54 Birkbeck, University of London (BBK), United Kingdom (UK) 1.10 7
55 University of Plymouth, United Kingdom (UK) 1.06 6
56 Cambridge Display Technology Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 1.00 1
57 Northumbria University, United Kingdom (UK) 0.97 3
58 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), United Kingdom (UK) 0.93 5
59 Wellcome Sanger Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 0.90 2
60 AstraZeneca plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.89 3
61 GlaxoSmithKline plc. (GSK), United Kingdom (UK) 0.79 3
62 University of East Anglia (UEA), United Kingdom (UK) 0.79 5
63 University of South Wales, United Kingdom (UK) 0.75 1
64 Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom (UK) 0.71 4
65 Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), United Kingdom (UK) 0.67 1
66 University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom (UK) 0.66 7
67 University of Hull, United Kingdom (UK) 0.64 5
68 University of Reading, United Kingdom (UK) 0.63 1
69 British Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom (UK) 0.52 7
70 The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), United Kingdom (UK) 0.50 1
70 Cranfield University, United Kingdom (UK) 0.50 1
70 Natural History Museum, United Kingdom (UK) 0.50 1
71 BP plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.47 2
72 M Squared Lasers, United Kingdom (UK) 0.43 1
73 Cambridge CMOS Sensors, United Kingdom (UK) 0.35 1
74 Mologic Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.33 1
74 The Pirbright Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 0.33 1
74 Ultrahaptics Limited, United Kingdom (UK) 0.33 1
74 Teknavo, United Kingdom (UK) 0.33 1
75 University of Kent, United Kingdom (UK) 0.29 13
76 University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom (UK) 0.28 1
77 Macphie of Glenbervie Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.25 1
77 Numerical Algorithms Group Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.25 1
77 Create Technologies Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.25 1
77 QinetiQ Group plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.25 1
77 British Geological Survey (BGS), United Kingdom (UK) 0.25 1
78 BAE Systems, United Kingdom (UK) 0.21 1
79 University of Salford, United Kingdom (UK) 0.21 1
80 IQE plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.20 1
80 BGT Materials Limited, United Kingdom (UK) 0.20 1
80 TeraView Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.20 1
80 Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), United Kingdom (UK) 0.20 1
80 Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.20 1
80 Durham Magneto Optics Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.20 1
81 Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom (UK) 0.18 1
82 Serco Group plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.17 7
83 University of Buckingham, United Kingdom (UK) 0.17 1
83 Amethyst Research Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.17 1
83 Nomura International plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.17 1
84 London North West Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH), United Kingdom (UK) 0.15 1
84 Quadram Institute Bioscience, United Kingdom (UK) 0.15 1
85 MLW Consulting, United Kingdom (UK) 0.14 1
86 Met Office, United Kingdom (UK) 0.13 1
87 London Interdisciplinary Network for Quantum Science (LINQS), United Kingdom (UK) 0.13 1
87 Hybrid Instruments Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.13 1
87 Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom (UK) 0.13 1
87 Ossila Limited, United Kingdom (UK) 0.13 1
88 Sphere Fluidics Limited, United Kingdom (UK) 0.11 1
88 NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), United Kingdom (UK) 0.11 1
89 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, United Kingdom (UK) 0.10 1
90 Aeirtec Limited, United Kingdom (UK) 0.10 1
90 Bio Nano Consulting, United Kingdom (UK) 0.10 2
91 University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom (UK) 0.09 2
92 Andor Technology Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.09 1
93 NERC National Oceanography Centre (NOC), United Kingdom (UK) 0.08 1
93 St Mary's University, United Kingdom (UK) 0.08 1
94 BG Group plc., United Kingdom (UK) 0.08 1
95 Plessey Semiconductors Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.08 1
95 British Astronomical Association (BAA), United Kingdom (UK) 0.08 1
95 Renishaw plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.08 1
96 Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), United Kingdom (UK) 0.06 1
96 London South Bank University (LSBU), United Kingdom (UK) 0.06 1
96 Helia Photonics Ltd., United Kingdom (UK) 0.06 1
97 University of Bradford, United Kingdom (UK) 0.06 1
98 The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom (UK) 0.06 1
99 WS Atkins plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.05 4
99 Rolls-Royce plc, United Kingdom (UK) 0.05 4
100 Graphene Industries Limited, United Kingdom (UK) 0.05 1

Footnote

Each year, the Nature Index publishes tables based on counts of high-quality research outputs in the previous calendar year. Users please note:

  1. The data behind the tables are based on a relatively small proportion of total research papers, they cover the natural sciences only and outputs are non-normalized (that is, they don’t reflect the size of the country or institution, or its overall research output).
  2. The Nature Index is one indicator of institutional research performance. The metrics of Count and Share used to order Nature Index listings are based on an institution’s or country’s publication output in 82 natural-science journals through 2022, in 2023 64 health-science journals were added to the Index. The 146 journals in the Nature Index were selected on reputation by an independent panel of leading scientists in their fields.
  3. Nature Index recognizes that many other factors must be taken into account when considering research quality and institutional performance; Nature Index metrics alone should not be used to assess institutions or individuals.
  4. Nature Index data and methods are transparent and available under a creative commons licence at nature.com/nature-index/.
  5. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The Nature Index database undergoes regular updating, corrections, adjustment of institutional hierarchies, and removal of retracted papers and thus the live website can differ from the frozen annual tables.