U.S. research and innovation performance

Outcomes and impact in critical and emerging technology areas

Explore the latest trends in U.S. research excellence, highlighting data on high-quality outputs in five key critical and emerging technology areas: Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Information Science, Nuclear Technology, Semiconductors, and Biotechnology.

As a prominent player in the global research landscape, the U.S. not only demonstrates disciplinary depth and breadth in its research output (as measured by publications) but also stands out for its impact on cross-disciplinary science and technology research in critical and emerging technology areas. Both academic and industry research outputs have high citation impact; these trends are further enhanced when the publications derive from industry-academic collaboration.

International competition is strong across these key areas of U.S. investment, presenting both opportunities and challenges for U.S. competitiveness. With notable strength in advancing new technologies, U.S. research plays a vital role in shaping both national and global advancements. Here, we present key insights that highlight the U.S. position as a leading hub for innovative research and collaborative efforts.

All data was sourced from Scopus and SciVal and refers to the period 2015 – 2024 unless otherwise stated.

Research and innovation in the U.S.

Over the past ten years, U.S. research output reached a total of 7,524,149 scholarly publications, representing over 20% of the global total. The depth and breadth of U.S. research output spans all areas of science and technology, as well as arts and humanities fields. This profile also reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the publications, as many U.S. publications cut across fields, and are therefore represented more than once in the distribution.

U.S. publication profile

Click on "Computer Science" to see expanded data

Note: Publications can be assigned to multiple subject areas and so percentages will add up to more than 100%.

U.S. R&D spending outperforms the countries/economies analyzed at 3.6% of GDP. The strong performance in scholarly output reflects robust research investments by all sectors.

Global R&D intensity and citation impact

Research and development (R&D) investments enable science and technology innovation. The strong U.S. performance in scholarly output across every discipline reflects robust U.S. national R&D investments by all sectors.

The U.S. leads in R&D intensity with R&D spending at 3.6% of GDP, outperforming Germany, U.K., China, EU27 and India. R&D intensity is defined as the percentage of GDP that is spent on R&D.

U.S. research is cited 37% more than global average, second only to the U.K. among the major economies analyzed. This is based on the Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) of U.S. publications (which is 1.37). The U.K. has an FWCI of 1.55 and the global average is 1.0.

Global R&D intensity and citation impact, by country/economy (2015-2024)

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US publications are cited, on average, 22.2 times per publication

Citations per publication is one indicator of the importance of the underlying research.

During the period from 2015-2024, almost 167 million citations were made to U.S. publications. The U.S. average of 22.2 is well above the global mean of 14.9. Among the major economies analyzed, only the United Kingdom has a higher average citation rate ( 24.0).

Citations per Publication, by country/economy (2015-2024)

US publications are cited in patents and policy documents above the global average

While many citations are to other journal publications, research also contributes to innovation and commercialization and to the development of public policy. Citations of publications in patents or policy documents are another indication of the relevance and impact of research.

The share of U.S. research publications cited in patents is 5.0%, which is above the global average of 3.8%. Only China outperforms the U.S. at 6.4%.

The share of U.S. research publications cited in policy documents is 8.4%, which is also above the global average of 4.8%. Only the U.K. outperforms the U.S., at 11.5%.

Share of publications cited in patents, by country/economy (2015-2024)

Share of publications cited in policy documents, by country/economy (2015-2024)

Critical and emerging technology areas

The U.S. federal government has prioritized research investments in five critical and emerging technology areas:

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Biotechnology
  • Nuclear Technology
  • Quantum Information Science
  • Semiconductors

Advances in each of these technology areas requires a multidisciplinary approach, and U.S. scholarly output shows the contributions of each discipline to research advancement and innovation in each of the five areas. Critical and emerging technology areas change rapidly over time. The next few sections provide a snapshot of U.S. performance in these five selected areas in the period 2015-2024.

U.S. publications in critical and emerging technology areas, by discipline (2015-2024)

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Global view of the five technology areas

This chart shows the Relative Activity Index (RAI) for selected countries/economies, indicating the relative share of each countries/economies output in each technology area, relative to the global activity in that technology area. A value of “1” corresponds to the global level of activity.

The U.S. has a greater focus in the field of quantum information science compared to global activity in this field, similar to Germany, the U.K., and the EU27. In all other technology areas, U.S. and European activity is at or below the global level of activity. U.S. activity is lowest in semiconductors, where the RAI is 0.75.

This pattern contrasts with China and India, where there is relatively higher level of activity in many of technology areas relative to the global level. Notable levels of RAI for India are in in artificial intelligence (1.71) and semiconductors (1.46); and China in semiconductors (1.54), artificial intelligence (1.46), biotechnology (1.34), and nuclear technology (1.27).

Relative Activity Index in the 5 technology areas, by discipline (2015-2024)

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Research impact on innovation pathways

There is a strong interplay between research and technological innovation and commercialization across the five technology areas globally.

Some 8% of U.S. publications in biotechnology are cited in patents. Except for India, all the selected countries/economies show a strong connection between publications and patent citations in this area.

The U.S. has relatively high rates of patent citations across all the areas, except in nuclear technology, where only 1% of U.S. publications are cited in patents. Europe and China show a more moderate share of publications being cited in patents across the five areas while China has a larger share of publications being cited in patents in nuclear technology (3% compared to 1% for all the other countries/economies).

Share of publications (%) cited in patents in the 5 technology areas (2020-2024)

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Academic contributions

Publications in each of the five technology areas involve authors from multiple sectors. However, it is notable that U.S. academic contributions are critical to each technology area.

U.S. academic researchers are authors of 58-89% of U.S. publications across the five technology areas.

Their role is even more prominent in quantum information science, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors, where they are authors in more than 80% of the U.S. publications in these areas. 

Contribution of U.S. academic authors to publications in the 5 technology areas (2015-2024)

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A majority of U.S. publications in the five technology areas have academic authors.

Top U.S. academic institutions with publications in nuclear technology (2015-2024)

A deeper dive into the academic contributors to scholarly output in nuclear technology shows how research contributions are dominated by public institutions, and institutions that are in proximity to nuclear facilities.

The table shows the top 10 U.S. academic institutions contributing to the nuclear technology area. In addition to significant levels of research output, through the FWCI, we can also see that research outputs from 7 of these institutions in this area have been cited more than would be expected based on the global average for similar research outputs. Research outputs from MIT are cited over 50% more often than the global average. The total number of citations complements the FWCI view, indicating the magnitude of the influence these publications have on progressing knowledge and understanding in nuclear technology.

Top U.S. academic contributors in nuclear technology (2015-2024)

Industry contributions

While the scale of research output from industry is smaller overall than that of academic institutions, industry-based research is essential to successful innovation and commercialization.

In every technology area, U.S. publications with an industry author have higher citation impact as measured by FWCI than all U.S. publications in each area. This is particularly notable in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science.

In artificial intelligence and biotechnology, U.S. publications with an industry author are cited 100% more than all U.S. publications when compared to the global average. The increase in citation impact is the smallest in semiconductors, where industry-authored U.S. publications are cited only 16% more than all U.S. publications in this area when compared to the global average.

Differences in the citation impact increases achieved through industry collaboration are likely driven by the maturity of research in each technology area and on the developmental phase of innovative and commercialization activities.

U.S. industry contributions in the 5 technology areas (2015-2024)

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Top U.S. Industry contributors in quantum information science

Within the emerging field of quantum information science (QIS), there is a large gap between the FWCI of all U.S. publications (1.40, or 40% above the global average) and FWCI of industry-authored publications (2.25 or 125% above the global average). This indicates the impact of industry-authored publications in this area.

In this table, the top industry contributors to publications in quantum information science are shown. The FWCI of QIS publications by authors from these companies is mostly above 1.40. The total number of citations complements the FWCI view, indicating the magnitude of the influence these publications have on progressing knowledge and understanding in QIS.

Top U.S. industry contributors in quantum information science (2015-2024)

Industries collaborate intensely with universities. In each technology area, more than 50% of U.S. publications with an industry author ALSO have an academic author.

Industry-Academic collaboration

Industry-academic collaboration is widespread in the five technology areas. Corporations in the U.S. collaborate intensively with universities, both in the U.S. and globally. This chart demonstrates the extent of that collaboration.

Among U.S. publications with an industry author, less than 50% in each technology area have only industry authors. The highest share of ‘industry-only’ papers is in nuclear technology (50%).

Industry publications are very likely to have an academic co-author. That collaboration is not only with U.S. universities, but also with non-U.S. universities. Between 8%-17% of industry publications in the five areas have both U.S. and non-U.S. co-authors.

Publications in quantum information science have the highest rate of industry and academic co-authorship (77%).

Industry-Academic collaboration worldwide, by technology area (2015-2024)

Industry-U.S. Academic collaboration in the five technology areas

This figure demonstrates the effects of industry and U.S. academic collaboration on citation impact.

When industry collaborates with U.S. academics, this collaboration consistently has higher FWCI than all industry publications, or all U.S. academic publications. For example, in biotechnology:

  • Publications with at least one U.S. academic author have FWCI of 1.70
  • Publications with at least one industry author have FWCI of 2.55
  • Publications with at least one industry AND one U.S. academic author have FWCI of 3.42

This highlights one of the many benefits and impacts of industry-U.S. academic collaboration.

This effect is smallest in the semiconductors technology area where industry publications that also include a U.S. academic co-author only have a slightly higher FWCI than publications with at least one industry author.

Share of U.S. publications with academic co-authors and FWCI, by technology area (2015-2024)

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Geographic distribution

U.S. publications by state in selected technology areas

Another way to understand the scope of U.S. academic contributions to U.S. research output is to examine the geographic distribution across the U.S.

In the images below, the size of the bubbles are relative to the volume of research outputs from each state.

While publication volume is closely tied to the size and number of researchers and research organizations within a state, there are variations across the country. For example, publications in nuclear technology are more heavily concentrated in states with nuclear facilities. Publications in biotechnology show strong concentrations in states with both significant biotechnology companies and large numbers of academic institutions. Also of note is the concentration of biotechnology publications in the Midwest, likely reflecting the focus on agricultural research in these states.

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Conclusion

The data in this dashboard illustrates the comprehensive breadth and depth of science and technology research in the U.S. This strong ecosystem has allowed U.S. researchers to have significant impact in critical and emerging technology areas.

The U.S. advantage, among other globally competitive nations, is bolstered by industry-academic collaboration.

In the evolving landscape of global science and technology research, the insights provided by Elsevier through SciVal and the Scopus database can serve as valuable resources for university, industry and government stakeholders. Through these resources, we can better understand research trends, identify emerging research directions, and evaluate the influence and significance of research investments. 

We invite you to explore these insights further and consider how they can inform future strategies for growth and collaboration in the U.S. research community.

Elsevier welcomes use of this data. Please feel free to use the charts and download the data, noting the source and citing Elsevier when using them. Thank you.



If you have any questions or would like to know more about Scopus or SciVal, please contact Elsevier.



"Elsevier is pleased to share this dashboard of information on the U.S. research and innovation landscape. Research and development activities are not just about scientific knowledge-building or advancement – they are central to economic development, competitiveness, and security. Investments by the United States across a wide range of disciplines and domains for many decades have enabled the U.S. to emerge as a leader in many critical and emerging technology fields.

These data demonstrate the critical roles of U.S. industry and academia in these emerging fields and the positive effect of industry-academic collaboration. The impact of this research extends across the Nation, in every state, and helps to shape both future innovations and global policy."

Dr. Nimmi Kannankutty, Vice President, Academic Relations, North America, Elsevier

Glossary

Citation

A citation is a formal reference to earlier work made in, for example, a publication or patent. A citation is used to acknowledge sources you have used and so credit the authors, avoid plagiarism and to enable the original source to be located. The number of citations received by a publication from subsequently published outputs can be used as a proxy of the quality or importance of the reported research.

Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI)

FWCI is a normalized citation impact metric, that allows entities across disciplines to be directly compared. It is calculated by comparing the actual number of citations received by each of an entity's publications, relative to the expected world average for similar publications in terms of the discipline, publication type and publication year. A FWCI of 1.00 indicates that the entity’s publications have been cited on par with the global average for similar publications, more than 1.00 indicates citations above the global average and less than one, less than the global average.

With FWCI, it is important to be mindful that a single highly cited publication can have a strong influence on the metric value in small datasets with few publications.

Industry-Academic Collaboration

Industry-Academic collaboration in this report is indicated by publications with at least one author from an industry organization and one author from an academic institution listed in the authorship byline.

Mapping publications to technology areas

The mapping of publications to technology areas relied on the semantic alignment between the titles and abstracts of the publications and the research areas defined within each technology areas. To achieve this, Elsevier employed an AI-powered methodology designed to classify research publications according to their relevance to research domains.

Relative Activity Index (RAI)

Relative Activity Index is defined as the share of an entity's publications in a subject area, relative to the global share of publications in the same subject. A value of 1.0 indicates that an entity's research activity in a field corresponds exactly with the global activity in that field; higher than 1.0 implies a greater emphasis while lower than 1.0 suggests a lesser focus.

Research and development (R&D) intensity

A measure of gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.