Research

The Smithsonian is one of the world’s foremost research entities, with thousands of scientists and scholars across its museums and research centers producing ground-breaking work in many fields of science, history, art, and culture. Visit our Research News page for more information. 

1,112 Total Publications Calendar Year 2023
971 Book, Book Chapter, and Journal Publications Calendar Year 2023
77 Datasets Calendar Year 2023
shelves with publications

A standard measure of research productivity in the social and natural sciences is the number of scholarly publications authored by Smithsonian staff. These include journal articles, books, book chapters, exhibition catalogs, and other significant publications. Another increasingly important measure is the availability of Smithsonian research datasets to other researchers. However, these numbers do not tell the full story of Smithsonian scholarly output, which is also embodied in exhibitions, websites, conference presentations, and other non-published sources. Learn more at Smithsonian Research Online and Smithsonian Profiles

542 Proposals Fiscal Year 2023
$215M Grant and Contract Awards Fiscal Year 2023
Satellite

Every year, Smithsonian scholars apply or compete for external funds to support their research from foundations, government agencies, corporations, and individual donors. The Smithsonian’s ability to draw substantial outside funding is a measure of the quality of the work undertaken by its scholars and researchers. 

1 Nobel Prize thru Q4 Fiscal Year 2023
1 Presidential Medal of Freedom thru Q4 Fiscal Year 2023
32 Members of the National Academies thru Q4 Fiscal Year 2023
25 Members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences thru Q4 Fiscal Year 2023
National Academy of Sciences Meeting, Smithsonian Castle, 1874

Smithsonian radio astronomer and physicist Robert W. Wilson was the recipient of a 1978 Nobel Prize, one of the most prestigious scholarly awards in the world. Invited membership in national academies and societies such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences is also considered one of the highest distinctions a scientist or scholar can receive, and many Smithsonian scholars have been honored with such memberships. (Note that an individual scholar may belong to more than one academy or society.) 

Smithsonian Organization and Audience Research/OCIO