Explore the scientific output of nations through an immersive, interactive 3D experience.
Research Flow is a cinematic data visualization platform that bridges the gap between raw bibliometric data and accessible insights. Powered by the OpenAlex API and Google Gemini AI, it allows researchers, policy-makers, and curious minds to explore what countries are researching, how they compare globally, and which papers are leading the charge.
The application features a seamless transition from a "Cinematic Intro" to a fully interactive dashboard, utilizing GPU-accelerated transitions and memoized 3D rendering for high performance.
- 🌐 Interactive 3D Globe: Custom-built using
react-globe.glwith per-polygon country highlighting and smooth zoom transitions. - 📊 Dual-Mode Visualization:
- Volume Mode: See raw output quantities (e.g., "China produces the most Engineering papers").
- Specialization Mode (RCA): Discover "Hidden Gems"—fields where a country punches above its weight (Relative Comparative Advantage).
- 🤖 AI Research Analyst: A context-aware chatbot powered by Gemini 2.5 Flash. It knows exactly which country you are looking at and provides economic and historical context behind the data.
- 📑 Top Papers Extension: A sliding "sidecar" panel that fetches the top 10 most-cited papers for any selected subfield, complete with DOI links.
- 📈 Historical Trends: Interactive line charts showing the growth or decline of specific research topics over the last 20 years.
| Technology | Description |
|---|---|
| Next.js 14 | App Router framework for React. |
| React Globe GL | WebGL-powered 3D globe visualization. |
| Tailwind CSS | Utility-first styling with custom glassmorphism effects. |
| Recharts | Composable charting library for trends and bars. |
| Lucide React | Beautiful, consistent iconography. |
| Technology | Description |
|---|---|
| Python / Pandas | Data extraction, processing, and RCA score calculation. |
| OpenAlex API | The source of truth for global bibliographic data. |
| Google Gemini | LLM integration for the "Research Analyst" chatbot. |
While most dashboards show volume (e.g., "US has the most papers"), this dashboard calculates Relative Comparative Advantage.
Formula: (Country's Share of Topic X) / (Global Share of Topic X)
This reveals that while a small country might not produce many papers, they might be the world's leading experts in "Marine Biology" relative to their size.