Since Nordita's establishment in 1957 the original focus on research in atomic and nuclear physics has been broadened.
Notable former or present researchers at Nordita include Alexander V. Balatsky, Holger Bech Nielsen, Axel Brandenburg, Gerald E. Brown, Paolo Di Vecchia, James Hamilton, John Hertz, Alan Luther, Ben Roy Mottelson, Christopher J. Pethick, Leon Rosenfeld, Kim Sneppen, John Wettlaufer, and Konstantin Zarembo.