Research CAS/In Focus i low.pdftion of the 1960s and '70s, when intellectuals were distrusted and...

Research CAS/In Focus i

Produced by the Science/AAAS Custom

Publishing Office

Sponsored by

There’s only one Galileo Galilei

Career advice I Job postings I Job Alerts I Career Forum I Crafting resumes/CVs I Preparing for interviews

For your career in science, there’s only one

Careers

ScienceCareers.org

orn in 1564, Galileo Galilei once contemplated a career in the priesthood. It’s perhaps fortunate for science that upon the urging of his father, he instead decided to enroll at the University of Pisa. His career in science began with medicine and from there he subsequently went on to become a philosopher, physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, for which he is perhaps best known. His astronomical observations and subsequent improvements to telescopes built his reputation as a leading scientist of his time, but also led him to probe subject matter counter to prevailing dogma. His expressed views on the Earth’s movement around the sun caused him to be declared suspect of heresy, which for some time led to a ban on the reprinting of his works. Galileo’s career changed science for all of us and he was without doubt a leading light in the scientifi c revolution, which is perhaps why Albert Einstein called him the father of modern science. Want to challenge the status quo and make the Earth move? At Science we are here to help you in your own scientifi c career with expert career advice, forums, job postings, and more — all for free. For your career in science, there’s only one Science. Visit Science today at ScienceCareers.org.

B

Galileo_full.indd 1 8/2/12 1:49 PM

Contents 1

CONTENTS

27 Major Research Programs and Platforms

EDITORIAL NEWS REPORT

3 Address From the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor Bai Chunli, Ph.D. President, Chinese Academy of Sciences

4 Local Innovation, Global Benefits Alan Leshner, Ph.D. CEO, AAAS Executive Publisher, Science

INTRODUCTIONS

8 Overview of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

OVERVIEW

CRE

DIT

: DAY

A BA

Y C

OLL

ABO

RAT

ION

CAS/IN FOCUS—SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT CAS

10 Research Focus and Progress at CAS

10 Recent Progress in Basic Research

14 Progress in Life Sciences and Biotechnology

17 Resource and Environment Research

20 Research Framework and Progress in High-Technology R&D

23 Strategic Priority Research Program

EDITORIAL NEWS REPORT 5 Introducing the Chinese Academy of Sciences

30 Research Facilities and Platforms

CAS/IN FOCUS—SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AT CAS

30 “Big Science” Facilities of CAS

34 Scientific Plant Conservation in CAS Botanical Gardens

35 Chinese Ecosystem Research Network

2 Contents

CONTENTS

This booklet was produced by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office and sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Materials that appear in this booklet were commissioned, edited, and published by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office and were not reviewed or assessed by Science Editorial staff.

Editor: Sean Sanders, Ph.D.; Layout: Amy Hardcastle; Proofing: Yuse Lajiminmuhip

© 2012 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved. 31 August 2012

ABOUT THE COVER: On March 8, 2012, the Daya Bay Collaboration announced the observation of a new neutrino oscillation, or transformation, through the precision measurement of the nonzero �13 mixing angle at the 5.2� level. The picture shows the light sensitive photomultiplier tubes and the two nested acrylic vessels inside an antineutrino detector before it was filled with liquid in preparation for the experiment. (Credit: Daya Bay Collaboration)

CRE

DIT

: DAY

A BA

Y C

OLL

ABO

RAT

ION

CAS/IN FOCUS—ATTRACTING TOP TALENT39 CAS Talent Cultivation and Recruitment Program

40 CAS Fellowships and Cooperative Programs for Foreign Talent

43 Research in Combination with Education

Back CoverLIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

36 Attracting Top Talent


44 CAS and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World–A Fruitful Partnership


CAS/IN BRIEF46 Award for International Scientific Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

46 CAS International Cooperation Award for Young Scientists

47 Technology Transfer

48 Science Education and Communication

49 International Science Programs Initiated by CAS

This booklet, produced by Science and sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) high-lights the latest scientific developments at CAS institutes, including research plans and priorities, as well as examples of work under way, in an at-tempt to give the international scientific community a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of what CAS has accomplished.

CAS is the largest national scientific research organization in China. In its 63-year history as a comprehensive science and technology institu-tion engaging in basic research, high-technology research and development, and public welfare-oriented research, CAS has had a vital and lasting impact on research achievements in China and has also established an innovative graduate training model where science education is supple-mented by, and based on, research. Through the development of deep and extensive ties with the international scientific community, CAS has become a major player on the global science arena.

The world is faced with severe challenges of sustainable development, which requires the joint effort of the global science community to solve. China also needs to continue on the path to innovations and modernization, focusing on endogenous growth to realize full, coordinated, and sustainable development.

CAS is dedicated to developing green science and technologies, conducting research on major science-based sustainability issues and developing key eco-friendly technologies. CAS supports the sustainable utilization of energy and resources, and promotes green manufacturing practices to ensure clean and recyclable use of materials and products with the hope of improving quality of life, safeguarding the health of its people, and protecting and improving the environment.

CAS is committed to promoting international cooperation within the fields of science and technology. We will actively implement and participate in major scientific and technological research collaborations of common concern. We will encourage scientific exchange with other countries and joint training of young scientists and graduate students, open our re-search facilities to the international science community, and support research collaboration between CAS scientists and those from overseas.

I want to thank Dr. Leshner and Science. My appreciation also goes to my colleagues. It is their efforts that enabled the timely publication of this booklet.

Professor Bai Chunli, Ph.D.President Chinese Academy of Sciences

3Introduction

From the President

CAS is the

largest national

scientific research

organization

in China.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

Introduction

Local Innovation, Global Benefits

In many ways, countries face the same challenges as new companies when it comes to growth and expansion. Grow too fast and the company risks not having enough time to build up its infrastructure and fully train its workers. Grow too slowly and the demands of the market—in this metaphor, the coun-try’s socio-economic needs—will not be adequately met.

As China continues to grow at a very impressive pace, its leaders appear acutely aware of the need to expand the country’s science and technology portfolio to help fuel its growth and keep it sustainable. When it comes to making positive changes in the sciences, China is surprisingly nimble for such a large country. This agility appears to be a testament to the conviction that many Chinese scientific leaders hold in the economic and social power of science.

China has made great strides in a wide range of research areas, from math-ematics to astronomy to genomics. As the largest scientific organization in China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is a major driving force behind

these advances. Through support and guidance from CAS, China is focused on building “big science” infrastructure—such as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tomacak (EAST) and the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST)—as well as on developing a talent pool of top-notch scientists for the country. This talent pool is being built through programs to retain and cultivate the best Chinese scientists (while encouraging them to travel globally for training and to develop col-laborations) as well as numerous incentive programs for international scientists to visit and work in China. There are also many programs to build bridges of long-term collaborations among Chinese and foreign institutions. One area of particular focus is young researchers who are generously supported in their work through CAS-run initiatives, like the Hundred Talents Program and various foreign talent programs.

CAS supports cutting-edge research in many of the fields currently seen worldwide as areas of intense interest and investigation. These include stem cell research and regenerative medicine, global climate change (and its effect on world populations and economies), and the development of new green science technologies that not only reduce carbon emissions, but also provide new, cleaner, and more efficient sources of energy. The Academy also provides strong support for the transfer of new, innovative technolo-gies from the laboratory to industry, a process through which discoveries made locally can benefit people across the globe.

As China moves into a new era of economic prosperity and scientific success, the role of CAS will un-doubtedly grow, both domestically and globally. By maintaining its focus on innovation, nurturing excep-tional talent, and building additional S&T capacity, CAS will surely meet the challenges of the coming years from a position of stability and strength.

Alan Leshner, Ph.D.CEO, AAASExecutive Publisher, Science

China has made

great strides in

a wide range of

research areas,

from mathematics

to astronomy to

genomics.

4

Research CAS/In Focus

Editorial News Report: Introducing the Chinese Academy of Sciences

But CAS’s three major functions— research, education, and consultation—have remained unchanged.

Research China’s central government charges CAS with “playing a key role in leading China’s research, especially in the frontiers of sci-ence,” says Lü. Since KIP began, research programs have been increasingly oriented toward internationally popular frontier ar-eas, such as neuroscience, while also continuing to cover areas of particular interest to China, such as developing new en-ergy sources and partnering with domestic industries.

As it strives to conduct world-class research, CAS has increasingly pursued international collaborations, as well as aggressively re-cruiting Chinese scientists who have worked or studied abroad (see page 36, “At-tracting Top Talent”), and emphasizing publication in international peer-reviewed journals when evaluating staff and faculty. For ex-ample, at SIBS’s Institute of Neuroscience, Director Poo Mu-ming (who also serves as a professor of neurobi-ology at the University of California, Berkeley) has put in place a rigorous system

T he Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) defies easy description. Among other things, the semi-governmental organization’s 110 institutes carry out basic, applied, and translational research in all fields of science; it builds and maintains “big science” facilities

for use by all of the country’s researchers; it runs a graduate school and a university; it generates reports to advise policymakers; and it selects mem-bers, an elite group considered to be the best scientists in China.

CAS was officially founded just one month after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, in 1949. “It was very clear to the Chinese lead-ership at the time that if you want to have a sustainable economy, you need to rely on science and technology,” says Lü Yonglong, director-general of CAS’s Bureau of International Cooperation. Since then, CAS has taken on a staggering array of roles. Originally tasked with coordinating all of the coun-try’s research activities, as well as providing science-based advice to the government, CAS lost some of its authority to the new Ministry of Science and Technology in 1958. Further marginalized during the Cultural Revolu-tion of the 1960s and '70s, when intellectuals were distrusted and universi-ties shut down, CAS began to recover in the late '70s along with the rest of the country. Various steps were taken to reform the research system, but its true renaissance began in 1998 with the advent of the so-called Knowledge Innovation Program (KIP), which aimed to boost innovation in China by remaking CAS. At that time, “the institutes had to reorient themselves, and reevaluate staff,” Lü explains.

The upheaval was dramatic. Some of CAS’s 120 institutes were shut down or merged with others, while most downsized their staff and faculty. The Academy of Mathematical Sciences, for example, demoted or laid off 100 of its 160 full professors. In Shanghai, eight biological institutes merged to form the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), modeled on the U.S. National Institutes of Health. “One of the advantages of this new organization is that we can reform and reorganize these institutes accord-ing to the progress of science,” says Chen Xiaoya, the current president of SIBS. Some of the eight institutes were merged or eliminated, while new ones have sprung up under KIP, including the Institute of Neuroscience, the Chinese Academy of Sciences-Max Planck Society Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB), and the Shanghai Pasteur Institute. Today’s SIBS institutes are “working on the cutting edge of research,” or serving society with a broader mandate, Chen says.C

RED

IT: P

HO

TOS

BY R

ICK

Y W

ON

G

5

Lü Yonglong

Poo Mu-ming

Gigantic skeleton from dinosaur fossils (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)

Ph.D. students and technicians work on water extraction from plant and soil samples (Institute of Geographic Sciences andNatural Resources Research)

Internal view of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility

“As a result

of the past 30

years’ effort,

we have taken

the leading role

among steady-

state, long-pulse

tokamak facilities

in the world.”

these days, the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth (CEODE, see page 28) uses remote sensing and modeling to identify sites with gold and other mineral deposits. But today’s CAS institutes also develop in-creasingly sophisticated uses for the country’s resources. For example, scientists at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) were the first to successfully convert coal to light olefins, which can be used as fuel in lieu of petroleum products. (Coal is abundant in China, petroleum less so.) The institute licenses the technology to companies and runs its own commer-cial plant, which made more than US$200 million in profits last year. Mean-while, DICP’s Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (DNL), officially opened in 2011, is working on a range of energy solutions, from efficiency to better storage to biomass and solar sources. “This lab was built with a new concept,” says DNL Director Li Can. “We try to integrate academic research from universities, institutes, and from industry, and also start from basic research and take it through to commercialization.” One promising area of research for the lab is artificial photosynthesis; scientists there are designing catalysts that can use solar energy to both split water to generate hydrogen fuel and convert carbon dioxide and water to methanol.

The focus on the environment goes far beyond the search for clean en-ergy sources. Beijing’s Institute of Botany has set up six field research sta-tions in Inner Mongolia to study best management practices for China’s four million square kilometers of grasslands, much of which is used as pasture. The institute has proposed setting up special zones in which practices like fertilization and irrigation would increase productivity in some sections of grassland, while others would be put aside for national parks and eco-tourism zones. This would increase productivity while reversing the deg-radation found on 90% of China’s grasslands today, says institute Director Fang Jingyun.

Across town, at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, scientists are working on new ways to remediate water, air, and soil pollu-tion. In the first category, they have engineered wetlands near cities to im-prove water quality, and are developing new ways to remove toxins such as arsenic and fluoride in water treatment plants. Another project developed a catalytic method to clean air, then licensed it to air purifier makers in China and abroad. “Our research develops very quickly from the basic research to application,” says Center Director Qu Jiuhui. “We put our research re-sults into practice, and also we use our practical experience to identify new scientific problems.”

EducationTraining the next generation of scientists has been a key part of CAS’s mission since its beginnings. “In the 1950s, CAS was the initiator, together with the then-Ministry of Higher Education, of the higher education system in China,” says Lü. “The system was interrupted during the Cultural Revolu-tion, but in the 1970s, CAS was the first to resume the graduate education system,” awarding the country’s first doctorate degrees in the 1980s. Today CAS operates two universities, the Graduate University of CAS (GUCAS) and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC); its 110 research institutes also play a key role in graduate education.

Students at GUCAS, China’s largest graduate university, follow a unique program. The first year is spent completing coursework in Beijing, while in subsequent years students fan out to CAS institutes to complete their research projects. Many institute professors site this as an advantage of the CAS system, since it frees them from lecture obligations while providing GUCAS’s 35,000 students with a standardized curriculum and plenty of hands-on experience.

USTC, located in Hefei (a few hours from Shanghai by high-speed train), educates both undergraduates and graduates. With almost 18,000 current

6

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

Chen Chusheng

Li Can

of review that faculty must pass every four years. “Our criteria are very simple. We say that if you can publish in a recognized high-quality journal, then you are reviewed in a sense by international peers,” he says. “If you do not have really good papers pub-lished in four years, then you have to show the international review team that your work has potential that deserves continuing sup-port.” Poo credits these high standards with gaining international recognition for China’s neuroscience research. “We have the same practices you find in first-rate universities in the United States or in Europe,” he says.

Another SIBS institute, the PICB, takes internationalization even further. Founded in 2005 as the world’s first center dedicat-ed to computational biology, PICB draws both Chinese and foreign faculty mem-bers. Though he admits that there were some kinks to be ironed out in working at the interface of two different administrative systems, PICB’s founding director, Andreas Dress, says it was worth the trouble. “Sci-ence is not a zero-sum game, but a coop-erative game,” he says. “The more people that are involved in science, the better it gets.” Accordingly, Dress ensured that the PICB built strong ties not only with institu-tions in the West, but also with others in the region. “There is good science not only in the United States and Western European

countries… people working on these projects all around China need to cooperate with each other,” he says.

While international coop-eration is a theme at most CAS institutes, many also have research programs geared toward addressing near-term national needs. In CAS’s early years, geology programs were focused on finding natural resources;

students, USTC is small compared to other top Chinese universities; for its undergraduate program, it admits only students who score in the top 0.3%–0.5% on China’s college entrance examination. Seventy percent of those undergraduates later go on to graduate school, many at elite institu-tions in China and abroad. USTC Vice President Chen Chusheng compares the university’s ambition to the nearby mountain Huangshan, said to be the most beautiful in China: “We don’t want to be the tallest one or the biggest one, but we want to be the best one.”

Part of being the best is maintaining a tradition in which all professors teach undergraduates and welcome them into their labs, Chen says. This tradition began when USTC was founded in the 1950s by some of the lead-ing lights in Chinese science, who then taught at the university. Similarly, he says, being part of the CAS system makes the university less hierarchical than others in China. “In science everyone is equal, so our students can always challenge the professors, or professors can challenge the president of the university,” he says. Yao Yuxi, a sophomore physics student at USTC, agrees. “Almost every one of us have the opportunity to get into a lab if we want to be a part of it, and they will accept us, one hundred percent,” he says.

As for the graduate students, though, Chen concedes that the highest achievers often prefer to go abroad rather than get a Ph.D. at USTC or another Chinese university. “This is the key factor limiting the quality of re-search nationwide, not just this university,” he says. “But as time goes by, more of the best students are choosing to stay in China for their Ph.D. stud-ies.” Last year, two of USTC’s top five graduating physics majors stayed at USTC for their graduate work. Chen is clear that he thinks overseas experience is very valuable, however, and that his goal is not to see all of the university’s best undergraduates stay on at USTC through graduate school. “We would like a more balanced situation,” he says.

ConsultationIn addition to its research and educational functions, CAS serves as China’s most elite scientific honorary society, with about 700 members chosen on the basis of their exceptional research records.

Membership in CAS confers much more than a plaque on the office wall. “People say it’s an honor, and that’s true, but actually it’s a duty,” says Guo Huadong, director general of CEODE, who became a member late last year. “Becoming a CAS academician means, at my age, that it’s my task to train the new generation… it means you should work hard.”

More concretely, becoming a CAS member often puts a scientist on the fast track to an administrative position. It also places him or her in one of CAS’s six Academic Divisions, which act as think tanks that advise policy-makers on scientific, economic, and social issues. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, for example, the Academic Divisions gave advice on building re-sponse systems, coping with panic, and treating patients, says CAS’s Lü.

7

Editorial News Report

“As time goes

by, more of the

best students are

choosing to stay

in China for their

Ph.D. studies.”

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

Institute of Botany, CAS Guo Huadong

CAS members can propose policy report topics, and if their proposals are accepted, they will receive funds to complete research and write the reports. Or they can write a letter directly to top policymakers. “They have a very special channel to the central government,” explains Lü. CAS provides similar consultation services to local and provincial governments.

So what is the common thread tying to-gether CAS’s many func-tions and long, disparate history? As Lü says, “CAS is a locomotive driving force for science and technology development in China.” And as the academy continues to build world-class facili-ties, recruit top talent, edu-cate the best and bright-est of the next generation, and advise policymakers, it looks set to remain such a force for a long time to come.

University of Science and Technology of China

Qu Jiuhui

Overview of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

CAS Headquarters in Beijing

CAS consists

of three parts:

research institutes,

educational

institutions, and

the Academic

Membership

Divisions.

Overview 8

T he Chinese Academy of Sci-ences (CAS) was founded on November 1, 1949, in Beijing. As a leading national academic in-

stitution, a premier advisory body in science and technology, and the largest research and development organization in natural sciences and high technologies in China, CAS consists of three parts: research insti-tutes, educational institutions, and the Aca-demic Membership Divisions. The academy is a ‘national team’ embodying the coun-try’s highest ideals in science and technol-ogy (S&T), a ‘locomotive’ driving national innovation in S&T, a ‘pioneer’ in supporting nationwide S&T reform and transparency, a ‘think tank’ offering consulting services for S&T development, and a ‘big school’ culti-vating S&T research talent.

According to its mission statement, the academy targets the “national strategic needs and world frontiers of science,” fo-cusing on scientific breakthroughs, innova-tion, and the integration of key technolo-gies. The academy also strives to produce world-class science and to continuously make fundamental, strategic, and forward-looking contributions to China’s economy, national security, and sustainable social de-velopment.

Covering most areas of basic research, strategic advanced technologies, and is-sues related to public welfare, CAS com-prises 98 research institutes, 11 branch

offices, two universities, and six supporting organizations in 23 provinces or autonomous regions throughout the country. Of the 60,600 CAS staff, approximately 7,200 are research professors and 3,200 are guest researchers.

As one of the bases for national higher education, CAS built up its unique education system with the affiliated Uni-versity of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and the Graduate University of CAS (GUCAS) as its core. Relying on the research institutes, CAS shares postgraduate education between the universities and research institutes, while grad-uate students complete their graduate programs at related institutes. Researchers from various CAS institutes are invit-ed to USTC or GUCAS as guest professors. The USTC is a comprehensive university, with a total enrollment of 17,800, of which 10,600 are graduate students. GUCAS—with its current enrollment of 38,320—is China’s first and largest graduate school.

The life-long title of CAS member is the highest academic honor in the field of science and technology in China. The membership sys-tem includes regular members, emeritus members, and foreign members, all of whom are categorized into six academic divisions: Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences and Medical Sciences, Earth Sciences, Information Technological Sciences, and Technological Sciences. The aca-demic divisions, which together function as a national scientific think tank, provide advisory and appraisal services to the government and society on major issues of the national economy, social development, and S&T prog-ress. Currently, there are 727 regular and emeritus members plus 64 foreign members.

Large, advanced S&T infrastructure is a key resource and provides a foundation for top quality scientific research. CAS has built and runs over 90% of China’s “big science” facilities. Eleven are currently in operation, including the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, and the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facil-ity. Facilities under construction or planned include the China Spallation Neutron Source and the Five-Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Tele-scope. The academy also runs the China Ecosystem Research Network with about 150 field stations throughout the country covering ecological systems, space environment, and offshore marine sciences. Supporting countrywide research are 18 biological herbaria, a 150 terabyte scientific data storage facility, and 267 academic journals.

CAS also plays a pioneering role in the high-technology industry, initiating the country’s first S&T industry park and the first private S&T enterprise, and nurturing a series of spin-off companies including the computer maker, Lenovo. In cooperation with companies, universities, and local govern-ments, CAS has set up 29 technology-transfer or incubation centers, eight S&T parks, and over 250 joint research entities. In 2011, a total of 1,800 technologies were processed through the transfer offices, with contract revenue of 1.7 billion yuan (US$267.9 million). The sale of over 700 CAS spin-off companies grossed 262.9 billion yuan (US$41.43 million), with pre-tax profits of 8.7 billion yuan (US$1.37 billion).

CAS attaches great importance to international cooperation and exchange, with the aim of establishing strategic cooperative relationships C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

with premier research institutions, universities, multinational corporations, and international organizations through various mechanisms, including joint sponsorships to build research institutes, partner groups, research cooperation, and personnel exchange and training. In collaboration with the German Max Planck Society and the French Institut Pasteur, CAS has built two international institutes, the CAS-MPG Partner Institute of Computational Biology and the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai. CAS scientists initiated several international research programs, such as the Third Pole Environment, the Northwestern Pacific Ocean Circulation and Climate Experiment, and the International Ecosystem Management Partnership. CAS also took an active part in well-known global programs such as the Human Genome Program; international programs on climate change, including IGBP, IHDP, WCRP, and DIVERSITAS; and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Program.

CAS scientists conduct quality research work in such fields as chemistry, physics, material sciences, mathematics, and geology, resulting in a number of scientific achievements, including the synthesis of artificial bovine insulin, the development of the Mathematics-Mechanization Platform, the description of finite element methodology in mathematics, providing a proof that may aid in solving the Goldbach conjecture, sequencing 1% of the human genome, the development of the Godson general-purpose CPU chip, the building of the Dawning and Shenteng supercomputers, the development of scientific instruments for manned space missions and lunar exploration, the technology to convert methanol to light olefins, coal liquefaction techniques, permafrost roadbed technology

crucial for construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, and realization of the efficient and long-lived quantum memory with cold atoms inside a ring cavity.

For years, CAS has been actively involved in supporting China’s mod-ernization drive, including initiating the National High-Technology R&D Program (“863” Program), aiding in creating the national science founda-tion system, participating in national territorial planning, and supporting global climate change research. In 2009, the Science & Technology in China: A Roadmap to 2050 series was published, outlining major sci-entific issues and critical technical problems in China’s modernization process, and offering suggestions on how to resolve them to cement the role of science and technology in realizing China’s modernization goals by 2050.

Rapid global development requires that CAS enhance its innovation ca-pabilities. CAS is currently preparing a new plan called “Innovation 2020” which will succeed the Knowledge Innovation Program. This new project addresses a list of strategic S&T issues concerning national moderniza-tion across many areas, such as space, information, energy, resources, agriculture, marine science, human health, ecology and the environment, and advanced materials and manufacturing. With “reform and innovation for harmonious development” as its motto, CAS is committed to being an organization with “first-class achievements, first-class efficiency, first-class management, and first-class talent.” It is the aim of CAS to always make fundamental, strategic, and forward-thinking contributions to China’s econ-omy, national security, and social development.

Overview

CAS Institutional Map in China

9C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

Recent Progress in Basic ResearchOverviewA primary function of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is to conduct basic sci-entific research to discover and understand matter in its many forms, from the subatom-ic level through to the scale of the universe. It also seeks to use its broad knowledge base to advance technological innovation and promote technology transfer. Fields of study include particle physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, chem-istry, mechanics, astronomy, and the highly interdisciplinary fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

MathematicsResearch at CAS covers many of the major research fields in mathematics and systems science, including number theory, algebra, geometry and topology, mathematical phys-ics, operational research and management sciences, systems and control, probability theory and statistics, scientific computing, and computational mathematics. The Na-tional Center for Mathematics and Interdis-ciplinary Sciences (NCMIS) was founded in 2010 with the mission of combining math-ematics and other sciences in a national re-search platform for interdisciplinary studies.

Representative advances in mathematics in recent years include: the “Multiplicity One Conjecture” in infinite dimensional representation (1), the Deligne-Langlands Conjecture for affine Hecke algebras (2), hyperbolic ra-tional maps (3), the Kadison-Singer Algebra (4,5), the Schubert Calculus (6), and the limit of the Boltzmann Equation to the Euler Equations for Rie-mann problems.

PhysicsOver the last few years, global attention has been garnered by contribu-tions from China in the field of condensed matter physics, particularly in the area of iron-based superconductors in 2008, when six different groups from CAS institutes and laboratories were involved in searching for new iron-based superconductors with higher transition temperatures. In fact, China still holds a world record for the highest transition temperature. Re-search achievements include the pairing mechanism of iron superconduc-tivity and the discovery of the new materials (7–9). CAS physicists have also made important contributions to topological materials, one of the frontiers of condensed matter physics—including the theoretical and experimental demonstration of three dimensional topological insulators, such as Bi2Se3

and Bi2Te3, which have become two of the most popular topological insula-tors (10). Work on the Bi2Se3 family of insulators was first done in collabora-tion with physicists at Stanford University in the United States (11).

Quantum communication is a new interdisciplinary research field with the potential of realizing secure communication by exploiting information theory and the physical laws of quantum mechanics. Pan Jianwei, a scientist at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), is leading the CAS Quantum Science Satellite project, the purpose of which is to ex-plore quantum communication on a global scale. He and his team have made several pioneering achievements in the field, for example, success-fully demonstrating quantum teleportation over 97 km in open air. Quantum teleportation is the process of transferring quantum information from one point to another. His group has made important developments, including an ultrabright entangled photon source; a high-frequency and high-accuracy acquiring, pointing, and tracking technique; and tailored telescope designs for satellite-based free-space transmission (12).

Quantum

communication

is a new

interdisciplinary

research field with

the potential of

realizing secure

communication

by exploiting

information theory

and the physical

laws of quantum

mechanics.

10 Scient i f ic Research at CAS

Research Focus and Progress at CAS

CAS/In Focus

The Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in Guizhou Province.

Organic photoresponse materials and devices.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

11Research CAS/In Focus C

RED

IT: (

FRO

M T

OP)

FRO

M T

HE

HEF

EI IN

STIT

UTE

S O

F PH

YSIC

AL S

CIE

NC

E, C

AS;

FRO

M T

HE

UN

IVER

SITY

OF

SCIE

NC

E AN

D TE

CH

NO

LOG

Y O

F C

HIN

A

within organic field-effect transistors have been investigated and new tech-nologies have been developed for low-cost, large-area, and flexible organic circuits (26).

Nanoscience and NanotechnologyCAS has pioneered and played a leading role in nanoscience research in China. With its strategic deployment in the fields of nanomaterials, nano-characterization, nanodevices, and nanobiomedicine, CAS has achieved significant progress in revealing fundamental aspects of the novel prop-erties of a wide range of engineered nanostructures. For examples, CAS researchers have developed a series of nanostructures and multifunctional nanodevices based on carbon nanotubes (27–30); graphene (31, 32); graphdiyne (33); nanocrystalline copper with superplastic extensibility (34, 35), ultrahigh strength, and high electrical conductivity (36, 37); nanostruc-tures for high density memory devices (38) and high efficiency solar cells

(39); and drug delivery systems for can-cer therapies (40).

Significant progress has been made in advancing technology transfer in the energy, health, environmental, and man-ufacturing sectors. A series of superhy-drophobic surfaces based on micro- and nanostructures have been fabricated (41, 42), leading to the invention of the nanomaterial-based green printing plate technology which has already been ap-plied successfully in the printing industry. A nanocoating technology using room temperature vulcanization with silicone rubber capable of dirt-flashover resis-tance has been developed and applied

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)

Hefei Synchrotron Light Source

ChemistryOver the past decade, CAS has worked hard to develop its research ca-pacity in chemistry. A group from USTC, following the demonstration of single-molecule magnetism through molecular manipulation (13), succeed-ed in integrating two functions into one molecule (14). In addition, through resonant tuning of molecular states by nanocavity plasmons, they discov-ered an unusual molecular electroluminescence at the nanoscale level (15). These findings provide new insights into the functioning of single-molecule devices and nanoscale optoelectronic integration.

At a supramolecular level, advances in understanding the driving forces behind the formation of nanoarchitectures has enabled the rational design of nano-patterned, hierarchical molecular assemblies, which have been further used to investigate surface host-guest chemistry, surface chirality, molecular electrochemistry, and other fundamental physiochemical proper-ties (16–18).

CAS scientists have made significant progress in studying the catalytic per-formance of dual catalysts (19) and in understanding the interfacial confine-ment (20) and morphological effects (21) of some catalytic systems. CAS chemists have also achieved a series of breakthroughs in molecular electronics. Synthesis and controllable assembly of new conjugated molecular systems (e.g., graphdiyne) have led to organic semiconductors (p- and n-types) with high mobility (>1.0 cm2.V-1.S-1) (22, 23) and photovoltaic materials with high en-ergy conversion efficiency (>7.0%) (24, 25). Moreover, the interfacial properties

12 ResearchCAS/In Focus

in the state electrical grid in China. Additionally, a number of industrial plants for ethylene glycol production from coal have been launched using novel nanocatalysts.

AstronomyIn terms of observational studies, CAS astronomers have produced a series of important achievements in such fields as cosmic matter distribution and properties, galaxy evolution and formation, the magnetic field and chemical evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the mechanisms underlying changes in solar activity. China has won international praise for these achievements, for instance the 2008 discovery of excessive amounts of very high energy cosmic ray electrons (43), modeling of the formation and evolution of galax-ies and the large-scale structures in the universe using digital simulation (44), elucidating distributions of dark matter in the universe through the gravitational lensing effect (45), developing the theory of binary population synthesis for the study of peculiar stars (46), and modeling loop-top X-ray sources and reconnection outflows in solar flares with intense lasers (47).

In terms of key observational facilities and technology development, CAS astronomers have successfully built a series of telescopes, such as the solar magnetic field telescope, the 2.16-meter optical telescope, and the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopy Telescope (LA-MOST), as well as making good progress in building the Five-Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the Chinese Antarctic Ob-servatory, and three space astronomical satellites including the Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), the Space Multi-Band Variable Object Monitor (SVOM) and the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). They have shown that China can now independently develop modern large- and medium-size telescopes. In particular, LAMOST integrates many innovations in telescope technology, ranking China among the few countries that have mastered the technology for building large, modern telescopes.

MechanicsCAS has a long history of research in many different mechanics-related fields, including nano-/microscale mechanics and microsystems, high tem-perature gas dynamics and supersonic flight technologies, microgravity science and applications, oceanic and environmental engineering, energy and transportation, mechanics in advanced manufacturing, and biome-chanics and bioengineering. CAS researchers have achieved significant

progress in turbulent flow theory and biomechanics: a non-frozen flow model (48) for space-time correlations in turbulent shear flows has been developed, which was shown to be an alternative for experimental mea-surements of turbulent flow following invalidation of the well-known Taylor’s model. This methodology is being developed for large-eddy simulation of turbulence-generated noise and particle-laden turbulence. In biomechan-ics, a new and growing area, scientists have highlighted the mechanobi-ological coupling of binding kinetics and forced dissociation of receptor-ligand interactions that are crucial to many biological processes under blood flow (49).

Research from Large Scientific FacilitiesCAS has built around 20 “big science” facilities, greatly supporting frontiers research. The Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment contributed to the discovery of a new kind of neutrino transformation (50), while the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) was used to find a new sub-atomic particle: the X(1835) (51, 52). Three synchrotron radiation facilities, the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF), the Hefei Synchrotron Light Source (HLS), and the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), have made a series of major breakthroughs in the fields of condensed matter physics, life sciences, chemistry, materials science, nanotechnology, energy science, and environmental science (53–57). The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) was used to generate data recognized at an international level, such as the longest 30s H-mode discharges achieved by using wave heating methods in present-day tokamak plasmas (58, 59).Using the Cooler Storage Ring at the Heavy Ion

CRE

DIT

S: (F

ROM

TO

P) F

ROM

TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

MO

DER

N P

HYS

ICS,

CAS

; FR

OM

TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

HIG

H E

NER

GY

PHYS

ICS,

CAS

Yangbajing International Cosmic Ray Observatory

Cooler Storage-Ring at the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou.

13Research CAS/In Focus

Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL-CSR), direct mass measurements of short-lived nuclides such as 65As were made, approaching a precision of ∆m/m ~ 10-6, a result that has an important impact on nucleosynthesis in the rapid proton capture process (60). Additionally, a clinical study of heavy-ion cancer therapy was successfully carried out at this facility. Work at the Yangbajing International Cosmic Ray Observatory, produced measurements that demonstrate that galactic cosmic ray intensity is nearly isotropic (61).

OutlookLooking to the future, CAS will continue to focus on discovery in ba-sic research and seek new understandings of the universe. It will ad-dress the most fundamental questions about matter and challenge our basic understanding of physical and chemical phenomena. In a time of energy shortages and an increasing need for environment protection, CAS is committed to finding solutions to real world problems through basic research.

REFERENCES 1. B. Sun, C. Zhu, Annals Math., 23, 175 (2012). 2. N. Xi, J. Amer. Math. Soc. 20, 211 (2007). 3. G. Cui, L. Tan, Invent. Math. 183, 451 (2011). 4. L.Ge, W. Yuan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 107, 1838 (2010). 5. L. Ge,W. Yuan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 107, 4840 (2010). 6. H. Duan, Invent. Math. 159, 407 (2005). 7. Z. Ren et al., Chin. Phys. Lett. 25, 2215 (2008). 8. J. Dong et al., Europhys. Lett. 83, 27006 (2008). 9. X. Chen et al., Nature, 453, 761 (2008).10. H. Zhang et al., Nature Phys. 5, 438 (2009).11. Y. Chen et al., Science, 325, 178 (2009).12. J. Yin et al., http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.2024 (2012).13. A. Zhao et al., Science 309, 1542 (2005).14. S. Pan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 15259 (2009).15. Z. Dong et al., Nat. Photonics 4, 50 (2010).16. D. Wang, L. Wan, C. Bai, Mater. Sci. Eng. R-Rep. 70, 169 (2010).17. J. Liu et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 21010 (2011).18. T. Chen, Q. Chen, X. Zhang, D. Wang, L. Wan, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132,

5598 (2010).19. H. Liu, T. Jiang, B. Han, S.Liang, Y. Zhou, Science 326, 1250 (2009).20. Q. Fu et al., Science 328, 1141 (2010).21. X.W. Xie, Y. Li, Z.Q. Liu, M. Haruta, W. J. Shen, Nature 458, 746

(2009).

22. R. Li, W. Hu, Y. Liu, D. Zhu, Accounts Chem. Res. 43, 529 (2010).23. H. Liu, J. Xu, Y. Li, Y. Li, Accounts Chem. Res. 43, 1496 (2010).24. H. Dong, H. Zhu, Q. Meng, X. Gong, W. Hu, Chem. Soc. Rev. 41,

1754 (2012).25. Y. Li, Accounts Chem. Res. DOI: 10.1021/ar2002446 (2012).26. C. Di, Y. Liu, G. Yu, D. Zhu, Accounts Chem. Res. 42, 1573 (2009).27. W. Li et al., Science 274, 1701 (1996).28. Z. Pan et al., Nature 394, 631 (1998).29. L. Sun et al., Nature 403, 384 (2000).30. W. Zhou, X. Bai, E. Wang, S. Xie, Adv. Mater. 21, 4565 (2009).31. Y. Pan et al., Adv. Mater. 21, 2777 (2009).32. R. Yang et al., Adv. Mater. 22, 4014 (2010).33. G. Li et al., Chem. Commun. 46, 3256 (2010).34. L. Lu, M. Sui, K. Lu, Science 287, 1463 (2000).35. T. Fang, L. Li, N. Tao, K. Lu, Science 331, 1587 (2011).36. L. Lu et al., Science 304, 422 (2004).37. L. Lu, X. Chen, X. Huang, K. Lu, Science 323, 607 (2009).38. X. Zhou et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 032105 (2011).39. S. Lu et al., Nanoscale Res. Lett. 6, 576 (2011).40. N. Tang et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 99, 1004 (2007).41. X.Gao, L. Jiang, Nature 432, 36 (2004).42. Y. Zheng et al., Nature 463, 640 (2010).43. J. Chang et al., Nature 456, 362 (2008).44. Y. Jing, Y. Suto, Astrophys J., 574, 538 (2002).45. X. Wu, MNRAS, 316, 299 (2000).46. Z. Han, P. Podsiadlowski, A. E. Lynas-Gray, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

380, 1098 (2007).47. J. Zhong et al., Nature Physics 6, 984 (2010).48. X. Zhao, G. He, Phys. Rev. E 79, 046316 (2009).49. Y. Zhang, G. Sun, S. Lü, N. Li, M. Long, Biophys. J. 95, 5439 (2008).50. F. P. An et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 171803 (2012).51. M. Ablikim et al. (BES Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 262001

(2005).52. M. Ablikim et al. (BESIII Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 072002

(2011).53. X. Zhang et al., Science 328, 240 (2010).54. Y. Li, F. Qi, Acc. Chem. Res. 43, 68 (2010).55. F. Battin-Leclerc et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49, 3169 (2010).56. D. Wu et al., Nature 483, 632 (2012).57. D. Deng et al., Science 335, 720 (2012).58. G. Xu et al., Nucl. Fusion 51, (2011).59. G. S. Xu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 125001 (2011).60. X. L. Tu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 1 (2011).61. M. Amenomori et al., Science 314, 439 (2006).

CRE

DIT

: FRO

M T

HE

SHAN

GH

AI IN

STIT

UTE

OF

APPL

IED

PHYS

ICS

Yangbajing International Cosmic Ray Observatory

The Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility

http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.2024


Progress in Life Sciences and BiotechnologyThe rapid development in China over the past two decades has precipitated some environmental and social problems, such as pollution, an energy shortage, and overpopulation. In order to address these problems and maintain sustainable devel-opment, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has established a comprehensive and effective research system in the life sci-ences and biotechnology, with 21 institutes and more than 8,000 staff, covering fields from health and medicine, to agriculture, to industrial biotechnology, to biodiversity and biological resources.

Health and MedicineTo promote physical and mental health, CAS supports and conducts interdisciplin-ary translational research to establish a complete innovation chain from basic re-search to clinic trials, which includes major biomedical areas such as genomics, pro-tein science, reproductive and develop-mental biology, neuroscience, cognitive and psychological sciences, major chronic and infectious diseases, nutrition science, stem cells, and regenerative medicine as well as innovative drug research and development.

In protein science, new methods and technologies in structural and functional research have been developed. The struc-tures of several important membrane pro-teins and protein complexes have been

solved, including the crystal structures of the mitochondrial respiratory membrane protein complex II and spinach major light-harvesting complex (1, 2) (Figure 1). Recently, many virus-related structures, including those of SARS coronavirus proteins, H5N1 RNA polymerase PA/PB1 complex, and the entire structure of EV71 (3-6), have been elucidated, providing a biologi-cal basis and insights for viral diseases prevention and control.

In neuroscience and cognition, a series of novel discoveries have been made, such as the discovery of new mechanisms in the guidance of neu-ronal migration and in nerve cell development and polarization, and char-acterization of cation channel functions in nerve axon growth-oriented sig-naling and information processing in glial cells (7–10). In addition, more complex behaviors such as decision-making, learning, light preference, and visual cognition have been systematically investigated. One recently completed study determined the social hierarchy within groups of mice and demonstrated that mouse social status is bidirectionally controlled by syn-aptic strength in the medial prefrontal cortex (11–15).

Advances in stem cells and regenerative medicine will likely lead to next-generation clinical therapies. Several breakthroughs have been achieved, such as demonstration of the developmental pluripotency of induced plu-ripotent stem cell (iPSCs), establishment of iPSC lines from rats and pigs, oocyte reprogramming, conversion of somatic fibroblasts into functional hepatocyte-like cells, and the improvement of iPSC-generation protocols using Vitamin C (16–21).

Research on disease mechanisms can improve clinical treatment. At CAS, the molecular mechanisms underlying diabetes have been identified, including the relationship between the regulation of exocytosis and blood glucose control, and the mechanism of action of nonpeptide, small mol-ecule agonists on the glucagon-like peptide receptor (22, 23). In addition, a study on the Chinese population was conducted to systematically investi-gate the effects of genetic and nutrition/lifestyle factors on the development of so-called metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (24).

CAS has made a concerted effort to set up a comprehensive drug in-novation system ranging from target identification and validation, to pre-clinical research and clinical development. To date, approximately 120 drugs have been commercially launched and/or out-licensed, including an-tofloxacin hydrochloride (the first patented quinolone class antibiotic agent), depsides salt (a prominent example of the modernization of traditional Chi-nese medicine), and acehytisine hydrochloride (an injectable antiarrhythmic drug), and a number of drug candidates are presently undergoing clinical trials. In addition, recombinant epidermal growth factor, injectable recombi-nant staphylokinase, and other biopharmaceuticals have been developed.

Figure 1. Important structures solved by CAS scientists: the mitochondrial respiratory membrane protein complex II (left), the spinach major light-harvesting complex (top right), and the H5N1 RNA polymerase PA/PB1 complex.

The Chinese

Academy of

Sciences (CAS)

has established a

comprehensive and

effective research

system in the life

sciences and

biotechnology. Figure 2. Rice cultivar XS11 carrying the ipa1 locus shows characteristics of an ideal plant type, indicating ipa1’s great potential for enhancing rice grain yield.

CRE

DIT

S: (F

ROM

TO

P) P

ROVI

DED

BY

THE

INST

ITU

TE O

F BI

OPH

YSIC

S;

PRO

VID

ED B

Y TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

GEN

ETIC

S AN

D D

EVEL

OPM

ENTA

L BI

OLO

GY


Agriculture In agricultural research, CAS not only places emphasis on fundamental research areas such as genomics, genetics, and evolution and develop-mental biology, but also focuses on practical applications such as plant breeding, aquaculture, and biopesticides.

In areas of rice genomics and functional genomics, CAS scien-tists have successfully completed the draft sequence and whole ge-nome fine map of indica rice (25) and determined the sequence of chromosome 4 from japonica rice (26). Subsequent genetic and func-tional studies revealed several important agronomic genes control-ling important traits, including those for tillering control [IPA1 (27) and MOC1 (28)], (Figure 2), salt tolerance [SKC1 (29) and HAL3 (30)], uppermost internode elongation [Eui (31)], control of grain weight [GW2 (32)], grain filling [GIF1 (33)], and erect growth [LA1 (34) and PROG1 (35)]. These genes are considered valuable candidates for future molecular de-sign breeding.

In animal research, CAS focuses mainly on genetics and evolution. CAS participated in the international project on the chicken genome, in which British broiler, Swedish layer, and Chinese Silkie chickens were sequenced and about two million genetic variations analyzed. Genomic studies have also provided insights into the origin and genetic diversity of major Chinese domestic animals such as pigs, goats, and dogs (36–38) (Figure 3). In ad-dition, CAS scientists successfully cloned 22 cattle from adult somatic cells between 2002 and 2005.

Progress has also been made in the early warning and control of agri-cultural disasters. For example, locust plagues in China have been studied comprehensively, looking at the molecular mechanisms of plague formation as well as the impact of climate change. CAS researchers reconstructed a 1,910-year-long time line of locust outbreaks in China and found statisti-cally significant associations between locust abundance, precipitation, and temperature (39). In addition, studies suggested that the CSP and Takeout gene families could modulate the behavioral phase changes in migratory locusts (40).

With regard to practical applications, CAS has developed many

valuable crop, fruit, and fish varieties, as well as biopesticide products. New wheat varieties including the “Xiaoyan” series, “Chuanyu” series and “Kenong199” were developed (Figure 4). The high-yield, dis-ease-resistant and high-quality “Xiaoyan” varieties were originally produced by cross-breeding Elytrigia elongatum with wheat. “Xiaoyan 6,” planted in a 10 million hectare area, showed an increased yield of 400,000 tons. The “Jintao” variety of kiwifruit has been patented and out-licensed interna-tionally. More than 20 new varieties of cold- and disease-resistant wine grapes such as “Jingxiu” and “Beimei” have also been developed. In aquaculture research, CAS scientists bred and developed a series of major aquatic products, such as the allogy-nogenetic silver crucian carp, “Zhongke3,” “Dalian1” hybrid abalone, and “Zhongke-hong” bay scallop. Furthermore, several insect virus biopesticides against cotton bollworm and other pests have been devel-oped, accounting for a total annual produc-

tion of 5 tons of ingredients and 200 tons of reagents, with an application area of 2 million hectares. CAS has also made progress in the breeding, planting, and processing of high-yield pyrethrum. Over 8,000 hectares of pyrethrums have been planted, making up 30% of world production.

Industrial BiotechnologyOne of CAS’s innovation priorities is to apply the principles of industrial biotechnology to reduce the environmental impact of industrial processes and to utilize renewable biological resources instead of nonrenewable re-sources. To achieve these goals, CAS has been focusing on the construc-tion of research systems with an emphasis on biomass materials, microbes and industrial enzymes, bioprocesses and bioreactors, and bio-based products.

In northern China, the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology was established as a cooperative venture between CAS and the Tianjin munici-pal government. The Institute of Microbiology and the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology are also engaged in industrial bio-technology research and development. In the south, the Huzhou Industrial Biotechnology Center was created through the joint efforts of the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences and local government agencies. Also es-tablished were the National Engineering Laboratory for Industrial Enzymes and the CAS Key Laboratories of Synthetic Biology, Photobiology, Systems Microbial Biotechnology, and Environmental and Applied Microbiology. The Research Network on Applied Microbes has helped integrate the microbial resources data from 17 CAS institutes via the World Data Center for Micro-organisms, hosted by CAS.

In order to promote technology application, the CAS Bioindustry Innova-tion Alliance was established, which allows CAS-developed biological tech-niques to be rapidly transferred to its 170 industrial partners. One example of success is the production of the antiparasitic, doramectin, by China’s first ever genetically engineered drug-producing cell line. In addition, CAS has been improving its knowledge transfer platform for industrial biotechnology, while also supporting the CAS Biotechnology Innovation and Bio-industry Promotion Program.

Figure 3. CAS scientists have been studying the origin and evolution of domesticated animals.

CRE

DIT

S: (S

CIE

NC

E C

OVE

R PH

OTO

) Y. Z

HAN

G, D

. PAN

, AN

D L.

-Y. L

UO

; PR

OVI

DED

BY

THE

KUN

MIN

G IN

STIT

UTE

OF

ZOO

LOG

Y


Biodiversity and Biological Resources In the field of biodiversity conservation, the most important progress has been the publication of the compilations Flora of China, Fauna of China, and Spore Flora of China. Flora of China, which was first published in 1959 and has been updated regularly since then, is the world’s most comprehen-sive description of flora. It contains 80 volumes, summarizing 301 families, 3,408 genera, and 31,142 species of plants, providing an in-depth descrip-tion of vascular plants in China. Advances in conservation have also been made by the Institute of Hydrobiology, which has developed an ex-situ conservation site at Tian’ezhou and conducted captive breeding for the Yangtze finless porpoise, the only successful case of ex-situ conservation for cetaceans (41, 42).

While performing biodiversity conservation, CAS also recognizes the importance of better utilizing biological resources. Attention is being paid to the domestication of valuable species, the first step towards sustainable utilization. For example, an elite variety of Plukenetia volubilis, whose seeds contain a specific healthy, edible oil, has been domesticated and registered. In addition, new varieties of orchids as well as of Lycium barbarum, Dendrobium officinale, and Curcuma alismatifolia were certified and/or registered. CAS recognizes that the in depth study of biological resources may identify good candidates for biopharmaceuticals. For instance, indole alkaloids from Alstonia scholaris have been approved by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials for the treatment of respiratory diseases (43). Oricinoside from a traditional Chinese medicinal herb has been developed as a new antidepressant class 1 drug and approved for phase I, II, and III clinical trials.

To achieve improved biodiversity conservation and resource utilization, ongoing basic research in this field is required. In recent years, many re-search achievements have gained international recognition, including stud-ies on the influence of climate on outbreaks of locust plagues (39), the mechanism of cellulose and hemicellulose metabolism by the giant panda gut microbiome (44), behavioral thermoregulation in turtle embryos (45), germ-line mutational patterns in Drosophila melanogaster (46), and pollina-tion ecology of Cypripedium fargesii (47) .

Summary In summary, CAS has made great strides in research at the forefront of both basic life sciences and key applied biotechnologies. These advances can be attributed in large part to mature innovation chains in biomedicine,

agriculture, industrial biology, and biological resources. Going forward, CAS will continue to extend these innovation chains by placing emphasis on the major frontiers of regenerative medicine, molecular design breed-ing, bioenergy, and biological resources-based innovations. With its broad spectrum of research, CAS is keen to establish cooperation with domestic and international research institutions, universities, medical institutes, and enterprises to pursue interdisciplinary collaborations.

REFERENCES 1. F. Sun et al., Cell 121, 1043 (2005). 2. Z. Liu et al., Nature 428, 287 (2004). 3. H. Yang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 13190 (2003). 4. Y. Zhai et al., Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. 12, 980 (2005). 5. X. He et al., Nature 454, 1123 (2008). 6. X. Wang et al., Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. 19, 424 (2012). 7. C. B. Guan, H. T. Xu, M. Jin, X. B. Yuan, M. M. Poo, Cell 129, 385

(2007). 8. A. H. Song et al., Cell 136, 1148 (2009). 9. Y. Li et al., Nature 434, 894 (2005).10. W. P. Ge et al., Science 312, 1533 (2006).11. F. Wang et al., Science 334, 693 (2011).12. K. Zhang, J. Z. Guo, Y. Peng, W. Xi, A. Guo, Science 316, 1901 (2007).13. S. Tang, A. Guo, Science 294, 1543 (2001).14. G. Liu et al., Nature 439, 551 (2006).15. Z. Gong et al., Science 330, 499 (2010).16. X. Y. Zhao et al., Nature 461, 86 (2009).17. Y. Shi, Y. Zhao, H. Deng, Cell Stem Cell 6, 1 (2010).18. R. Li et al., Cell Stem Cell 7, 51 (2010).19. T. P. Gu et al., Nature 477, 606 (2011).20. P. Huang et al., Nature 475, 386 (2011).21. M. A. Esteban et al., J. Biol. Chem. 284, 17634 (2009).22. L. Kang et al., Cell Metab. 3, 463 (2006).23. D. Chen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104, 943 (2007).24. Q. Qi et al., Diabetologia 53, 2163 (2010).25. J. Yu et al., Science 296, 79 (2002).26. Q. Feng et al., Nature 420, 316 (2002).27. Y. Jiao et al., Nature Genet. 42, 541 (2010).28. X. Li et al., Nature 422, 618 (2003).29. Z. H. Ren et al., Nature Genet. 37, 1141 (2005).30. S. Y. Sun et al., Nature Cell. Biol. 11, 845 (2009).31. Y. Y. Zhang et al., Cell Res. 18, 412 (2008).32. X. J. Song, W. Huang, M. Shi, M. Z. Zhu, H. X. Lin, Nature Genet. 39,

623 (2007).33. E. Wang et al., Nature Genet. 40, 1370 (2008).34. P. Li et al., Cell Res. 17, 402 (2007).35. J. Jin et al., Nature Genet. 40, 1365 (2008).36. P. Savolainen, Y. P. Zhang, J. Luo, J. Lundeberg, T. Leitner, Science 298,

1610 (2002).37. G. S. Wu et al., Genome Biol. 8, R245 (2007).38. S. Y. Chen, Y. H. Su, S. F. Wu, T. Sha, Y. P. Zhang, Mol. Phylogenet.

Evol. 37, 804 (2005).39. H. Tian et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 14521 (2011).40. W. Guo et al., PLoS Genet. 7, e1001291 (2011).41. D. Wang et al., Environ. Sci. Pollut. R. 12, 247 (2005).42. J. H. Xia, J. S. Zheng, L. M. Xu, D. Wang, Prog. Nat. Sci. 15, 149

(2005).43. S. B. Jian-Hua, X. H. Cai, Y. L. Zhao, T. Feng, X. D. Luo, J.

Ethnopharmacol. 129, 293 (2010).44. L. F. Zhu, Q. Wu, J. Y. Dai, S. N. Zhang, F. W. Wei, Proc. Natl. Acad.

Sci. U.S.A. 108, 17714 (2011).45. W. G. Du, B. Zhao, Y. Chen, R. Shine, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108,

9513 (2011).46. J. J. Gao et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 15914 (2011).47. Z. X. Ren, D. Z. Li, P. Bernhardt, H. Wang, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

108, 7478 (2011).

Figure 4. CAS scientists have made advances in wheat breeding, developing new varieties including the “Xiaoyan” series, “Chuanyu” series, and “Kenong 199.”

CRE

DIT

: PRO

VID

ED B

Y TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

GEN

ETIC

S AN

D D

EVEL

OPM

ENTA

L BI

OLO

GY,

AN

D TH

E C

HEN

GD

U IN

STIT

UTE

OF

BIO

LOG

Y


“golden spikes” (GSSP)—exact points in geological time—in China have been defined by CAS scientists, positioning China as a global leader in stratigraphy. Studies on the origin and evolution of vertebrate taxa have allowed existing hypotheses to be modified and im-proved and provided data to clarify the origin and early evolution of some im-portant vertebrate categories.

Geographical Science CAS research in the geographical sciences focuses mainly on the scientific explora-tion and investigation of national natu-ral resources, geographic differentiation, geographical processes, land and water resources, and regional spatial develop-ment and regional planning as well as re-mote sensing and geographic information technology.

Example: Geographical ProcessesComprehensive and systematic re-search has been conducted on geographical processes, such as transformation processes in the at-mosphere-surface-soil-groundwater cycle, surface processes related to soil erosion and land use, cryosphere

Resource and Environment ResearchResource and environment research is considered one of the most impor-tant components in modern science and technology for creating a solid foundation for sustainable socio-economic development. It covers the re-search areas of geology, geophysics, geodesy, geochemistry, atmospheric science, oceanology, geography, environment science, resource science, remote sciences, and ecology. Under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) framework, there are a total of 27 institutes focusing on this area, with an aggregate research workforce of over 7,000 permanent staff, more than 1,000 temporary staff, and nearly 7,000 graduate students. There are 20 state key laboratories generating observational data: five field station networks—including the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), the Chinese Special Environment and Disaster Research Network (SEDN), the CAS Offshore Marine Observation and Research Network, and the Solar-Terrestrial Space Environmental Observation Network and Global At-mosphere Watch (CAS-GAW)—as well as a number of ships carrying out scientific investigations.

Solid Earth ScienceCAS scientists have made great strides in palaeontology and stratigra-phy, continental dynamics and deep earth processes, and quaternary and global changes as well as studies of hydrocarbon resources and mineral resources.

Example: Palaeontology and Stratigraphy CAS scientists have made exciting progress exploring the origins of life and understanding the coevolution of humans and their natural environ-ment. Stratigraphic studies have shed light on the paleontological mys-tery of the Cambrian Explosion, known as one of the “top 10 scientific conundrums” among the international science community. Seven of 10

Figure 1. Different measures for cooling of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway roadbed: (A) thermosyphons; (B) shading-board; (C) ventiduct embankment; (D) crushed rock covered embankment; (E) crushed rock-based embankment; and (F) bridge substituting for embankment.

CAS scientists have

made exciting

progress exploring

the origins of life

and understanding

the coevolution

of humans and

their natural

environment.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS


processes and their impacts, debris flows, and landslides. Through intensive work over three decades, CAS researches have provided unique scientific solutions, such as proactive cooling techniques, for main-taining the stability of the warm and ice-rich permafrost roadbed of the Qinghai-Ti-bet Railway (Figure 1). Different challenges are present in dry regions. CAS scientists have developed theories and principles for the design, construction, and mainte-nance of desert railways and roads affect-ed by wind action. For example, protec-tion systems to mitigate sand erosion and supplementary measures that reduce the effects of drifting sand have ensured the smooth operation of the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway and the Tarim Desert Highway.

Atmospheric Science Important results have been produced in atmospheric science, focusing on weather prediction and climate modeling, the interactive 3-D radiative-dynamical-chemical-hydrological structure of the climate system, chemical atmospheric process, mechanisms and modeling, and the atmospheric environment.

Example: Climate Numerical ModelFully coupled climate system models (incorporating atmosphere, ocean, and land surface), developed and refined by CAS scientists

since the 1980’s, have been shown by the Coupled Model Inter-com-parison Project to have advantages over other systems in simulating monsoons. In terms of short-term climate prediction, combined predic-tion theories, approaches, and error correction schemes have greatly improved the accuracy of inter-seasonal predictions; meanwhile, the physical processes that affect summer climate anomalies, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), have been identified, and the mecha-nisms for the interannual climate anomaly and the drought-flood related monsoon anomaly have been revealed.

Marine science Marine science is an interdisciplinary field that employs marine biology, ma-rine geology, marine ecology, and physical oceanography for the study of the ocean environment. CAS has developed a regional coastal observation system and outfitted six research vessels for scientists at home and abroad to carry out annual marine science expeditions.

Example: Marine Physics Significant achievements have been made in marine physics, including establishing the axial symmetric theory for the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass and uncovering the “Ocean Channel” dynamics of the Indian Ocean Dipole-forced El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Additionally, CAS scientists have actively participated in international collaborative projects, such as the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere program and World Ocean Circu-lation Experiment. Meanwhile, they have set up an international research plan called the Northwestern Pacific Ocean Circulation and Climate Ex-periment, through which scientists have discovered important oceanic phenomena such as the Mindanao Undercurrent, the South China Sea Warm Current, and the Taiwan Warm Current.

Ecosystem Restoration Regions:Cooperating with Eight Provinces

Upper Reach of Minjiang River

HeiheRiver Basin

Loess Plateau

Three-GorgesReservoirSouthwest Karst

arim River BasinT

Sources of Three Rivers

IMAR

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

Important results

have been

produced in

atmospheric

science, focusing

on weather

prediction and

climate modeling...

Figure 2. Ecosystem restoration regions


Ecology and Regional Agriculture In this field, research has mainly focused on soil science and ecosystem processes based on field monitoring networks, ecological restoration, ag-ricultural geography and regionalization, and regional agricultural technical trials and transfer.

Example: Ecological Restoration and DemonstrationSignificant progress has been made in ecological restoration based on data from eight ecological restoration experimental regions that have been set up in fragile and at-risk areas of West China (Figure 2). Advanc-es have been seen in understanding the mechanisms of restoration for degraded ecological systems, ecological system restoration modeling, comprehensive management and regulation of river basins, highly effi-cient development and exploration of water resources, and regional eco-nomic development modeling. Related technologies and models have been applied extensively in the region. The models developed provide a basis for carrying out more eco-friendly construction and economic development in West China (Figure 3).

Environmental Science and Technology Research fields in this area include the study of persistent organic pol-lutants (POPs), environmental impact studies and regional environmental quality assessments, as well as the development of water pollution control technologies and demonstration projects, soil pollution control technolo-gies and demonstration projects, air pollution monitoring and control tech-nologies, and cleaner production technologies and demonstration projects.

Example: Study on Persistent Organic PollutantsThe results from studies on POPs have aroused wide concerns. Innovative methods for the analysis of dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other POPs have recently been developed and validated, enabling the develop-ment of state-of-the-art techniques for POPs monitoring in China. Dioxin formation during the production of p-dichlorobenzene has been clarified for the first time. New mechanisms of action of the toxin pentachlorophenol and its metabolite, tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (also called p-chloranil), have been revealed through the discovery of a new pathway for the formation of the extremely reac-tive hydroxyl radical and a novel carbon-centered quinone ketoxy radical. The emission factor for dioxins during pro-duction of p-dichlorobenzene has been determined and has been adopted and recommended by the United Na-tions Environment Program to estimate dioxin emissions worldwide. In addition, the emission inventory of dioxins in China has been established, which provides a scientific basis to implement the Stockholm Convention on POPs in China.

Global Climate Change China was one of the first countries to actively promote es-tablishment of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Pro-gram and several other international research programs on global climate change. Since the mid 1980s, global climate change research has been considered a priority by most of the national funding agencies and has led to fruitful scien-tific results, including key data and theories on the causes of global environmental change.

Example: Study on Global Climate ChangeCAS scientists have made important contributions in this area. Data on terrestrial long-term climate changes that is on a par with marine and ice-core records has been collected. Scientists have documented a com-plete and continuous climate history of the Asian continent on both the tectonic and orbital timescales. Various climate data, in particular his-torical records and a reliable climate time line (at a resolution of years to decades), show that the 20th century may not in fact be the warmest in the past 2,000 years. Studies of the lacustrine records from Heqing have extended the history of the Indian summer monsoon back to 2.6 million years ago, providing a new understanding of glacial-interglacial Indian monsoon dynamics.

OutlookLooking to the future, the research focus will be in the following areas: deep processes and lithosphere evolution; interactions among multi-spheres on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; models of climate systems, earth systems, and land surface process integration systems; the origin of life and evolution; and the ocean environment and ecosystems. At the same time, to meet the strategic requirements for state economic and sustainable development, special emphasis will be placed on the resto-ration of damaged ecosystems and restoration trials, key metallogenic theories and exploration technologies, key oil and gas exploration theo-ries and technologies, comprehensive estimations for water resources and their efficient utilization, and offshore biological resources and marine biotechnology.C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

Figure 3. Ecological rehabilitation of hydro-fluctuation belt of Three Gorges Reservoir Area.


Space Science and TechnologyCAS has proposed and is actively engaged in a series of important space missions, such as the Chinese Manned Space Engi-neering (CMSE) program and the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP). CAS also undertook and successfully completed the task of payload development for a se-ries of application satellites for the study of meteorology, the environment, the ocean, and land resources.

As the leading organization for the Space Utility System of the Chinese Manned Space Engineering Program, CAS carries out sci-entific experiments and related research on the Tiangong (TG)-1 and Shenzhou (SZ)-8 space platforms. On TG-1, space material science facilities and space environment monitors were installed. A colloidal crystal growth experiment was performed and, for the first time in China, the image data re-motely transmitted. In the reentry capsule of SZ-8, 17 space life science experiments were conducted in a cooperative Sino-Ger-man project, including 10 Chinese, six Ger-man, and one joint experiment. This project is under the framework of a governmental agreement between the two countries, to conduct the space life science experiments in a German incubator loaded on the SZ-8 spacecraft. The experiments cover studies on animal, plants, and microbial materials.

In June 2011, Chang’e (CE)-2 completed its lunar exploration mission. On August 25 of that year, it entered into the Lagrangian 2 point orbit to carry out extended tests and outer space environment exploration. On September 15, it sent back the first sci-entific data from over 1,720,000 km away. Two months later, full coverage high quality moon maps and images with seven-meter resolution had been generated and vali-dated by experts. The data quality and im-age resolution were of the highest standard

and the image quality, data consistency, and data integrity allowed for the creation of some of the best digital maps of the moon to date. CAS sci-entists played integral roles in the mission, including the data retrieval and processing, very long baseline interferometric navigation, image generation and analysis, and other landmark scientific achievements.

A series of significant achievements have come out of the space envi-ronment exploration program for the Meridian Project. The Meridian Proj-ect, which was initiated by the National Space Science Center, an institute within CAS, included 95 observation facilities already in existence. The first sounding rocket was launched on May 7, 2011. In initial trial operations, empirical space observation data has been collected and analyzed from over 3.5 million data points. Preliminary space weather observation data were also collected, such as an intense disturbance of the ionosphere detected by the Meridian Project on March 11, 2011 following the Japan earthquake. The effect of solar storms on the geospace environment above China has been observed many times, with the most intense magnetic storm since 2007 observed on August 6, 2011. Space weather forecasts and real-time warnings based on data from the Meridian Project contrib-uted to the successful launches of both TG-1 and SZ-8.

Information TechnologyProgress has already been made in applied technologies such as All-IP networks, micro-nano sensors and systems, wireless sensor networks, broadband wireless mobile multimedia, high performance computing, and intelligent robots.

China’s first manned 7,000 m submersible, “Jiaolong,” successfully fin-ished its 5,000 m undersea trial in July 2011. Its maximum depth capacity of 5,188 m is a record for China-made manned submersibles. As one of the major developers of the “Jiaolong,” CAS was in charge of the R&D and technical support of the acoustics and control systems. The function and performance of the communication sonar out-performs its global peers. Both seabed topography and side-scan sonar pictures can be obtained us-ing the high resolution bathymetric side-scan sonar, internationally regarded as of the highest quality. The control system has sophisticated functionality, including cruise control, navigation, and the integrated display of informa-tion. The control parameters of the submersible can be adjusted in real time using dynamic modeling. Accurate dynamic positioning—functionality not previously seen in manned submersibles of this kind—and automatic long distance cruising are included (Figure 1).

The Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) has been devoted to the study of multiscale phenomena for nearly 30 years, with a particular fo-cus on meso-scales at different levels, namely material, reactor, and sys-tem. A unique stability-constrained meso-scale modeling approach, the EMMS Paradigm, was developed and gradually refined (1–2), applying the

CAS undertook

and successfully

completed the

task of payload

development

for a series of

application

satellites for

the study of

meteorology, the

environment, the

ocean, and land

resources.

Research Framework and Progress in High-Technology R&DIn order to meet the national strategic demands and keep abreast of global advances in science and technology, the mission of high-technology research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is to carry out strategic, innovative, and forward-looking studies, promote breakthroughs in key technologies and integrated innovation, provide systematic solu-tions, and consequently make contributions to the development of information technology, space technology, advanced manufacturing, new materials, and energy-related technologies.

Since the implementation of the Knowledge Innovation Program in 1998, a long-term approach for Development Strat-egy Research has been formulated in the field of high technology at CAS. Two guiding plans, the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–2010) and the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015), are already in place. Inspired by the Innovation 2020 Program, a list of Strategic Priority Research Programs such as the Strategic Priority Research Program in Space Science, have been prioritized and a number of high-technology R&D centers have been established.


strategy, “first global, then regional, and finally, detailed.” A petaFLOPS multiscale supercomputing system, Mole-8.5 (3), was developed, which will enable a revolutionary technology, Virtual Process Engineering (VPE). VPE is characterized by real-time and high accuracy simulation of industrial processes, integrated with on-line comparison to experiments, 3-D inter-active visualization, and systematic control. An early prototype VPE was constructed recently at IPE, serving as a versatile industrial R&D and train-ing facility.

The Dawning 6000 High-Productivity Supercomputer (Nebulae), built by the Institute of Computing Technology (ICT) and Sugon Information Industry Corporation, was ranked 2nd—with a LINPACK performance score of 1.27 petaFLOPS—in the 35th TOP500 list of supercomputers, released in June 2010.

Broadband wireless communication systems developed by the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT), the Institute of Acoustics (IOA), ICT, and the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) played key roles in May 12, 2008 China earthquake disaster rescues, Tangjiashan bar-rier lake solutions, Yushu earthquake rescues, and security at the Shanghai World Expo.

The proposal for the industrial wireless network technology standard, Wireless Network for Industrial Automation-Process Automation (WIA-PA), was approved as an international standard IEC 62601 by the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) on October 14, 2011. WIA-PA is an open and interoperable wireless network standard designed to address the needs of industrial process measurement and control applications for reliable, real-time and secure wireless communication, and was developed by the WIA working group led by the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) and CAS. As an IEC standard, WIA-PA provides users with a larger scale and lower cost network framework, more interoperability, and greater product and service quality.

SIMIT has developed a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer fabrication

technology. With strong R&D capability and flexible processes, SIMIT can provide SOI wafers of different specifications or sizes, up to 8 inches. The key process parameters can be precisely controlled to meet different appli-cation requirements. These SOI wafers have been used in many products such as automobile integrated circuits (IC), driver IC, microelectromechani-cal devices, and optical interconnections.

Energy Science and TechnologyForward-looking plans have been made in the fields of clean coal utilization, solar energy, energy use reduction, and emission reduction, and progress has been achieved in coal-based synthetic liquid fuels and coal chemicals.

The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), in cooperation with industry, built the world’s first commercial scale DICP methanol-to-olefins (DMTO) commercial unit in 2010, which symbolized a milestone in the production of olefins via a nonpetrochemical pathway. Total coal-based polyolefin output was over 80 kilotons in 2010. The plant reached 110% capacity on January 15, 2011 and currently runs steadily at 100% load.

The indirect coal liquefaction technology owned by the Institute of Coal Chemistry (ICC) has been used in two 160,000 tons per year (TPY) coal-based synfuel industrialization trial projects, which have demonstrated the reliability and advantages of this advanced technology. The iron-based catalyst used exhibited a high space-time yield with over 1.0 g per gram of catalyst per hour and significantly higher production capacity, generating 1,500–1,800 tons of oil per ton of catalyst. The independent development of indirect coal liquefaction technology has led the field internationally for similar technologies. Furthermore, the construction and operation of the demonstration project has laid a solid technical foundation for large scale commercial plant construction (Figure 2).

The Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter developed the technology to convert coal to ethylene glycol (EG) in cooperation with industry, building the world’s first industrial demonstration unit of 200,000

Figure 1. Manned submersible “Jiaolong.”

CRE

DIT

: BY

ZHAN

G A

IQU

N


TPY capacity, which was put into operation in 2010 and reached 75% of its design capacity. China is planning a large scale EG industrial production unit with capacity of nearly 4,000,000 TPY.

The world’s first superconducting power substation with a voltage level of 10.5 kV, developed by the Institute of Electrical Engineering, was put into operation on the power grid of Gansu Province. It is the only distribution-level hi-tech superconducting substation in the world.

The world’s largest capacity 650Ah sodium sulfur battery cell with a low fading rate and a life expectancy of over 10 years was developed by the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics in cooperation with industry, together with a series of new materials, interface designs, particular cell structure, and fabrication processes.

Chemical Engineering and Advanced MaterialsCAS plays a leading role in the development of metallic materials, ceramic materials, composite materials, and organic polymer materials. By licens-ing neodymium-based polybutadiene rubber (NdBR) technology from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CIAC), PetroChina has built an NdBR production line with a capacity of 35,000 TPY, producing a product regarded as one of the best in the world. The industrial technology package for neodymium-based polyisoprene rubber (NdIR) production, which is the most advanced both in product quality and economy in China, was devel-oped by CIAC, CAS, and licensed to Shandong Shenchi Chem. Co. Ltd. An NdIR production line with a capacity of 30,000 TPY will start production in August 2012, while construction of a new production line with a capac-ity of 100,000 TPY is scheduled for the near future. Based on technology licensed by CIAC and CAS, a 10,000 TPY production line for CO2-based plastics has been built in China, and a 5,000 TPY production line for poly-lactic acid has been running smoothly.

The demand for carbon emission reduction prompted industry lead-ers to develop more fuel efficient aircraft engines using new light-weight materials such as titanium aluminide to make turbine blades. In coop-eration with Rolls-Royce, the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) is devel-oping a near net shape technology for manufacturing such blades which

promises to cut the production cost significantly. The technology is un-dergoing a series of tests and, once completed, can be used in updat-ed versions of engines that power aircrafts such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus 350.

A novel strengthening approach based on new principles has been de-veloped for metallic materials by researchers from IMR, which involves strengthening materials by engineering twin boundaries at the nanometer scale. By introducing a high density of nano-scale coherent twins in pure copper, high strength together with high ductility and high electrical con-ductivity can be achieved simultaneously (4).

DICP researchers have investigated the F+H2 reaction and devel-oped an accurate physical picture of reaction resonances in this impor-tant system in a series of combined empirical and theoretical experi-ments. In addition, they have studied the state-to-state non-adiabatic dynamics of the F/F*+D2 reaction and observed the breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation in this reaction. This research has had a significant impact by deepening our understanding of chemi-cal reaction resonances and chemical non-adiabaticity at the quantum state-to-state level.

OutlookIn the future, further effort will be made in improving key technologies in space science, new-generation information technology research, and clean and efficient coal technology. Significant accomplishments are expected to be achieved in advanced medical equipment, robot technology, and elec-tric vehicles, in a bid to make contributions to China’s economic develop-ment and social progress.

REFERENCES 1. J. Li, Y. Tung, M. Kwauk, Circulating Fluidized Bed Technology II

(Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1988) pp. 89–103. 2. W. Ge et al., Chem. Eng. Sci. 66, 4426 (2011). 3. As of Nov. 2011, Mole-8.5 is listed as the 21st in Top500 (www.top500.

org/lists/2011/11). 4. L. Lu, Y. Shen, X. Chen, L. Qian, K. Lu, Science 304, 422 (2004). C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

CO

AL C

HEM

ISTR

Y, C

AS

Figure 2. 160,000 tons/year coal-based synfuel industrialization demonstration project.

Research CAS/In Focus 23

Space ScienceThe Strategic Priority Research Program on space science was initiated in January 2011, focusing on the properties of black holes, physical laws in extreme conditions, the nature of dark matter, the kinetic theory of matter and fundamental laws governing life in space, the influence of the Sun on Earth space weather, and the analysis of nonlocality of quantum mechanics.

There are seven projects encompassed by this program under the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011–2015):

• Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT): This, the first Chinese space telescope, helps researchers understand the origin of cosmic X-ray background, the statistical properties of supermassive black holes, and the behavior of physical laws in extreme conditions (Figure 1).

• Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS): These experiments test an experimental quantum key distribution for future secure com-munication based on high-precision acquiring, tracking, and pointing systems, and establish an experimental large-scale quantum communi-cation network. QUESS will also carry out a satellite-to-ground quantum entanglement distribution and quantum teleportation experiment, testing the nonlocality of quantum mechanics (Figure 2).C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

Advanced Fission EnergyFacing the two most challenging issues related to the long-term sustain-able development of nuclear energy—the disposal of nuclear wastes and securing a stable supply of nuclear fuels—CAS launched a strategic priority research program called the Advanced Fission Energy Program (AFEP) in January 2011. The program is devoted to exploring the feasibility of tho-rium-based fuels and transmutation of long-lived spent nuclear fuel using an accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS). The long-term mission of the program is, by the year 2035, to: (i) construct a Thorium fluoride cool-ing reactor with ~1,000 megawatt electrical (MWe) capacity and a thorium molten reactor with ~100 MWe capacity, and (ii) build an ADS transmuta-tion pilot facility with a ~1,000 MW thermal (MWt) subcritical core, cooled by liquid metal and driven by a proton accelerator with beam power of ~10 MW. Making full use of the CAS material research capacity and large-scale research facilities, and through collaborations with domestic and interna-tional research organizations, this program will seek innovation in advanced thorium-uranium fuel cycle development, nuclear waste transmutation, and high-performance material formulation to sustain the development of nuclear energy.

Contacts: Professor Xu Hushan, [email protected] and Professor Xu Hongjie, [email protected].

Strategic Priority Research Program

CAS/In Focus CAS/In Focus

OverviewThe Strategic Priority Research Program, a core component of the CAS Innovation 2020 Program, is designed to allow the academy to achieve major innovative breakthroughs and form advantageous research clusters by making full use of the its competencies in multidisciplinary and institutionalized research, and integrating various related factors such as research implementation, team organization, and platform building.

The Strategic Priority Research Program is divided into two types of research projects: A and B. Focusing on advanced technologies and key S&T issues related to public welfare and interests, type A research projects include studies on advanced fission energy; space science; stem cells and regenerative medicine; carbon budget and relevant climate issues; next generation information technology; key technology and demonstration for clean, efficient and cascade utilization of low-rank coal; and key technology R&D and application demonstration for deep resources exploration. Type B research projects target new and cutting-edge research at the forefront of interdisciplinary fields, with the aim of lifting Chinese research to an international level. The program rewards basic, strategic, and visionary re-search, emphasizing originality and a systematic approach. Through these pro-grams, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) hopes to improve its S&T capacity in certain fields in order to build up its cluster research capabilities.

The Strategic Priority Research Program initiated by the academy fits in well with other national S&T programs, such as the National Basic Research Program (“973” Program) and the National High-Technolo-gy R&D Program (“863” Program). As the leading national research institution, it is the academy’s obligation to undertake such a research program, with the projects being of a basic, strategic, pilot, and forward-looking nature. Moreover, these projects are vital to dealing with common and key frontier S&T problems in China’s national economic and social development.

Figure 1. An artist’s view of the HXMT satellite.


Stem Cells and Regenerative MedicineResearch on stem cells and regenerative medicine has flourished in China in the last decade, despite some hurdles that have limited their application. An intensive research program to study stem cells was launched in order to understand the regu-latory mechanisms in these cells, inves-tigate the potential for stem cell therapy, and establish standards and ethics for future applications.

Both neurodegenerative disorders and liver diseases have a major impact on human health. Compared with traditional medical treatments, regenera-tive medicine offers a promising approach for therapy. Research into the developmental origins of nerves and liver tissue will provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of stem cells and regenerative medicine. This program has established a system-wide academic network to support the research involving more than 80 research groups from four centers of stem cell and regenerative medicine research located in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming, as well as 17 other institutes studying life sci-ence, material science, chemistry, and biomechanics.

The basic strategy is to study liver, mesenchyme, and neural stem cells originating from the three germ layers: the endoderm, mesoderm, and ec-toderm—from which stem cell differentiation, development, and organ for-mation take place—so as to integrate basic theoretical research with new strategic applications of stem cells and regenerative medicine. Results from the program will clarify the origin, maintenance, differentiation, and func-tion of stem cells during normal and pathological development of important organs. The program also focuses on identifying important targets for stem cell regulation, exploring drug candidates based on stem cell factors and functional regulators, and establishing a translational research system for stem cell technologies. The ultimate goals are to discover the basic mecha-nisms underlying stem cell biology; to identify the roles of stem cells in the origin, formulation, and regeneration of tissues and organs; to develop new strategies for precisely regulating stem cells; to implement clinical applica-tions of stem cells in the repair of pathological damage; and to promote the development of regenerative medicine.

Contact: Professor Zhou Qi, [email protected]

Both neurodegener-

ative disorders and

liver diseases have

a major impact on

human health.

“Tiny,” the mouse developed from induced pluripotent stem cells through tetraploid complementation.

• Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE): The explorer will investi-gate dark matter particles from deep space by high-resolution observa-tion of gamma-rays as well as electron spectra and their distribution in space. It will also help scientists study the motion and acceleration of cosmic rays in the galaxy by measuring the energy spectra of heavy ions.

• ShiJian-10 (SJ-10): Using recoverable satellite technology, SJ-10 fo-cuses on the behavior of matter and life activities in space. It will carry out experiments in microgravity on heat and mass transport in fluid, bio-space adaptation, and mutation and gene expression.

• KUAFU Mission (KUAFU): Named after the legendary Chinese figure who chases the Sun, the project will help scientists study solar influences on earth space weather. It consists of three satellites, one located at L1 (the point at which an object experiences the same gravitational pull from both the Earth and the Sun, allowing it remaining in the same posi-tion relative to these bodies) and two in polar orbits. It is a cooperative mission with international collaborations. China will launch one satellite, KUAFU A, to the L1 point.

• Intensive Study of Future Space Science Missions: Following the space science strategic plan, this project aims to intensively study new science missions, taking into account scientific objectives, optimization of plan implementation, and development of key technologies, in prepa-ration for implementing the missions during the 13th Five-Year Plan pe-riod (2016–2020).

• Advanced Research of Space Science Missions and Payloads: This research is intended to advance key technologies for future space science satellites by supporting a related group of research subjects, including innovative concepts for future space science missions, key technologies of payloads, ground calibrations, and short-term flight demonstrations.

With the intention of encouraging cooperation in order to stay at the forefront of discovery, this program is open to the entire science community for cooperation, with opportunities for mission to mission cooperation, pay-load piggybacking with foreign partners, ground support, and data sharing.

Contact: Professor Wu Ji, [email protected]. CRE

DIT

: (FR

OM

TO

P) C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS;

CO

URT

ESY

OF

THE

INST

ITU

TE O

F ZO

OLO

GY,

CAS

Figure 2. Illustration of the Quantum Science Satellite.

http://sourcedb.ioz.cas.cn/zw/zjrc/200907/t20090716_2088445.html


integration, the concept of a so-called Sea-Network-Cloud (a sea of sen-sors connected to a transmission network, all linked to a processing cloud) has been proposed and a test platform built. By reforming the existing way that IT research is conducted, technology and scientific research can be improved, while simultaneously establishing a technical foundation for bringing together technological, infrastructural, and social resources.

This program promotes the real-world evolution from 2-D to 3-D inte-gration through the fusion of human, computer, and physical systems by combining Zettabyte (ZB)-level data, Sea-Cloud processing (the collec-tion and processing of data from the sensors and the deposition of this data into a central processing center), end-to-end evolved networks with quality assurance, and sensors collecting data about the physical world. The program is designed to provide key technical support for the con-struction and development of a more intelligent, secure, and service-oriented information society. To achieve this goal, a systematic and in-novative new generation IT technology has to be developed, as shown in Figure 3.

This program will face significant scientific challenges, including: de-veloping a system architecture for IT technology over the next 20 years that is designed for efficiency; limitations in the ability to simultane-ously collect and process large amounts of data; the evolution, robust-ness, adaptability, and manageability of the future network; providing easy access to large amounts of complex information from heteroge-neous sources; and developing a secure IT system that balances cost and efficiency.

CAS has initiated a number of international collaborations around the Sea-Network-Cloud. This program aims to further international collabo-ration on the evolution of IT infrastructure and the development of high-performance computing as well as high-performance core routers. This will create a foundation for building out future information and sensor networks, provide effective access to information, and achieve effective and more intelligent management of natural resources and maintenance of informa-tion security.

Contacts: Professor Tian Jing, [email protected] and Ms. Wang Yuhan, [email protected]

Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Relevant IssuesTo confront climate change issues and find an op-timized approach for sustainable development in China, a program has been put in place that aims to tackle a series of S&T issues by bringing together multiple disciplines at CAS. Issues to be addressed include quantitative verification of the total terrestrial carbon budget of China, identification of opportuni-ties for creating/strengthening carbon sinks, devel-oping the means to create/strengthen these carbon sinks, and analyzing the relationship between the increase in greenhouse gases and future global cli-mate change.

This program is expected to meet the following goals: (i) to build a system of data resources, scientific knowledge, and supportive technologies for the creation of national policy on reducing greenhouse gases and strengthening carbon sink potential as well as implementing strategic decision-making for sustainable development of the nation; (ii) to significantly improve the quality of domestic research in fields such as ecological systems and climate change, quantification and verification of territorial carbon budget, technologies and measures to strengthen carbon sinks in ecological systems, and managerial policies for regional carbon budgets as well as to achieve a significant improvement in S&T development as a basis for addressing climate change and increase China’s role in the international climate change community; and (iii) to establish a team of high-level S&T professionals capable of dealing with the current trend of integration of different disciplines.

This program will set up a total of 15 subprojects to pursue its goals, falling into five task clusters: greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestra-tion of ecological systems, sensitivity to climate change, impacts of and responses to climate change, and green development.

Contacts: Professor Liu Yi, [email protected], and Professor Lu Daren, [email protected]

Next Generation Sensor Technology Research in ChinaA strategic priority research program in next generation information technology (IT) research has been established in China that aims to meet growing demands for a countrywide network of sensors, including information sensing equipment, informa-tion transmission, and information process-ing equipment. The overarching challenges to a widely distributed sensor network are power dissipation, performance, cost, and security. This program is based on the in-novative concept of fusing humans, com-puters, and physical systems into a Hu-man Computer Physical Network Cloud. To fully utilize the opportunity of this triple C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

By reforming

the existing way

that IT research

is conducted,

technology and

scientific research

can be improved.

Figure 3. A new generation of IT-based on systematic, transformative innovation.


Key Technology R&D and Demonstration for Deep Resources Exploration Exploring deeply buried resources is one of the major strategic choices worldwide in order to guarantee the sustainable develop-ment of mineral resources and energy. The Key Technology R&D and Demonstration for Deep Resources Exploration Program was launched to implement the following through CAS: (i) study and develop four kinds of geophysical technologies: electri-cal, magnetic, seismic, and gravity pros-pecting—enabling accurate assessment of hidden or deeply buried resources based on the technical requirements of optimiza-tion, mapping, and detailed exploration of target areas; (ii) develop technologies, for high-sensitivity sensing, data transmission, system integration, and survey equipment platform construction; and (iii) research

into geological structures, mineralization, and deposit distribution in or-der to determine the mechanisms of regional mineral formation and es-tablish the optimal pattern for mineral exploration in typical target areas in the three regions of China holding large mineral deposits. CAS will also carry out field tests on reliability, consistency, and practicality of the tech-nology and equipment being used. Through strong cooperation with do-mestic and foreign research institutions in related research fields, CAS will conduct a special program that takes advantage of sophisticated stud-ies in the areas of geology, geophysics, and electronics technology and equipment development. Within the next five years, CAS plans to achieve the goal of detecting minerals at a depth of up to 2,000 m, using locally developed equipment. Further, CAS expects to extend this capability to 3,000 m within the next 10 years, so as to provide strong technical support for the national resource security and global economic strategies

Contacts: Professor Di Qingyun, [email protected] and Professor Zhu Rixiang, [email protected]

Demonstration of Key Technologies for Clean and Efficient Utilization of Low-Rank CoalEnergy is vital to a country’s future. Since China is rich in coal resources but has insufficient petroleum or natural gas, coal is integral to the coun-try’s future. It is expected that coal will remain as the primary energy source for a considerable time. Among China’s proven coal reserve (1.02 trillion tons), more than 55% is low-rank coal, of which the vola-tile components are equivalent to about 100 billion tons of oil and gas reserves. Low-rank coal is a less developed grade of coal with a low degree of coalification, high moisture content, low heating value, and sometimes also high ash content. Its present utilization, via processes like direct combustion and gasification, is less efficient, emits more pol-lutants, and produces greater carbon dioxide discharge.

In view of the characteristics of low-rank coal, the CAS put for-ward a novel concept for the clean and efficient use of this resource: oil and gas products are first extracted through an efficient pyrolysis process and the resultant semicokes are then combusted cleanly or converted to liquid fuels and chemicals via gasification. Research and development in this area will be focused on: (i) integrated tech-nologies for producing oil and gas by low temperature pyrolysis of low-rank coal; (ii) multistage processes for liquefaction of low-rank coal to produce liquid fuels; (iii) upgrades and improvement in the pro-cessing of oil and gas products from pyrolysis; (iv) clean and efficient semicoke/coal-fired power generation technology; (v) novel multistage semicoke/coal gasification technology; (vi) coal-based mass synthe-sis of chemicals and fuel; (vii) carbon dioxide capture, storage, con-version, and utilization; (viii) process simulation and system simulation integration.

In the next 5 to 10 years, CAS aims to develop breakthrough technologies in key areas that enable a comprehen-sive utilization scheme for low-rank coal best suited to China’s coal resource characteristics and which exhibits high energy efficiency, low pollution, and low emissions. This will speed the develop-ment of the next generation of efficient coal-fired power plants and a support-ing coal chemical industry.

Contact: Professor Wang Jianguo, [email protected]

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

Within the

next five years,

CAS plans to

achieve the goal

of detecting

minerals at a

depth of up to

2,000 m, using

locally developed

equipment.

600 kt/year coal-to-olefins plant

Diagram showing scientific resources and key technologies for the exploration of deep resources.

to pharmaceutical research and develop-ment in this region. And it can also drive local industries, such as manufacturers of magnets, vacuum components, electron-ics, and other high-quality components.”

The SSRF consists of a full energy electron injector, a storage ring, and beamlines. The injector accelerates electrons to 3.5 giga electron volts, then shoots them into the 432 m storage ring. There, special magnets induce the high-energy electrons to change direction. In the process, they lose energy in the form of synchrotron radiation, which goes into the beamlines, where it is used for experiments. Researchers all over China can apply through a peer-reviewed process for time on the beamlines, Zhao says. He also notes that since its opening in 2009, the facility has accommodated more than 3,600 users from over 200 universities and institutes. “The most popular fields of research are structural biology and materials science, both of which use the SSRF’s powerful light beams to obtain atomic-resolution structures of substances of interest, whether proteins or catalytic elements.”

High Magnetic Field LaboratoryConstruction on the CAS High Magnetic Field Labo-ratory (CHMFL), part of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, began in 2008, but some of its magnets are already up and running. The laboratory will soon have four water-cooled and

A mong its diverse activities, the one that distinguishes the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) from other research or-ganizations in China is its record of initiating and managing successful, large-scale scientific endeavors. “CAS has the ad-

vantage in designing and building these kinds of facilities, because we have a long history of designing and building very similar facilities in the past,” explains Kuang Guangli, director of CAS’s High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Hefei. “It is very hard for people outside of CAS to do similar work,” be-cause other institutions in China lack this experience, he says.

Lü Yonglong, director-general of CAS’s Bureau of International Coopera-tion, agrees. “CAS has taken the leadership role in developing the big sci-ence facilities in China,” he says, adding that 90% of such facilities are initiated, managed, and run by CAS. Lü traces big science in China back to the first Beijing Electron-Positron Collider (BEPC), a joint China-U.S. effort that went online in 1988. The upgraded BEPC is still used in cutting-edge research by Chinese and international scientists, alongside the newer and larger facilities such as the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and the Experimental Advanced Super-conducting Tokamak.

Big science at CAS also encompasses projects that involve ambitious spans of space, time, and research disciplines. Ongoing projects in this vein include the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth, the Chinese Ecological Research Network, and the Third Pole Environment program.

Some of CAS’s big-science programs are detailed below.

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation FacilityThe Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), China’s largest-ever scientific project, is a joint initiative of the central government, CAS, and the Shanghai municipal government. As a third-generation synchrotron radia-tion facility, its purpose is to generate extremely bright X-rays that can be used in research in fields as varied as structural biology, chemical catalysis, materials science, environmental science, and medicine. “Without world-class facilities, we cannot do world-class science,” says SSRF Director Zhao Zhentang. But he believes the Shanghai municipal government initi-ated the project in order to help reach additional goals such as developing cutting-edge technology and stimulating economic growth. “When the lo-cal government has the capability, this kind of project is very attractive for building a high standard of science and technology in the city” because it brings young, talented workers to the area, he says. “It is very beneficial Zhao Zhentang

Kuang Guangli

“CAS has

taken the

leadership role

in developing

the big science

facilities in

China.”

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

Editorial News Report: Major Research Programs and Platforms

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics

27

one hybrid magnets, says CHMFL Director Kuang, and its aim is to generate a 40-tesla steady-state magnetic field. Already, Kuang says, the facility is unique in China, and ac-cess to it is vital for researchers working at the cutting edge of materials science, bio-science, chemistry, and condensed matter physics. Like the SSRF, the facility is open to users from other institutions who submit compelling proposals; the CHMFL also has an in-house team of more than 50 scientists who study physics, bioscience, and medi-cine. Last year, research at the laboratory generated over 80 peer-reviewed publica-tions.

In addition to its scientific research mis-sion, the CHMFL also serves as a test bed for new semiconductor, superconductor, and materials technology, Kuang says. Techniques developed there have already been applied to other large-scale scientific projects, such as the SSRF.

Experimental Advanced Superconducting TokamakThe Experimental Advanced Supercon-ducting Tokamak (EAST) is a step toward an extraordinarily ambitious goal: solving the world’s energy problems. That solution, says Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) Di-rector Li Jiangang, would come from nucle-ar fusion, a potentially inexhaustible energy source that would be safe and pollution-free. But to be viable, he explains, fusion plants would need to withstand tempera-tures in the hundreds of millions of degrees as well as high-energy neutron bombard-ment—feats that are well beyond the limits of today’s materials. The purpose of EAST, which went online in 2006, is to push those limits, developing components and tech-niques that can be used in the ITER fusion reactor, an international research project

scheduled to begin operations in France in 2019. Li estimates that com-mercially viable fusion power may still be 50 years off.

For the IPP, which, like the CHMFL, is part of the Hefei Institutes of Physi-cal Science, EAST represents the latest generation in a string of experi-mental tokamak (that is, high-temperature plasma-based) fusion devices going back several decades. “As a result of the past 30 years’ effort, we have taken the leading role among steady-state, long-pulse tokamak facili-ties in the world,” Li says. This has been possible because China’s growing energy consumption means it needs fusion more urgently than any other country, he explains, adding, “Also, Chinese leaders take the long view. Fifty years in China is nothing.”

National Center for Nanoscience and TechnologyRather than exploring frontiers at extreme energies or high magnetic fields, the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST) in Beijing is looking to disciplinary boundaries for new discoveries. “Our mission is to create interdisciplinary collaborations, and also serve as a platform for tech-nology transfer from basic to applied, as well as for translational research in nanoscience,” says NCNST Director Wang Chen. Founded in 2003 as a joint venture of CAS and two top Chinese universities, Peking University and Tsinghua University, NCNST invites both domestic and international scientists to use its facilities to conduct research with colleagues from other disciplines and institutions. It also has its own researchers, who have back-grounds ranging from biochemistry to physical chemistry to condensed matter physics.

NCNST facilities include various specialized laboratories for developing and testing nanomaterials; it also manages a database and publishes an SCI-indexed journal, Nanoscale. Wang says the center is succeeding so far in nurturing interdisciplinary collaborations, and is also working with companies on technology transfer. The furthest advanced of these col-laborations, with the State Grid Corporation of China, has put an NCNST-developed nanocoating on the company’s power lines that prevents ice formation and sparking.

Center for Earth Observation and Digital EarthAt the headquarters of the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth (CEODE), visitors won’t find any gleaming, expensive scientific instruments. Instead, what’s on display is the Earth itself. This is appropriate, since CE-ODE’s major mission is to gather vast stores of high-quality data on our planet and make it available for research. The Center was born from a con-solidation of three more specialized CAS units in 2007, and appropriately, it integrates a range of methods to fulfill its mission. It manages two satellites and three satellite receiving stations, operates four remote-sensing aircraft, and is developing new software for image processing and databases to store information and make it available. The three satellite receiving stations collect data on all of China and much of Asia, and research within the insti-tute covers questions such as the impact of climate change on the coun-try’s land, atmosphere, and water, and monitoring of natural disaster areas and subsequent recovery, says CEODE Director-General Guo Huadong.

But, in keeping with its name, CEODE’s work does not stop at China’s borders. The aim of the Digital Earth project, of which it is a key part, is to compile remote sensing data from around the planet onto a platform that will enable researchers everywhere to make sense of the information and perform simulations. The first International Symposium on Digital Earth was held in Beijing in 1999, and international interest in the idea has only grown since then. In 2009, the sixth symposium, also held in Beijing, drew participants from more than 40 countries. CEODE’s headquarters house offices of six international organizations, including the International Society

Li Jiangang

“As a result

of the past 30

years’ effort,

we have taken

the leading role

among steady-

state, long-pulse

tokamak facilities

in the world.”

28

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

Wang Chen

for Digital Earth, UNESCO’s International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage, and the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk program.

Chinese Ecosystem Research NetworkThe Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), founded in 1988, is a terrestrial version of CEODE, collecting and processing data from ecologi-cal stations across the country. One of the oldest long-term ecological re-search networks in the world and a key member of International Long-term Ecological Research Network, it now comprises 42 field stations covering every type of ecosystem in China, five disciplinary sub-centers, and one synthesis center, says Yu Guirui, who directs the synthesis center. Its mis-sion is three-fold: Long-term monitoring of 280 ecological indicators in the atmosphere, soil, water, flora, and fauna at field station sites; research on the structures, functions, and dynamics of China’s major ecosystems; and outreach, or demonstration, to disseminate best practices in ecosystem management to farmers and others.

The 42 field stations belong to different institutes within CAS, Yu explains, so one important task of the synthesis center has been to standardize data collection processes and integrate information from various sources. The data can then be shared with other researchers and the public and used by CERN scientists to develop scientific publications, reports, and policy recommendations. The major research areas for the network have changed with available technologies and the needs of the country; hot topics at present include the structures, functions, and services of ecosystems; ecosystem cycle and carbon budget assessment; ecosystem responses to climate change and adaptation; and biodiversity features and mainte-nance. One 10-year-old project within CERN, ChinaFLUX, focuses on the movement over time of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Both ChinaFLUX and CERN as a whole have close ties with other national and international networks that carry out ecological monitoring.

Third Pole EnvironmentThe Plateau and its surrounding mountains sit astride a dozen countries and together hold more than 100,000 km2 of glaciers. More than one billion people rely on water from its ice and snowmelt, which fuels rivers such as the Indus and the Yangtze. The area appears to be responding particularly acutely to global climate change, and it in turn exerts a far-reaching effect on climate through its effects on the Asian Monsoon and the Westerlies that blow in from Europe. Yet compared with those other large expanses of ice and snow, the North and South Poles, little research has been done on the Tibetan Plateau region, which is why in 2009 researchers from 15 countries

gathered to launch a new program, the Third Pole Environment (TPE).

The program was initiated by the CAS In-stitute of Tibetan Plateau Research, which saw that in order to truly understand con-ditions on the third pole, a trans-national network of field stations would be needed. Today, says institute Director Yao Tandong, “We have more than 20 stations, but that’s still not enough.” Researchers use the sta-tions to collect data on processes ranging from geological uplift to changes in the mass balance of glaciers to wind speed, and use it to answer an array of questions about the TPE. “Among all these studies, we think water problems are the key,” says Yao, since “water processes will also influ-ence ecosystems, soil systems, and human activities.”

Museums and Botanical GardensCAS’s many museums and botanical gar-dens are multipurpose facilities that house collections, enable taxonomy and other basic research, and serve as a platform for science education. The 13 CAS botanical gardens, scattered all over mainland China, contain thousands of plant species, while its 18 museums showcase everything from dinosaurs to marine biota to insects. The latter includes Asia’s largest herbarium, the Institute of Botany’s National Herbarium, which dates back to 1929 and boasts more than 2.6 million specimens.

“Among all

these studies,

we think water

problems are

the key. Water

processes will

also influence

ecosystems,

soil systems,

and human

activities.”

Yu Guirui

Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research

High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Hefei.

29


CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

30 Research

A number of

fundamental

research

achievements

have come

out of the HIRFL

accelerator

complex,

including the

first direct mass

measurements

of short-lived

nuclides.

“Big Science” Facilities of CASOverviewThe Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is the organization that undertakes the majority of the construction and opera-tion of China’s “big science” facilities. At present, 12 large facilities are in operation, 11 are under construction, and one is to be built (Table 1).

Bird’s eye view of the Beijing Electron Positron Collider.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

THE

INST

ITU

TE O

F H

IGH

EN

ERG

Y PH

YSIC

S, C

AS

Beijing Electron Positron Collider

The Beijing Electron Positron Collider project carried out an electron-positron col-lision for the first time in October 1988. The project includes the collider (BEPC), the Beijing Spectrometer (BES), and the Bei-jing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF). Since its first run in 1989, its many fruitful and influential achievements include the precise measurement of τ mass and had-ron cross section (R value) of 2–5 GeV, the finding of a new resonance lying in “proton-antiproton” mass threshold, and the finding of a new particle of X(1835).

In 2009, the collider was upgraded (it is now called BEPCII) and in 2011 the peak collision luminosity set a new record of 6.49×1032 cm-2s-1, 65 times the peak val-ue of BEPC with equal energy, while the maximum daily integral luminosity reached 29.35 pb-1, more than 80 times the maxi-mum historical value of BEPC.

BEPCII is one machine with two purpos-es: it is used both for high energy physics and as a synchrotron radiation facility. The research at BESIII is predominantly in charm physics, where advances in identifica-tion and characterization of the multiquark state, as well as the glue-ball and mixed state, are expected in the future, securing China’s position as an important player in international high-energy physics and in charm physics experimental research. The BESIII collaboration consists of 30 Chinese institutes, 11 European institutes, five U.S. institutes, and three other Asian institutes.

BSRF is also used as a synchrotron radi-ation light source to provide light from vac-uum ultraviolet to extremely rigid X-ray, in order to carry out applied research in inter-disciplinary fields such as condensed mat-ter physics, material science, biomedicine, environmental science, land and mineral resources, and microprocessing technol-ogy. Fourteen beams and corresponding experiment stations are open to users

Research Facilities and Platforms

CAS/In Focus

in China and abroad. Six of them concurrently provide the synchrotron radiation light.

Contact: Professor Zhao Jingwei, [email protected]

In Operation Under Construction To Be Built

Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPCII) (major upgrade in progress)

Meridian Space Weather Monitoring Project (Meridian Project)

Soft X-Ray Free Electron Laser Test Facility (SXFEL)

Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL)

Five-Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)

Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) or Guoshoujing Telescope

Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (partially operational)

Hefei Synchrotron Radiation Facility

National Earth Observation Satellite Data Receiving Networks

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)

Multi-Purpose Marine Research Vessel (MORV)

Remote Sensing Aircraft Wuhan Biological Safety Laboratory

China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station

Chinese Aeronautic Remote Sensing System (CARSS)

BPL and BPM Time Service Systems

National Facility for Protein Science in Shanghai

ShenGuang-II Laser Facility China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS)

Germplasm Bank of Wild Species in Southwest China

Auxiliary Heating System for EAST

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF)

Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment

“Shiyan 1” Research Vessel

Table 1. “Big Science” Facilities in China


Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou The Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) comprises of the superconducting ECR ion source, the 1.7 m Sector Focused Cyclotron (SFC, K=69), the large Sector-Separated Cyclotron (SSC, K=450), the Cooler-Storage Main Ring (CSRm) and the Cooler-Storage Experimental Ring (CSRe) of the newly built Cooler-Storage Ring (CSR), and the radioactive ion beam lines (RIBLL1 and RIBLL2) and experimental terminals. It is capable of providing ion beams from protons to uranium with energies of up to 2,800 MeV/u and 1,000 MeV/u for protons and heavy ions, respectively. The studies in heavy ion physics and its related disciplines being carried out at HIRFL include fundamental research on heavy ion nuclear physics, radioactive ion beam physics, nuclear astrophysics, high energy density physics, highly charged atomic physics, hadronic physics, and experimental research in aerospace science and technology, materials science, and biomedicine.

A number of fundamental research achievements have come out of the HIRFL accelerator complex, including the first direct mass measurements of short-lived nuclides, which provides the key to understanding the rap-id proton capture process (rp process), one of the nuclear reactions that may be responsible for heavy element formation in the universe. Relative mass precision up to 10-6 has been reached. In applied research, clinical trials for tumor therapy, which began in 2006, have successfully treated 103 shallow-seated and 73 deep-seated tumor patients.

The National Laboratory for the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (NHIRFL) was established in 1991. NHIRFL has provided advanced experimental condi-tions to over 160 users both in China and abroad, and has set up cooperative rela-tionship with 40 well-known universities, research institutions, and high-technology enterprises.

Contact: Professor Liang Qiang, [email protected]

The Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou.

CRE

DIT

S: (F

ROM

TO

P) C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

MO

DER

N P

HYS

ICS,

CAS

; C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

PLAS

MA

PHYS

ICS,

CAS

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)

Experimental Advanced Superconducting TokamakExperimental Advanced Superconducting To-kamak (EAST) was designed based on the lat-est tokamak achievements of the past century. Its mission is to conduct cutting-edge physics and engineering research on advanced toka-mak fusion reactors. This will provide a scien-tific base for experimental reactor design and construction, and promote the advancement of plasma physics and related disciplines and technologies. It has three distinct features: a noncircular cross-section, fully superconduct-ing magnets, and fully actively water cooled plasma facing components (PFCs) which will be beneficial for exploring advanced steady-state plasma operation modes. Experience from the

construction of, and research at, EAST will provide a foundation for the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor proj-ect (ITER).

Aiming at long pulse plasma discharges, a series of experimental tech-niques have been developed or improved on EAST in recent years, such as ion cyclotron heating, plasma diagnostics and control, and lithium wall con-ditioning. Additionally, the effective heating and current drive were realized under a variety of plasma configurations, and the divertor operation was ex-plored in the steady-state mode. Extensive international cooperation focus-ing on EAST shows that this project has become one of the most important physical experiment platforms for high-parameters long-pulse plasma.

At present, EAST also provides machine time to researchers outside the Institute of Plasma Physics for different research purposes. Long-stand-ing cooperative projects include: radio frequency heating research by the National Institute of Fusion Science (NIFS, Japan) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, United States); electron cyclotron emission, charge compound, and exchange spectrum research by the Fusion Re-search Center at Texas University (FRC, United States); balance control and advanced tokamak operation mode by the General Atomics (GA, United States). In the last EAST experiment campaign, over 100 foreign scientists participated in the experiment.

Contact: Professor Dong Shaohua, [email protected]


Main Characteristics of LAMOST

Aperture ofprimary mirror

Aperture of reflecting corrector

Effective aperture in diameter Field of view Focal plane

6.67 m x 6.05 m 5.72 m x 4.40 m f3.6 m-4.9 m f 5° f 1.75 m

Focal length Number of fibers Spectral ranges Spectral resolution Sky coverage

20 m 4,000 370~900 nm 1,800 Declination -10°~ +90°

The Guoshoujing Telescope during winter.

CRE

DIT

S: (F

ROM

TO

P) B

Y H

U W

EIC

HEN

G, T

HE

SHAN

GH

AI IN

STIT

UTE

OF

APPL

IED

PHYS

ICS,

CAS

; C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E N

ATIO

NAL

AST

RON

OM

ICAL

OBS

ERVA

TORI

ES, C

AS

SSRF Phase-I Beamlines

BL08U1-A: Soft X-Ray Spectromicroscopy Beamline

BL13W1: X-Ray Imaging and Biomedical Applications Beamline

BL14W1: XAFS Beamline

BL14B1: Diffraction Beamline

BL15U1: Hard X-Ray Micro-Focusing Beamline

BL16B1: Small Angle X-Ray Scattering Beamline

BL17U1: Macromolecular Crystallography Beamline

A view of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility campus.

Guoshoujing Telescope The Guoshoujing Telescope, or Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spec-troscopic Telescope (LAMOST), is a quasi-meridian reflecting Schmidt tele-scope located in the Xinglong Station, a National Research Facility open to the astronomical community and operated by the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC).

Its optical system consists of a reflecting Schmidt corrector, Ma, at the northern end, a spherical primary mirror, Mb, at the southern end, and a focal plane in between. Mb has a size of 6.67 m x 6.05 m, which consists of 37 hexagonal spherical sub-mirrors, each with a diagonal diameter of 1.1 m and a thickness of 75 mm. Ma is 5.72 m x 4.40 m and consists of 24 hex-agonal plane sub-mirrors with a diagonal diameter of 1.1 m and a thickness of 25 mm. The 4 m focal plane accommodates up to 4,000 fibers, which collects light from distant and faint celestial objects, allowing several tens of thousands of spectra per night to be achieved. This is the highest spectrum acquisition rate in the world and will be a useful tool for studying the large-scale structure of the universe, the structure and evolution of the Milky Way, and the cross-identification of multiwaveband surveys of celestial objects.

Observation plans for the first pilot project were designed in 2011 with the help of scientists in the Center for Operation and Develop-ment of LAMOST. The pilot survey began on October 23, 2011, and by the end of 2011, 230,000 spectra across 117 observation areas were released.

Contact: Dr. Wang Dan, [email protected]

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility The Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) is a third-generation medium-energy light source. It consists of a 150 MeV electron linac, a full-energy booster, a 3.5 GeV electron storage ring, and seven Phase-I beamlines and experimental stations (see table above). The SSRF storage ring, consisting of 20 lattice cells, is designed to run at a beam current of 200~300 mA in beam emittance of 3.9 nm.rad. It can provide a very bright light beam in both the soft X-ray and hard X-ray regions, ranging from 0.1 keV to 40 keV, and a maximum brilliance of 1020 photons/s/mm2/mrad2/0.1%BW can be produced using advanced insertion devices.

Since May 2009, SSRF has provided 4,000 to 4,500 hours of beam time annually, with a beam availability of 95.7% and 97.6% in 2010 and 2011, respectively. To date it has accepted 2,171 research proposals and received 3,780 individual users, with 9,710 user visits from 235 institutions. Over 400 papers have been published using SSRF data, including 12 papers in Nature, Science, and Cell, and 89 papers in other high-impact journals. SSRF has become a very important experimental platform in China for studies in structural biology, chemical and environmental sciences, condensed matter physics, materials science, nanosciences, biomedical applications, and many other multidisciplinary fields. However, the existing beam lines at SSRF are far from meeting users’ demands. New beam lines are currently under construction with further lines proposed in the future. In addition, a soft X-ray free-electron laser facility will be built on the campus adjacent to SSRF.

So far, SSRF has signed collaboration agreements with nearly 20 synchrotron radiation laboratories around the world, and is interested in strengthening further international cooperation involving both the synchrotron radiation facility and its application.

Contact: Dr. Hou Zhengchi, houzhengchi@ sinap.ac.cn


ShenGuang-II Laser Facility The ShenGuang-II (SG-II) project was launched in May 2002 to develop a multifunctional high-energy laser system (the 9th beam) for physical experi-ments, and an upgrade is expected to complete in 2013.

SG-II has fired over 4,600 times with high-quality, high-stability, and high-repeatability performance, to provide dozens of complex physical experi-ments, with an average success rate of over 90% (based on data up to 2011).

Contact: Dr. Zhang Yan, [email protected]

• Operation ability: 500 fires per year

• Operation time: >2,100 hours/year (<100 hours of failure time)

• Terminal output energy: 6 kJ/1ns/1�0 (eight beams)

2 kJ/1ns/3�0 for �380 µm target

4.5 kJ/3ns/1�0

2.25 kJ/3ns/2�0 3�0

• Failure: <5% of operation time

• Successful shooting: 70%, 90% (for special targets)

• Terminal energy fluctuation: ±15% (between beams)

• Angle drift: ≤5” (RMS)

• Thermal aberrations recovery time: 1.5 hours

9th beam}} 8 beams

MainTechnicalSpecificationsofthe ShenGuang-II Laser Facility

Germplasm Bank of Wild Species in Southwest China The Germplasm Bank of Wild Species includes a seed bank, a vitro bank for plants, a DNA library, a microbial library, and an animal germplasm bank, as well as the experimental research platform for plant genomics and seed biology.

The project was launched in 2005 and was put into trial operation in 2007. It is currently one of only two wildlife germplasm banks in the world and is equipped with advanced facilities which can effectively conserve the seeds of wild plants, living plant materials, DNA, microbial strains, and animal germplasm resources. The bank established the germplasm resources database and information sharing management system and has built a technical system and scientific research platform that inte-grates functional genetics tests, cloning, and verification with the ability to collect and analyze wild germplasm samples throughout the country. Over 800 people have been trained in seed conservation and more than 50 organizations and universities are active in seed collection programs for the preservation of these precious genetic resources. Collaborative relationships has been built with international partners such as the Roy-al Botanic Gardens Kew, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (both in the United Kingdom), and the World Agroforestry Center (Nairobi) for the conservation of wild plants, technical training, exchange of staff, and joint research.

Contact: Dr. Yang Xiangyun, [email protected]

CRE

DIT

S: (C

LOC

KW

ISE

FRO

M T

OP)

CO

URT

ESY

OF

THE

SHAN

GH

AI IN

STIT

UTE

OF

OPT

ICS

AND

FIN

E M

ECH

ANIC

S, C

AS;

BY L

I LIA

NYI

; TH

E DA

YA B

AY C

OLL

ABO

RAT

ION

ShenGuang-II upgrade device. Stored seeds at the Germplasm Bank of Wild Species.

Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment is located in the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in south Guangdong Province. The main sci-entific goal is to precisely determine the neutrino mixing angle θ13 by detecting neutrinos from the reactors at different distances. The re-sult will not only accurately measure a fundamental parameter of the nature, but also indicate the research direction of future neutrino experiments.

The experiment is divided into two stages, with the first recently com-pleted on February 17, 2012. Six neutrino detectors were used, of which two were in the Daya Bay near hall (EH1), one in Ling’ao near hall (EH2), and three in the far hall (EH3).

On March 8, 2012, data on a new kind of neutrino transformation was released. These result showed that sin2(2θ13) was 9.2%, and the error was 1.7%. The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment has measured a nonzero value for the neutrino mixing angle θ13 with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations.

This precise measurement will add to our understanding of the neutrino oscillation and pave the way for future investigation of matter–antimatter asymmetry in the universe.

Contact: Dr. Liu Libing, [email protected] Bay experiment hall and detectors layout.


“Shiyan 1” Research Vessel“Shiyan 1” is the first research vessel in service that could be considered as a large-scale CCS classification SWATH catamaran research vessel. It is equipped with an AC variable frequency electric propulsion system, with advanced features like whole-vessel noise and vibration reduction, whole vessel automation, and dynamic positioning, amongst others. These features are intended to meet the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research needs for ocean water acoustics, physical oceanography, marine geology, marine biology, marine chemistry, and marine and atmospheric environmental studies. It can support a wide range of large-scale observation networks which include layout, observation, control, remote sensing, and surveillance tasks. It can also carry out research using a real-time 3-D marine environment monitoring system and comprehensive information system. It is the most professional and ideal platform for acoustic disciplines and multidisciplinary marine experimentation.

Contact: Dr. Lian Shumin, [email protected]

Scientific Plant Conservation in CAS Botanical GardensThe Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) system of botanical gardens consists of 13 gardens whose locations represent the breadth of China’s geography and flora. The Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, for example, represents the Yunnan-Myanmar-Thailand region of the Malesian subkingdom, while the Kunming Botanical Garden epitomizes the Yunnan Plateau region of the Sino-Himalayan forest subkingdom. The North China region of the Sino-Japanese Forest subkingdom is encapsulated by the Beijing Botanical Garden, and the Turpan Desert Botanical Garden provides a glimpse into the Songaria region of the Central Asiatic Desert subking-dom. From its early days, CAS has considered the establishment and main-tenance of botanical gardens as an important strategy for the conservation,

Meridian Space Weather Monitoring ProjectThis project deploys continent-scale, ground-based arrays of geomagnetic field, radio, optical, and sounding rocket instrumentation along the 120° E longitude meridian, and several other stations distributed along the 30° N latitude line, to monitor the solar-terrestrial coupling and its influence on the planetary environment.

It can continuously monitor the magnetic field, electric field, density, tem-perature, particle composition, and other space environment parameters from the surface of the Earth into the upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere, and further out into interplanetary space, more than a dozen times the radius of the earth.

Based on this project, the International Meridian Circle Program was initi-ated.

Contact: Dr. Yang Guotao, [email protected]

Observatory distribution of the Meridian Project.

CRE

DIT

S: (F

ROM

TO

P) C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E SO

UTH

CH

INA

SEA

INST

ITU

TE O

F O

CEA

NO

LOG

Y, C

AS;

CO

URT

ESY

OF

THE

CEN

TER

FOR

SPAC

E SC

IEN

CE

AND

APPL

IED

RESE

ARC

H, C

AS

The “Shiyan 1” research vessel.

utilization, and sustainable development of China’s plant diversity. With an emphasis on scientific conservation, the CAS botanical gardens

play leading and essential roles in developing China’s broader network of botanical gardens. The CAS botanical gardens have successfully collected and maintained over 21,000 species of native plants in their living collections, which form a conservation network covering 60% of the plant species on the Chinese mainland. The collections have been established based on plant ex-situ conservation principles and often include field records and ongoing phenologic observations, providing a solid basis for subsequent scientific research. In recent years, CAS botanical gardens have made significant achievements in research areas such as ecology, coevolution, pollination biology, seed biology, and ex-situ conservation, enabling some of the gardens to approach international standards. The CAS botanical gardens have also conducted active outreach work in regional in

Maximum capacity (people)

72 Endurance (miles) 8,000

Maximum fuel capacity (tons) 290 Holding force

(days) 40

Drinking water (tons) 100 Working speed

(section) 1.5–15

Performance of the Expedition Vessel


Chinese Ecosystem Research NetworkThe Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) was founded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1988. It consists of a Synthesis

situ biodiversity conservation, working cooperatively with international and local agencies. The scientific plant conservation strategies used in the CAS botanical gardens play an important supporting role in industrialization of crops, medicines, flowers, and fruits. At the same time, scientific knowledge generated from botanical research projects has been distributed widely to the general public through a series of intensive environmental educational programs.

Looking forward to future developments in the CAS botanical gardens, plant diversity conservation will continue to be enhanced, collections will expand to cover more native plant species, and systematic evaluation of germplasms will be conducted. Research facilities and capacity will also be continually strengthened to meet the needs of national strategic requirements for plant resources. Moreover, the CAS botanical gardens will play a catalytic role within China’s botanical garden system by pro-moting networking, training, and personnel exchange among botanical gardens in China.

Contact: Dr. Miao Haixia, [email protected]

Aks AkesuAls AilaoshanAs AnsaiBjF Beijing F BjU Beijing UniversityBn BannaCbs ChangbaishanCl Cele Cs ChangshuCw Changwu Dh Donghu

Dhs Dinghushan Dth DongtinghuDyw DayawanErds Erdos Fk FukangFq FengqiuGgs GonggashanHb HaibeiHj HuanjiangHl HailunHs Heshan

Ht HuitongJzw Jiaozhouwan Lc LuanchengLs LasaLz LinzeMx MaoxianNm NaimanNmg NeimengguPyh PoyanghuQyz QianyanzhouSj Sanjiang

Snj Shennongjia Spt ShapotouSy Sanya Sy ShenyangTh TaihuTy Taoyuan Yc YuchengYtan Yingtan

Field station distribution map of CERN.

CRE

DIT

S: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

Scientific botanical gardens overseen by CAS.

Research Center, five disciplinary sub-centers on water, soil, atmosphere, biology, and aquatic systems as well as 42 field stations covering nine

major ecosystems in China: cropland, forest, grassland, desert, marsh, lake, bay, Karst, and urban ecosystems.

The core tasks of CERN are defined to be long-term ecosystem monitoring, research, and carrying out ecological trials. It is responsible for monitoring the long-term changes of various ecosystems in most areas in China, studying eco-system structure, function, pattern, and process, and conducting trials on optimizing ecosystem management. It focuses on six core areas: eco-system biogenic elements and water cycle pro-cess; response and adaptation of ecosystems to global climate change; biodiversity conservation and the use of biological resources; ecosystem restoration and sustainability; impacts of human activities on ecosystem structure and function; and application of ecological monitoring, model-ing, and eco-informatics.

During more than two decades of devel-opment, CERN has grown to be one of the world’s leading networks on ecosystem moni-toring and research, providing scientific data on a long-term and systematic basis for informed decision-making on eco-environmental protec-tion, wise use of resources, sustainable devel-opment, and to address global climate change in China.

Contact: Dr. Zhuang Xuliang, [email protected]

Talent and EducationCAS/In Focus

for a decade during the Cultural Revolution, and in the '80s and '90s, the overwhelming majority of China’s top graduates in science went abroad, never to return. As Zhou Zhonghe, director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing, says, “Why would they come back? The salaries were miserable.”

Recruitment ProgramsCAS’s ability to attract young, foreign-trained scientists comes in part from special talent-recruitment programs aimed at this cohort. One of the earli-est of these, the Hundred Talents Program, started in 1994 with the aim of recruiting hundreds of outstanding new hires domestically and abroad by the end of the century. Applicants who passed the competitive selection process received generous startup funding for their laboratories and other benefits. The program continues today; it now provides eligible new hires with nearly half a million U.S. dollars in startup funds for their first three years of research. More than 2,000 researchers have benefited from the program so far, most of whom have overseas experience.

One of them, Wu Fuyuan, spent a year as a visiting scholar at the Uni-versity of Rennes 1 in France, and later left a faculty position in Shandong Province’s Jining University in 2003 to join CAS’s Institute of Geology and Geophysics. “At that time it wasn’t easy for the younger generation to get research grants,” he recalls. “The Hundred Talents Program provided 2 mil-lion yuan [about US$240,000 at the time], so that was a big grant for a young scientist.” Wu is now the deputy director of his institute, and last year won the TWAS Prize for Earth Sciences. In hindsight, “I think my choice was the right one,” Wu says, citing the institute’s good facilities, access to funding opportunities, and freedom from teaching duties. And joining CAS has afforded him unique research opportunities, he says. “In universi-ties, research is organized by individual professors, but the Academy really focuses on important problems in science or in the development of the country,” organizing teams around high-priority research projects, he says. Wu is part of a large collaboration that since 2006 has studied the North China Craton, a large section of the earth’s crust that spans parts of China, Mongolia, and Korea.

A more recent Hundred Talents recipient, Liu Lingli, earned a Ph.D. at North Carolina State University and did a postdoc with the US Environ-mental Protection Agency before taking a faculty position at the Institute of Botany (IB-CAS) late last year. The startup package she received through

A key factor in the revitalization of Chinese Academy of Sci-ences (CAS) research under the Knowledge Innovation

Program, or KIP was the push to recruit internationally competitive talent to CAS institutes (see page 43). “There are a few factors that are very important in doing sci-ence; the most important is the talent,” says Yang Xueming, director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Reaction Dynam-ics at the Dalian Institute of Physics. Yang himself earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Barbara and worked at institutions in the United States and Taiwan before returning to the mainland in 2001. There he designs and builds instruments to investigate chemical reactions, particularly those that occur on the surfaces of materi-als or in the gas phase.

For CAS institutes and universities, re-turnees like Yang (known as haigui, or sea turtles) represent a young, energetic tal-ent pool with strong credentials. With their foreign language skills and international networks, they have been a major driver in opening up China’s research by publishing in international journals and forging collabo-rations with colleagues overseas. “We are trying to create an international atmosphere for doing research” and ensure that China’s researchers are internationally competi-tive, says Lü Yonglong, director-general of the Bureau of International Cooperation at CAS.

The emphasis on recruitment is also an effort to make up for lost time. Higher edu-cation and most research activities stopped

“For CAS

institutes and

universities,

returnees like

Yang represent

a young,

energetic talent

pool with strong

credentials.”

Yuan YaxiangWu Fuyuan Yang Xueming

Zhou Zhonghe

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

Editorial News Report: Attracting Top Talent

36

Zhou Qi

37

Similarly, Xi Nanhua, a professor at the Institute of Mathematics in Beijing who has spent years studying and teaching abroad, most recently at the University of California, Riverside, says that cultural familiarity and a sense of duty keep him coming back to China. “China still doesn’t have enough good scientists, so as a well-educated sci-entist I should stay here to do more work for the country,” he says. For him, an im-portant part of that work is training the next generation. “I like to train young students, to get more people working in this area,” he says. In addition to his work with students in his own research group, he has helped devise courses for graduate students in the institute.

But patriotism and recruiting programs aren’t the only factors bringing scientists back to China; the improved research con-ditions at many CAS institutes also play a role. The IVPP’s Zhou has seen the change first-hand, having worked at the institute as an associate research fellow in the early 1990s. After his first few years there, he went to the University of Kansas to earn his Ph.D., an experience he credits with giving him a better understanding of concepts such as population biology and evolution. He returned to IVPP in 1999. “Before I came back there were very few people of my age in the institute,” he recalls. He was the first scientist to return to IVPP after a stint abroad, but he was soon joined by oth-ers. “Since I came back I think the younger generation, in their 30s, have gradually be-come the major force in the research here,” he says. He himself has published exten-sively on early birds, feathered dinosaurs and pterosaurs, and interactions between different types of vertebrates, and is both a member of CAS and a foreign associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Nearby, at the Institute of Computational Mathematics and Scientific/Engineer-ing Computing, Professor Yuan Yaxiang tells a simi-lar story. He first came to the institute in 1981 as a graduate student and later became a professor there, but also spent time doing research in the United King-dom, the United States, and Germany. “When I was a student here in 1982, most of professors were very old, and the institute was

the Hundred Talents Program compared favorably with those offered at U.S. institutions, but she admits, “To be honest, I was very nervous when I decided to come back to China. The working pressure, the expensive living cost in Beijing and many other things made me hesitate.” She is al-ready convinced her choice was the right one, however, given IB-CAS’s high-quality facilities, the support she has received to build up her lab, the “transparent and fair” performance appraisal system, and the opportuni-ties to work with talented colleagues at IB-CAS and around the world. The institute has even provided her with free temporary housing to use for up to five years while she looks for a permanent home. Less than half a year after coming to IB-CAS Liu already had graduate students and a research as-sistant studying the impact of climate change and air pollution on ecological processes, work she hopes can be applied to policy development.

The success of the Hundred Talents Program has spawned other talent recruitment initiatives, both at CAS and other Chinese institutions, such as the Ministry of Science and Technology. “We probably took the leader-ship role in recruiting talented people from overseas, and other ministries learned from this,” says Lü. CAS itself now has an array of programs to attract talent from abroad at various stages of their careers. The Fellow-ships for Young International Scientists targets postdocs, for example, while the Visiting Professorships for Senior International Scientists sup-port those already on the tenure track. One highly competitive program, the Einstein Professorship, brings distinguished international experts to China for one to two weeks, where they visit CAS institutes and deliver a lecture at one of the CAS universities. After returning home, the pro-fessors are encouraged to keep in touch with their Chinese colleagues, and often host those colleagues or their students for short stints in their own labs. This last program is a good way to provide mentorship and feedback to young researchers who may have few senior colleagues at their own institutes, says Poo Mu-ming, the director of the Institute for Neuroscience.

The CAS AdvantageWhile talent recruitment programs may play a role in a scientist’s decision to join CAS, most say that their institutes, and China itself, were the primary draws. Zhou Qi, for example, worked at CAS’s Institute of Developmental Biology, then at INRA in Paris. Despite his love of European culture, he joined the Institute of Zoology in 2003 under the Hundred Talents Program. “I think it’s my duty, because I’m a Chinese scientist,” he says of his deci-sion to return. “CAS is my family. I really want to contribute.” Zhou has contributed by starting China’s first center for stem cell research and regen-erative medicine within the institute, and by doing groundbreaking work on how mature cells can be reprogrammed to become stem cells or different cell types.

Like Zhou, Pan Jianwei was drawn back to China by the opportunity to make a difference. He had earned his Ph.D. at the University of Vienna and was doing a postdoc there when he was offered a unique opportunity at his alma mater, the University of Science and Technology of China. “I decided to build a world-class quantum optics laboratory in China, mainly because China, our motherland, is changing rapidly, and it is our responsibility to be part of this great period rather than being bystanders,” he says. He joined the university in 2001, and in 2002 started its new Division of Quantum Physics and Quantum Information. As the division’s director, Pan oversees research aimed at developing communications and computing applica-tions for quantum principles. His group has so far published many results in high-profile journals, including an observation of an eight-photon quantum entanglement, and last year Pan, now 42, became the youngest member of CAS (see page 39). Jiang Lei

Xi Nanhua

Institute of ZoologyLaboratory at the Institute of Zoology

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

S BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG


38

China is also of particular interest for ecosystem researchers, says Fu Bojie, a professor at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES) in Beijing. Fu was a member of the first cohort of students to enter a university after the Cultural Revolution, and later spent a year at the University of Stirling in Scotland as part of his Ph.D. work. He joined RCEES in 1989 but couldn’t get adequate research funding, so in 1992 he again left China, this time for a postdoc at the Catholic University of Leuven’s Institute for Land and Water Management in Belgium. He returned in 1994, drawn by China’s diversity of ecosystems and the promise of a promotion to full professor. “For my research, being in China provides me more opportunities,” he says. Since then, he has seen RCEES improve continuously. “The institute has had a dramatic change in the past 10 years, in terms of young talent, equipment, atmosphere, and institutional management,” he says. Now a member of CAS, Fu helps coordinate the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), a 24-year-old project that monitors ecosystems across the country (see page 35).

Physics is another field where CAS has a particular recruitment advantage, says Ding Hong, chief scientist at Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, part of the Institute of Physics (IOP). In 2008, Ding left a tenured position at Boston College to take his current job. “I feel the potential in basic science in China over the next 10 years is much better than in the United States,” he explains. “The United States passed its peak in basic science investment several decades ago, but China is just starting its so-called golden years of science.” Since Ding uses synchrotron radiation to characterize materials, government investment in high-cost basic science facilities directly benefits his work (see page 27). He has published numerous well-cited papers on the properties of iron-based superconductors since going to Beijing.

For Philipp Khaitovich, a group leader at the CAS-Max Planck Society Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB), it was the institute’s early entry into an emerging field that was most attractive. A native of Mos-cow, Khaitovich was working at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany when he heard about plans for the PICB. “At that time, six or seven years ago, it was not so common to have high throughput bioinformatics data analysis and experimental labs in the same institute,” he says. Khaitovich joined the PICB in 2006; his research fo-cuses on discerning the molecular-level differences between human brains and those of other primates. “In many respects it has been better than I expected, because we really have some excellent students and postdocs in our group,” he says of his time at PICB. “It makes you happy when you can work with people who are so talented and at least partially share your interests.”

As China’s investment in sciences continues to grow, its need for skilled researchers who thrive in an international environment is set to keep ex-panding as well. One example is provided by the Institute for Plasma Physics Director Li Jiangang, who oversees nuclear fusion develop-ment. “For future research, we need a huge team,” he says, explaining that building a reactor requires about 2,000 people. To meet that need his institute places a high priority on recruitment at home and abroad, though without losing sight of the importance of developing existing staff: about 50 personnel are sent abroad for training or exchange each year, Li says.

CAS’s recruits report that they find the academy to be a great place to pursue a career. Writes IB-CAS’s Liu, “Indeed, the best job opportunities for Chinese young scientists who received rigorous scientific training overseas are at home.”

News Report

“It makes you

happy when you

can work with

people who

are so talented

and at least

partially share

your interests.”

Ding Hong

Philipp Khaitovich

organized in the Soviet style—it was very politically influenced,” he says. Under KIP the institute was reorganized and interna-tionalized, and researchers gained more control over how it is run. Such changes made the institute more appealing to sea turtles and others, and today, “Our institute has a lot of top mathematicians from all over the world,” he says.

For Jiang Lei, a professor at the Institute of Chemistry in Beijing, China’s improving quality of life was a factor in his decision to return. Jiang completed part of his Ph.D. work at the University of Tokyo, then worked in Japan for five years, first as a postdoc at the same university and then as a research-er at the Kanagawa Academy of Sciences and Technology. “When I was in Japan I went back to China every year, and every year I saw the changes,” he says. “This was very important for me in making the deci-sion to come back to China.” Jiang joined the Institute of Chemistry in 1999, and be-came a member of CAS just 10 years later. He studies materials found in nature, such as spider webs and lotus leaves, to identify what gives them their special properties, then mimics their structures to devise prod-ucts such as self-cleaning glass.

In some fields, China’s natural environ-ment also helps with recruitment. In 2007, as he was finishing his Ph.D. work in ver-tebrate paleontology at Harvard University, Canadian Corwin Sullivan found himself with a choice between a postdoc position at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, where he’d done his Master’s, and one at IVPP in Beijing. “Even then we heard so much in the West about Chinese vertebrate paleontology and the things that were be-ing discovered here,” he says. “Everyone was talking about field opportunities in China and opportunities to collaborate with Chinese colleagues, so to actually come

to the IVPP seemed like a great opportunity.” When IVPP offered him an associate professorship a few years later, he took it with-out hesitation, in part because China’s rich and relatively unex-plored fossil record makes it an excellent place for researchers in his field. “We’re seeing a bit of a fossil gold rush here,” he says. At IVPP he has been involved in describing several new dinosaur species, some with feathers and other bird-like characteristics.


the following improvements: institutes are authorized to create positions according to actual demands; select the awardees with an open, transparent, and competitive selection process; perform the recruitment process openly; and provide financial support to the awardees.

The plan has been gradually expanded, particularly during the national 12th Five-Year Plan period. According to the National Medium- and Long-term Talents Develop-ment Program and the CAS Talents Stra-tegic Plan, CAS has further improved the management in many ways, including al-lowing foreigners to apply, increasing fi-nancial support, increasing the number of awardees, and expanding the award cat-egories. At present, the program supports not only the returnees from overseas but also the talent recruited from domestic or-ganizations as well as providing additional financial support to the awardees of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars [1] and the Youth Thou-sand Talents Program [2]. CAS also encour-ages institutes to directly recruit talent from aboard. When the program has been op-erational for three years, CAS will assess

By the end of

2011, CAS had

successfully

introduced

253 high-

level overseas

researchers

through the

Thousand Talents

Program.

CRE

DIT

S: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

Professor Pan Jianwei (center), an awardee in the Thousand Talents Program, discusses an experiment in multiphoton entanglement with his colleagues and students.

39Talent and Educat ion in CAS CAS/In Focus

CAS Talent Cultivation and Recruitment ProgramIntroductionIn September 2009, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched the Talent Cultivation and Recruitment Program. This is a system-wide project, aimed at increasing recruitment and developing talent in various fields, with an overall goal of creating greater adaptability to the constantly changing requirements for expertise in China.

This program includes four major components. The first is the “Cultivation and Recruitment Plan of High-Level Talent,” which is being implemented mainly through the national Thousand Talents Program and the CAS Hun-dred Talents Program. These plans select top-level scientists who demon-strate ambition, ability, and passion. The second component is the “Culti-vation Plan of Excellent Young Scientists,” which aims to advance young scientists by providing special funding and through the establishment of organizations like the Youth Innovation Promotion Association. The third part of the program is the “Training Plan for Technical Talents and Admin-istrators,” which aims to retain the key technical talent within CAS, while recruiting further outstanding technical talent, and recognizing and motivat-ing these experts in effective ways. The fourth component is the “Overseas Intelligence Introduction and International Exchanges Plan,” which focuses on attracting and sponsoring outstanding overseas scholars and interna-tional scientists who are active at the forefront of science and technology to visit or work at CAS.

By the end of 2011, CAS had successfully introduced 253 high-level overseas researchers through the Thousand Talents Program, and re-cruited and supported 2,273 outstanding scientists from both domestic and overseas institutes, through the Hundred Talents Program. In addition, 690 young scientists have been given targeted, comprehensive research training by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association. Moreover, CAS se-lects and supports 300 young scientists annually for study abroad. In order to strengthen the cultivation of excellent young scientists in the institutes located in the western region of China, CAS has launched the “Western Light Scientists Project”. To date, 876 scientists have been sponsored, 187 Ph.D. students have been trained, and 234 visiting scholars from the west-ern provinces have been nurtured through this project. To build a strong team of support staff at CAS institutes, awards—financial and otherwise—have been given to 78 technical experts at home and abroad. Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 top workers have attended training and management courses through Lenovo College, as well as various training courses, forums, and seminars. To support international cooperation, 92 research groups have been formed through the International Partner Group Program, which has attracted 694 excellent scientific research personnel. Furthermore, 742 outstanding foreign scientists have been brought to China and honored as CAS Visiting Professors for Senior International Scientists, while 240 young researchers from different countries have won the CAS Fellowships for Young International Scientists.

The CAS Hundred Talents ProgramIntroduced in 1994, the Hundred Talents Program is the first high-quality talent recruitment program in China. With financial support from the Ministry of Finance, the goal of the program is to recruit hundreds of outstanding young scientists from abroad and within China through the end of the 20th century. To ensure successful implementation, CAS made

Professor Chen Yaning (third from left), sponsored by the Western Light Scientists Project, elucidates the eco-hydrological process, the mechanisms, and adaptation strategy of the desert riparian forest in response to drought stress in arid region of the Inland River Basin.

Talent and EducationCAS/In Focus

the performance of the awardees in terms of research achievements and laboratory condi-tions. Only the top 20%

will receive continued support while the title and honor of being a Hundred Talents Program winner will be revoked if the final assessment is failed.

In the past 18 years, CAS has attracted a large number of outstanding young scientists via this program. By the end of 2011, 2,237 excellent Ph.D.-level scientists under 38 years old had been recruited. Most of them had experience studying or working overseas: 46.4% in the United States, 18.3% in Europe, and 13.4% in Japan. With support from the program, these awardees have established excellent research teams, made innovative discoveries, and published a large number of high-quality papers. They have also significantly contributed to the national capacity of scientific and technological innovation. Among awardees in the Hundred Talents Program, about a quarter have been awarded the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, nearly 90 have become chief scientists in the national “973” Program [3] and 57 have been elected to be CAS or Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) members.

Recruitment Program of Foreign ExpertsThe Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts (also known as the Recruit-ment Program of Global Experts, and designed particularly for foreign ex-perts of non-Chinese origin) was launched in 2011 to attract more high-

caliber foreign scientists. The program is implemented by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) under the supervision of the Working Group on High-Level Overseas Talents Introduction.

The program aims to introduce between five hundred and one thousand high-level foreign experts over a 10-year period to cope with the demand for expertise in key sectors of China’s socioeconomic development. A strong emphasis is being placed on the introduction of well-established scientists, leading experts in science and technology, and innovative international teams ca-pable of achieving critical technological breakthroughs,

advancing high-tech industries, and promoting new disciplines. Experts introduced under the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts

are entitled to preferential treatment in international travel, residency, medi-cal care, insurance, housing, taxation, and remuneration. The Central Bud-get offers a one-off subsidy of 1 million yuan (US$157,000) to each expert recruited on a long-term basis under this program. In addition, 3 to 5 million yuan (US$471,000 to 785,000) in research subsidies will be granted—at the request of the employer—to foreign experts engaged in scientific re-search, particularly basic research. Based on the length of service of the foreign scientist in China, SAFEA will also provide certain subsidies to im-prove their medical care and pension. Foreign experts working on long-term projects under this program will be granted the honorary title of Na-tional Distinguished Expert, and those who make outstanding contributions in their field will be granted the national Friendship Award.

CAS is integral to the implementation of this program. In the first round of applications, CAS successfully put forward the largest number of foreign experts (9, or 22.5% of the total approved). In the future, CAS will introduce more prestigious experts.

40

CAS Fellowships and Cooperative Programs for Foreign TalentOverview The CAS Fellowships and Cooperative Programs for Foreign Talent were launched as a part of the CAS Package Talent Recruitment and Training Program within the academy to implement its Long and Mid-Term Develop-ment Program, aimed at making CAS an internationally recognized center for highly innovative scientific research and training, and a cradle for incu-bating high-technology startups. Other goals of the program include devel-oping CAS into a national research institution with “first-class performance, first-class productivity, high-standard management, and highly professional staff” and providing strong support for implementing China’s national in-novation strategy by delivering qualified human resources and knowledge.

The objectives of the Foreign Talent Programs are to: (i) attract and pro-vide financial support for outstanding overseas scholars and international

researchers to visit, lecture, or conduct collaborative research projects at CAS institutes; (ii) provide the opportunity for scientists from developed countries to conduct academic exchanges and collaboration with CAS; and (iii) provide sustained support for CAS’s innovation and development.

The CAS Foreign Talent Programs are comprised of various initiatives tar-geted at different levels of international academics and researchers active in the forefront of their disciplines (Figure 1). Briefly, these are the main pro-grams (described in more detail below): the CAS-MPG JUNMA Program (scheduled to launch in 2012) recruits outstanding young research leaders from the Max Planck Society (Max Planck Gesellschaft, MPG) to continue their research at CAS, offering more than three years of financial support. The CAS Einstein Professorship Program invites eminent and prestigious scientists to give inspirational lectures at CAS institutes to share their sci-entific knowledge and expertise with local principal investigators, postdoc-toral researchers, and postgraduate students. The CAS Visiting Professor-ship for Senior International Scientists helps host institutes to bring their C

RED

IT: C

OU

RTES

Y O

F C

AS

Professor Zhou Zhonghe (foreground), an awardee in the Hundred Talents Program, searches for fossils at a quarry in western Liaoning, China.

[1] “National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars”: established by National Natural Science Foundation of China, supporting the predominant trans-century young academic leaders who have the potential to enter the forefront of global science and technology.[2] “Youth Thousand Talents Program”: part of the national project to introduce high-level overseas talent, developed to increase the number of talented youth and to further provide support for the continued development of Chinese science, technology, and industry over the next 10 years to 20 years. [3] “973” Program: launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology, this program is designed to solve important scientific problems that are national priorities and at the forefront of international science and technology.

Senior Engineer Zhang (right, a technical expert at CAS) is drilling a 100 m ice core at Dome A, Antarctica.

41Talent and Education CAS/In Focus

Figure 1. Summary of CAS fellowships and cooperative programs for foreign talents.

Figure 2. Professor Bai Chunli (left), President of CAS, meets with all foreign scientists working in CAS institutes in a special annual meeting.

Figure 3. Flowchart showing the selection procedure for the JUNMA Program. C

RED

IT: (

TOP

AND

BOTT

OM

) CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

; (M

IDD

LE) P

HO

TO B

Y W

ANG

YO

NG

JI

innovation research activities in line with cutting-edge international science and technology by recruiting established researchers who wish to work at CAS institutes on a full-time or short-term basis. The CAS Fellowship for Young International Scientists enhances the cultural diversity and interna-tional quality of the research innovation teams by recruiting early-career researchers and postdoctoral fellows (under the age of 40) from foreign countries to work with CAS researchers on a full-time basis for one to two years. The TWAS-CAS Fellowship selects rising young to middle-aged sci-entists from developing countries to visit or study at CAS institutes for a maximum of 12 months in order to promote scientific development and enhance innovation capacity in developing countries (Figure 2).

Einstein Professorship ProgramThe Einstein Professorship Program, founded in 2004, is awarded each year to 20 distinguished international scientists actively working at the fron-tiers of science and technology, who make a short one to two week visit to China. The program is designed to strengthen scientific cooperation and exchange between CAS scientists, the Einstein Professorship awardees, and their respective laboratories, and in the long run, enhance the training of future generations of scientists in China.

This program is open to scientists from around the world and in every sci-entific discipline. Einstein Professors are expected to visit at least two CAS institutes in two different Chinese cities during their stay, and to carry out in-depth academic discussions with researchers and graduate students at host institutes. Einstein Professors are generally expected to deliver a lec-ture at one of the host institutes, the Graduate University of CAS (GUCAS) located in Beijing, or the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei. Each Einstein Professor is expected to have one or two young CAS researchers from the host institutes work in their laboratories for a period of one to three months (may be extended to up to six months), with all expenses for these researchers covered by CAS.

Thus far, 109 Einstein Professorships have been awarded to scientists recognized as international leaders in their fields, including 16 Noble Laure-ates, three winners of the Turing Prize, two winners of the Wolf Prize, and one winner of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. These profes-sors have made significant contributions to the improvement of scientific innovation and training at CAS.

JUNMA ProgramCAS and the Max Planck Society have extended their cooperation and shared interest in talent exchange through the JUNMA Program, a new initiative designed to recruit outstanding young researchers from the Max Planck Institutes (MPIs) to continue their research at CAS. A memoran-dum of understanding was signed between CAS and MPG in June 2012 and the program will launch later in the year. The JUNMA program aims to introduce excellent young scientists into CAS institutes. It works closely with the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts of China, and applies a sequential career development model to nurture the most promising tal-ent: Young researchers are recruited from Young Scientist Research Group leaders after their MPI contracts end, or alternatively, young scientists with academic potential are jointly selected by CAS and MPG to work as Young Scientist Research Group leaders for a period of three to five years before going to CAS (Figure 3).

The JUNMA Program offers at least three years of funding, fully financed by CAS. Candidates receive a lump-sum personal allowance of 1 mil-lion yuan (US$157,000), 3–5 million yuan (US$471,000–US$785,000) in research funding, as well as allowances for medical insurance and pen-sion costs. Both partner organizations agree to provide candidates with

42 Talent and EducationCAS/In Focus

information about the research conditions and priorities at the CAS insti-tutes, and assistance during the application progress (Figure 4).

Contacts: Mr. Fang Qiang (CAS), [email protected]; Dr. Barbara Spielmann (MPG), [email protected]

Fellowships for Young International Scientists The Fellowship for Young International Scientists aims to pro-mote academic exchange and cooperation between CAS institutes and international research institutions and universities by facilitat-ing the development of talented scientists and attracting young in-ternational scientists to conduct a period of cooperative research at CAS institutes.

The program targets the following two groups: research scientists holding Ph.D. degrees, under the age of 40, and having over five years of research experience and sound academic accomplishments; and postdoctoral ap-plicants holding Ph.D. degrees and under the age of 35. Nominations can be submitted either by a CAS host institute or by a designated international partner institution of CAS. CAS will provide each fellowship recipient with a grant to cover his or her salary, a daily living allowance, and health insurance. The value of the grant depends on the length of the visit and the academic ex-perience of the visitor. Recipients of the research scientist level grant will receive up to 250,000 yuan (US$39,250) per year. Postdoctoral recipients will receive up to 150,000 yuan (US$23,550) per year. CAS will also cover the cost of an economy-class, round-trip international ticket.

A total of 240 young international scientists have been granted a young international fellowship in the last three years. Some 86% of foreign young scientists come from well-known, inter-national organizations. Two-hundred and ninety-five young scientists under 35 years old have also been awarded research funding by the National Nat-ural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). A number of high-quality pub-lications have come out of work performed under this program (Figure 5).

Visiting Professorship for Senior International Scientists The aim of the Visiting Professorship Program is to enhance the innovation capacity of CAS institutes by inviting accomplished scientists from over-seas to participate in research at CAS with the hope of strengthening co-operation and exchange between CAS institutes and international research institutions and universities.

This program is intended for international scientists who either are cur-rently, or were previously, at well-known universities, research institutes, or multinational corporations, and who wish to develop a substantial long-term collaborative relationship with CAS. Candidates for the program should be recommended by a CAS host institute or a designated inter-national partner institution of CAS, with which they share similar research interests. Nominations are accepted twice each year, from March 1 to 15 and from September 1 to 15.

The exact value of each grant is determined according to the length of the visit and the academic performance of the visitor. A recipient who is current-

ly a professor or equivalent—including those who have been honored with a top international award—will receive up to 500,000 yuan (US$78,500) per year. A recipient of lower academic standing, such as an associate professor or equivalent, will receive up to 400,000 yuan (US$63,200) per year. This grant is used for covering the recipient’s salary, daily living al-lowance, and health insurance. CAS will also provide economy-class, round-trip international airfare between the visitor’s home and the host institute city.

To date, a total of 742 senior international scientists, including some fel-lows of foreign academies, have been sponsored by this fellowship. The vast majority of these visiting professors are from highly respected institu-tions and universities around the world. Several senior international scien-tists were awarded additional grants by the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs.

A total of 240 young

international scientists

have been granted

young international

fellowship in the last

three years.

Figure 4. Three scientists from CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology are pictured at the CAS Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences: (from left to right) Stefan Grünewald, PI; Danny Tholen, Associate Professor; Steffan Wolf, Dr.rer.nat. and Staff Scientist.

Figure 5. Corwin Sullivan, recipient of the Fellowship for Young International Scientists (2010–2012), has been an Associate Professor at CAS’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology since 2012.

CRE

DIT

: PH

OTO

BY

RIC

KY

WO

NG

43Talent and Education CAS/In Focus

Research in Combination with EducationApart from its research institutes and the academic divisions, CAS also functions as a leading educational institution for science and technology (S&T) talent.

CAS was a pioneer in supporting graduate education in China. A gov-ernment-backed program called, “Enrollment Measures of Research As-sistants and Postgraduate Students for the Summer Term 1951,” jointly issued by CAS and the Ministry of Education in 1951, brought about a new system of educating postgraduates in Chinese research institutions. In 1958, the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) was established in accordance with the goal of promoting a combination of sci-ence and education to foster innovative talent.

Since implementation of the Knowledge Innovation Program in 1998, a series of new models for combining research and education have been created in accordance with the principle of fostering highly trained and in-novative researchers. In 2000, CAS reorganized all its postgraduate educa-tional resources, and with the approval of the Academic Degrees Commit-tee of the State Council and the Ministry of Education, the UTSC Graduate School was renamed the Graduate University of CAS (GUCAS). A new system was implemented that strives to provide the best-qualified teach-ing personnel and utilize leading research and teaching methodology, while creating an environment that supports the highest standards of education and management.

Uniquely, all members of CAS or the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) are regarded as teachers or supervisors in GUCAS. This includes a senior level of tutor group consisting of over 320 CAS or CAE members, over 4,200 doctoral advisors, and over 3,900 masters advisors. By tak-ing such an approach, the organic combination of high-quality educational

resources with scientific resources has been realized, allowing for the cre-ation of a solid foundation for the simultaneous development for science and education.

In addition, a unified management system has been formed within the past few years that encompasses the institutes as the base and graduate students as the main body. The focus is now on further improving coopera-tion between research institutions, research departments, and education institutions in order to train top-class researchers and produce the high-est quality science, while also promoting the transfer of technology to in-dustry. UTSC has a long history of bringing together research institutes and education departments to bring about mutually beneficial strategic cooperation.

CAS research institutes have gained valuable experience from integrating research with education. For example, the Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science helped GUCAS establish a College of Mathematic Sci-ence in 2006, developing a new graduate education model by applying the concepts of “an institute in combination with an education department” and “research institutions with education priorities.” The new model for gradu-ate student education system has been fostered, embracing the tenets of “designing for the whole process, implementing in all stages, and learning aimed at application and supervision.”

UTSC has established an effective approach to foster outstanding tal-ent and create research innovation with practical applications through the adoption of a new model to “manage education with the whole academy’s efforts, and combine research institutes with education departments.” This has resulted in closer cooperation between and within research institutes.

As a national research team, CAS has also adopted various measures to provide support to its other research institutes so they may also establish cooperative solutions with universities in terms of curricula development, joint research, and education.

Snapshots of CAS. (1) Library on the University of Science and Technology of China west campus; (2) 2011 USTC graduates; (3) The Laboratory for Quantum Computing, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, USTC in Hefei; (4) Professor Li Can (left), CAS member, Director of Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, and Deputy Director of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics at CAS is pictured with three Ph.D. students working in the Photocatalysis Evaluation Laboratory in Dalian. (5) USTC students won Gold and Silver medals in the 15th World RoboCup.

(1)

(2)

(3)(4)(5)

CRE

DIT

S: (1

, 2 A

ND

5) C

OU

RTES

Y O

F U

STC

NEW

S C

ENTE

R; (3

, 4) P

HO

TO B

Y RI

CK

Y W

ON

G

In September 2012, the Chinese Acad-emy of Sciences (CAS) will host the 12th General Conference and 23rd General Meeting of TWAS, the Acad-

emy of Sciences for the Developing World. The conference, which has the theme ‘Sci-ence and Sustainability,’ is expected to bring more than 700 participants to Tianjin, and is the latest manifestation of a fruitful 30-year partnership.

TWAS, then known as the Third World Academy of Sciences, was founded in Tri-este, Italy in 1983 with the aim of promot-ing “scientific excellence and capacity in the South for science-based sustainable development,” according to its mission statement. CAS scientists were involved in TWAS activities from the beginning, and in 1986 a TWAS office opened at CAS head-quarters in Beijing, which later became the Regional Office for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. A year later TWAS held its first event outside Italy, a General Confer-ence in Beijing. It was a milestone for China as well as for TWAS, as it was one of the first times the country had put its science on display to the world and made it clear that it welcomed collaborations with sci-entists in both developing and developed countries. The opening ceremony was held in the Great Hall of the People, where Chi-na’s top legislative bodies meet. Mohamed

“I consider

the TWAS-CAS

fellowship as the

high point of my

career (and the

internationalization

of my career).”

Hassan, who participated in the meeting and later served as TWAS execu-tive director, has called that meeting the “coming-out party” for Chinese sci-ence. Beijing again hosted the TWAS General Conference in 2003, marking the organization’s 20-year anniversary. The opening ceremony again took place in the Great Hall of the People, this time just hours after the suc-cessful completion of China’s first manned spaceflight. Speakers included Chinese President Hu Jintao, Nobel Laureates Hartmut Michel and Samuel C. Ting, then-TWAS President C.N.R. Rao, and then-President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Bruce Alberts. The meeting highlighted how far both TWAS and Chinese science had come.

Today, the Regional Office is headed by CAS President Bai Chunli, who also serves as vice president of TWAS. The office helps countries in the region to nominate potential TWAS members (see sidebar), organizes TWAS-CAS workshops on topics at the frontiers of science, and nominates candidates for TWAS prizes. One of its biggest responsibilities is adminis-tering the TWAS-CAS fellowships, which since 2004 have brought nearly 400 scientists from other developing countries to China for Ph.D. training, postdoctoral studies, or visiting researcher stints. The fellowships, which last for a few months for visiting researchers and for between six months and a year for others, give recipients the opportunity to make international contacts and receive training and access to equipment that may not be available at their home institutions. “Science is not a rich man’s club,” says Yuan Yaxiang, a professor at the Institute of Computational Mathematics and Scientific/Engineering Computing who has supervised some of the students in the program. “People in developing countries have the potential to contribute to science, so why not use it? It’s good for the whole world.”

One 2010 participant, Emeka E. Oguzie, wrote in an e-mail, “I consider the TWAS-CAS fellowship as the high point of my career (and the interna-tionalization of my career). The fellowship enabled me to do good quality work, which I have been proud to present at international conferences and publish in key, high-impact journals.” Oguzie spent a year as a postdoc-toral researcher in the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) in Shenyang, where C

RED

IT: P

HO

TOS

BY R

ICK

Y W

ON

G

Editorial News Report: CAS and the Academy of Sciences for the

Developing World–A Fruitful Partnership

44

Professor Wan Lijun, TWAS Fellow, CAS Member, and Director General of the Institute of Chemistry, Center for Molecular Science at CAS.

Professor Fang Jingyun, Director of the Institute of Botany at CAS.

TWAS Fellow Professor Yao Tandong, Director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at CAS and a CAS Member.

President of Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS) and TWAS Fellow, Professor Chen Xiaoya. Chen is also a CAS Member and Professor at the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology.

he “learnt how to make use of modern research facilities and had access to current literature,” he writes. Now back in his native Nigeria, where he is a reader (professor) in chemistry at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, Oguzie maintains close ties with his colleagues at the institute and says that his experiences there helped him successfully apply for grants to buy some of the same research equipment he used in China. “This means that my lab is comparatively better equipped than most similar labs [in Nigeria] studying corrosion, which is attracting a lot of postgraduate students and as well as interest from oil and gas companies,” he writes. (Corrosion is a major problem on the equipment used for oil and gas drilling.)

One of Oguzie’s students, Benedict Ikenna Onyeachu, is now at IMR on a TWAS-CAS fellowship of his own, comparing the corrosion properties of two different materials. He plans to return to Nigeria next year, where he hopes that his research can help local industries. In addition, he says, “I owe young minds (especially scholars) in my country the duty of training them and allowing them to acquire and appreciate the knowledge I have gained thus far.”

Another former TWAS-CAS fellow who is looking to apply his training to immediate problems back home is Emmanuel Iyayi Unuabonah, who in 2006 spent time at the Institute of Soil Science in Nanjing. A graduate student at the time, he learned to analyze samples using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction equipment as well as “how to design a workable experiment, laboratory ethics, and how to write articles for peer-reviewed journals with high-impact factors,” he says. Now a senior lecturer in chemistry at Re-deemer’s University in Nigeria, he is working on “developing low-cost materials with high efficiency for removing micropol-lutants from water and wastewater,” work that has been helped by his continuing relationship with his mentor in Nanjing. Unuabonah credits his experience there with improving both his research and teaching abilities.

Kifayatullah Khan, who is now doing a TWAS-CAS Postgraduate Fellowship at the Research Center for Eco-environment Sciences as part of his Ph.D. work at the University of Peshawar in Pakistan, hopes his experience will have similar results. “Once I enhance my educational and technical skills, then I will be able to contribute something in the development of my motherland,” he explains. “With improved presentational and communicational skills I will be able to teach in a better way and will inspire students in innovation and research, which are the key factors in the development of a nation.” Khan plans to analyze how heavy metals in soil and ground water may make their way into agricultural and dairy products, and ultimately the humans who consume them.

When attendees gather for the TWAS 12th General Conference and 23rd General Meeting in September this year, they may not be treated to anything as dramatic as a first glimpse of China’s scientific landscape or breaking news of the coun-try’s first spaceflight, but they may still find themselves surprised by how far their hosts have come scientifically—and what they’re planning to do next.

45


The CAS-TWAS-WMO ForumThe CAS-TWAS-World Meteorologi-cal Organization Forum (CTWF) was founded in 2000 with the goal of improv-ing climate modeling and prediction. At the annual CTWF symposia, mathema-ticians, physicists, and atmospheric and oceanic scientists come together in Chi-na to discuss gaps in knowledge related to modeling and how to fill them. The emphasis of the 2011 workshop was on building the research capacity of partici-pants, establishing connections among them, and managing the local impact of global climate change.

TWAS Honors and AwardsEach year TWAS elects 45 to 50 new members who have made significant contributions to science, and who either live and work in a developing country or have actively promoted science in developing countries. Mainland China currently has 160 TWAS members.

TWAS also awards a number of prizes that recognize excellent work by scientists in developing countries. Over the years, 42 researchers in China have won such prizes.

(L to R) Bai Chunli, C.N.R. Rao, and Bruce Alberts at the TWAS 14th General Meeting, 2003 in Beijing.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

Dr. Emeka Oguzie from Nigeria, 2005 CAS-TWAS Postdoctoral Fellowship Awardee in the Institutes of Metal Research.

“Once I

enhance my

educational and

technical skills,

then I will be able

to contribute

something in the

development of

my motherland.”

CAS International Cooperation Award for Young ScientistsCAS International Cooperation Award for Young Scientists was initiated in 2011 to recognize and award international young scientists and their CAS collabora-tors who have made substantial progress in research and innovation. It aims to encourage longer-term international partnerships among young scientists, en-able broader global networking, and promote CAS’s science and technology innovation agenda.

Candidates can be nominated by the President and Vice Presidents of CAS, or CAS Institutions, and Bureaus in CAS headquarters. They are evaluated in four categories: basic research, biology and biotechnology, resources and envi-ronment, and high technology. The candidates should be younger than 45 years of age. Foreign scientists should possess an official position in an overseas organization and have at least one year of working experience in a CAS affili-ate. The CAS collaborator should also hold a full-time research position in a CAS affiliate. Their cooperation should have been under way for at least three years and have achieved at least one of the following outstanding results: demonstrated internationally recognized innovations in a basic research field; developed a key technology, submitted a patents for a new technology, or implemented a technology transfer; solved major scientific and technological problems for the benefits of society; provided key technical solutions in the development or construction of CAS “big science” facilities or other major equipment.

The appraisal committee is composed members of the CAS International Scientific Cooperation committee and is responsible for evaluation and ap-praisal of candidates for the award. The results are submitted to the President’s executive board of CAS for final approval. A formal award-conferring ceremony is organized each year, and President (or Vice President) of CAS presents the award certificates to the awardees. The CAS awardees receive preferential treatment if applying for the CAS External Cooperation Program or other international talent recruitment programs.

The first five pairs of young scientists were presented with this award in 2011.

46 CAS/In Brief

The 14 winners (2007 to 2011) of Award for International Scientific Cooperation from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2011 (L to R): Lonnie G. Thompson (USA), Shin-ichi Kurokawa (Japan), Flemming Besenbacher (Denmark); 2010 (L to R): Aikichi Iwamoto (Japan), Stephen C. Porter (USA), G.Q. Max Lu (Australia); 2009 (L to R): Gerhard Boerner (Germany), Peter H. Raven (USA), Roger-Maurice Bonnet (France); 2008 (L to R): Arima Akito (Japan), Michel Che (France), Yuen-Ron Shen (USA); 2007 (L to R): Lothar Reh (Switzerland), Scott Douglas Rozelle (USA).

Award for International Scientific Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of SciencesThe CAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation was initiated in 2007 and is intended to commend and honor eminent foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to facilitate cooperation with CAS in science and technology. It is presented annually.

Candidates can be nominated by the President or Vice Presidents of CAS, Institutions within CAS, or Bureaus in CAS headquarters. Awards are given for significant contributions in the following areas: promoting the establishment of strategic partnerships between CAS and foreign scientific organizations; introducing innovative ideas, technology, or methodology that serves to enhance CAS’s competency in addressing key issues in sci-ence, technology, and management; introducing innovative talent or high-grade scientists to CAS; or playing an important role in the construction, operation, or management of “big science” facilities.

An appraisal committee is organized and is responsible for the evalua-tion and appraisal of candidates for the award. The CAS President holds the post of chairman of the committee, while relevant leaders and experts of the Academy perform the duties of vice-chairman and committee mem-bers. The results are submitted to the President’s executive board for final approval.

CAS invites recipients of the Award to a conferring ceremony, usually fol-lowed by academic visits. The award is presented by the President of CAS at the annual working conference with leaders from all the institutes. The award has to date been presented to 14 foreign experts, 10 of whom were also recommended for, and received, the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. Ten awardees have also been presented with the State Friendship Award by the State Council of the People’s Re-public of China.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

At the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), technology transfer is one of the critical components of its mission to promote reform and innovation, and translate research results into value-added technology and products. Through cooperation with local governments and companies, CAS, together with its many branches and institutes, establishes joint research institutes, R&D centers, centers of technology transfer, and technology incubation centers to promote the local economic and social development.

Technology TransferTop Six Fields of Technology Transfer:

• New materials and applications

• Advanced manufacturing

• Biomedicine and medical equipment

• Agricultural technology

• Electronic and information technology

• New, high- efficiency energy technology

Summary of platforms for technology transfer.

With local governments

New, jointly built research institutes 12

CAS-level centers for technology transfer or incubation centers 29

Institute-level centers for technology transfer or incubation centers 298

With local companies Institute-level technology centers or engineering centers 332

161 243 312 359422 512

623

964

1404

2049

2629

35 5059 68 76 75 102 135 217

337414

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Sales revenue(100 million yuan) Profits(100 million yuan)

Million yuan

The 29 centers of technology

transfer or incubation

centers.

Achievements in the commercialization

of scientific research at CAS (2001–2011),

which produced sales revenue of

967.8 billion yuan (US$151.9 billion)

and profits of 156.8 billion yuan (US$24.6

billion) for local enterprises. Numbers

above graph lines indicate 100’s

of million yuan.

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

47CAS/In Brief

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

CAS has built up

a formal science

education and

communication

system based on

its multiple and

diverse institutes

and facilitated

by supporting

structures such as

research networks

and academic

journals.

48

Science Education and Communication

Since its inception as the leading national academic institution in China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has played a significant role as a national leader in science education and communication. CAS has built up a formal science education and communication system based on its multiple and diverse institutes and facilitated by supporting structures such as research networks and academic journals.

The annual CAS Public Science Day is one of the outreach activities arranged to popularize science. Each year, on one weekend day in May, CAS laboratories, botanical gardens, museums (herbariums), astronomical observatories, and “big science” facilities are open to the public free of charge to carry out either lab experiments or lectures. It is a popular event with the general public and always attracts tens of thousands of visitors throughout the country.

The Science and China Lecture Tour was initiated in 2002 and includes lectures given by CAS members and experts on topics including S&T history, current hot issues, ethics in science, the relationship between S&T and the economy, and S&T and social development. On the science education publications side, the Science and China series (a collection of the Science and China lecture tours) and the Science and Life series (biographies of CAS members) are both best sellers.

CAS graduate students working as volunteers for the 2009 CAS Public Science Day.

A young boy talks to a robot at the 2011 CASPublic Science Day.

Some best-selling science CAS journals.

CAS/In Brief

The International Meridian Circle Program

The International Meridian Circle Program (IMCP), an international program on space weather, is proposed to connect the 120° E and 60° W chains of ground-based monitors located in Russia, Australia, Brazil, the United States, Canada, and other countries. Its main purpose is to monitor the solar-terrestrial coupling and its influence on the planetary environment.

Contact: Professor Wang Chi, [email protected]

Global Change and Its Biological Consequences: Opportunities and Challenges

Global change, especially global climate change, is now one of the most discussed topics around the world. What the consequences of global warming are, or will be, is a hotly debated topic. With the support of CAS, the International Society of Zoological Sciences (ISZS) initiated an inter-national research program called the Biological Consequences of Global Change (BCGC).

Contact: Professor Xie Yan, [email protected]

International Science Programs Initiated by CAS

The Third Pole Environment (TPE)

TPE develops knowledge in earth system sciences of the past, present, and future, with a special focus on environmental issues of the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions. Through holding workshops, organizing research projects, establishing flagship stations and databases, and edu-cating younger generations, the TPE addresses ‘water-ice-air-vegetation-rock(soil)-human’ interactions, and thus addresses the maintenance of re-gional environmental sustainability. The TPE recently won a NSFC project entitled “Multi-phase water (solid-liquid-vapor) transformation under global change.”

Contact: Professor Yao Tandong, [email protected]

Northwestern Pacific Ocean Circulation and Climate Experiment (NPOCE)

NPOCE is a CLIVAR-endorsed joint international pro-gram with 19 institutions from Australia, China, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and the United States. It aims to understand the dynamics of the north-western Pacific Ocean circulation and its role in warm pool maintenance and low-frequency variability, modula-tion of the ENSO cycle, East Asia monsoon variability, and tropical cyclones.

Contact: Professor Wang Fan, [email protected]

NPOCE Observation Program

CRE

DIT

: (FR

OM

TO

P) C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

OC

EAN

OLO

GY,

CAS

; C

OU

RTES

Y O

F TH

E IN

STIT

UTE

OF

TIBE

TAN

PLA

TEAU

RES

EARC

H, C

ASCAS/In Brief 49

TPE focuses on earth systems of the past, present, and future.

Guest EditorsLü Yonglong An Jianji Gong Haihua

Academic Panel Fan WeimingKong Li Li HefengLiu MinghuaLü YonglongPan JiaofengQi Qiang Wang Yuechao Zhang Zhibin

Coordinating GroupAn Jianji Bi Jinchu Cai Changta Cao AiminChen Wei Chen Wenkai Cui Shengxian Feng Kai Hao Shuai He JingdongHu Haiyang Gong Haihua Liu JieLuo Xiao’anNing Bolun Niu Dong Ru ZhitaoTao Zongbao Xu HangYan Lin Yan Jie Yang Hui Yang XingxianYang Yongfeng Zhang Ningning Zhang Xiao

CRE

DIT

: CO

URT

ESY

OF

CAS

Research CAS/In Focus i low.pdftion of the 1960s and '70s, when intellectuals were distrusted and...

Documents

Transcript of Research CAS/In Focus i low.pdftion of the 1960s and '70s, when intellectuals were distrusted and...