A Brief Introduction of Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics

Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences founded in 1959 is a national institute of comprehensive nuclear science and technology. It was formerly named the Shanghai Institute of Nuclear Research(SINR), and adopted its current name in June 2003. It has two campuses, one located in the Jiading District of Shanghai (27 hectares), a key supporting area for the Shanghai Technology Innovation Center, and the other in Wuwei (67 hektares), Gansu Province, the historic town along the famous ancient Silk Road.

The main research fields of SINAP include advanced energy science and technology, represented by Thorium molten salt reactor nuclear energy system (TMSR）, efficient energy storage and conversion, as well as the application of nuclear technology in the environmental, health and materials science.

Now, SINAP has 2 research centers, 11 technical departments, and the State Key Laboratory of Thorium Energy. As of December 2024, it employed 798 staff members, including 552 scientists and engineers, among whom 133 hold professors or equivalent titles. In addition, there are 789 doctorial and master’s graduate students, who are pursuing studies in a wide range of disciplines, including nuclear energy science and engineering, nuclear and particle physics, nuclear technology and application, inorganic chemistry, polymeric chemistry and physics, as well as signal and information processing .

Over the years, SINAP scientists have made over 600 remarkable achievements. More than 200 of these have been awarded by the national government, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, or Shanghai. Some notable examples include the development of 1.4 m cyclotron, on which 202Pt was synthesized, a Chinese breakthrough in new nucleotide synthesis and identification; the world's first mini cyclotron mass spectrometer; and 67Ga-labeled citrate, which is the first radiopharmaceutical in Chinese Pharmacopeias; three achievements in the field of heavy ion physics and one in bioanalytical chemistry, which won the second prize of the State Natural Science Award. Furthermore, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF) was awarded the First Prize of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award, highlighting its pivotal role in advancing scientific research and technological innovation.

SINAP sponsors and edits academic journals Nuclear Techniques (in Chinese), Nuclear Science and Techniques (in English), and Radiation Research and Radiation Processing (in Chinese). Shanghai Nuclear Society, Radiation Research and Radiation Processing Society under Nuclear Society of China, with its headquarters in SINAP.