Brief Introduction

ICCAS (Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)) was founded in 1956. ICCAS is a multi-disciplinary research institute dedicated to the basic research in broad fields of chemical sciences, and to the key developments of the innovative high-technology aiming to the imperative national needs and important strategic targets, as well as to the collaborative high-technology applications and transfers. ICCAS is one of the China’s important chemical research institutions with international reputation.

The major research areas at ICCAS include polymer sciences, physical chemistry, organic chemistry and analytical chemistry. In the third phase of the Knowledge Innovation Project of the CAS, ICCAS shall focus its development on the following 4 areas: frontiers of molecular and nano sciences, organic polymer materials, chemical biology, as well as energy and green chemistry. ICCAS shall also construct and consummate the base unit of the advanced polymer materials for the national strategic needs.

Since its establishment, ICCAS has received 293 National, Ministry and regional awards. In more than a decade, ICCAS has been among the top institutions in China in terms of SCI publications and SCI citations. The continuous increase of the number of high impact journal papers demonstrates the strength and ability of the ICCAS for innovative basic research. ICCAS also leads on the number of patent application and patent award among the institutes of the CAS. A number of them have been used in the national economic and defence development.

ICCAS now has 609employees, among them there are 10 Academicians of CAS, 57 awardees of the Excellent Young Scholar of the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC), 54 awardees of the 100 Talent Project of the CAS, and 8 awardees of Innovative Team of the NSFC.

ICCAS now has 3 State Key Laboratories, 8 CAS Key Laboratories, Engineering Center for Advanced Polymeric Materials, 1 Institute Laboratories, and 1 Center for Physicochemical Analysis and Measurement.

In 1994, ICCAS became one of the trial-units of reformation in basic research of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1998, ICCAS entered the first round of the Knowledge Innovation Project of CAS. In 2003, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China approved the establishment of Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences jointly by ICCAS and Peking University. In 2005, ICCAS was appraised as the A category institute in the CAS. In 2006, ICCAS received the highest score in the national appraisal of the departments and institutions in chemistry.

ICCAS has been undertaking a variety of important national science projects, including Major National Basic Research Projects (973), National High Technology Development Projects (863), NSFC funded major and general projects, NSFC’s Excellent Youth Projects, Innovation oriented major and key projects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc.