Zhejiang Institute of Modern Physics (Traditional Chinese: 浙江大學近代物理中心, Simplified Chinese: 浙江近代物理中心 is a research center for theoretical physics

Theoretical physics

Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...

. It is part of the Zhejiang University

Zhejiang University

Zhejiang University , sometimes referred to as Zheda, is a national university in China. Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China's oldest institutions of higher education...

, People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.

Introduction

The institute was formally founded in 1991, due to the encouragement of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Nobel Prize laureate

Nobel Prize in Physics

The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...

 Tsung-Dao Lee

Tsung-Dao Lee

Tsung-Dao Lee is a Chinese born-American physicist, well known for his work on parity violation, the Lee Model, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion physics, nontopological solitons and soliton stars....

 and current President of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Chinese Academy of Sciences , formerly known as Academia Sinica, is the national academy for the natural sciences of the People's Republic of China. It is an institution of the State Council of China. It is headquartered in Beijing, with institutes all over the People's Republic of China...

 Lu Yongxiang

Lu Yongxiang

Lu Yongxiang , aka Yung-Hsiang Lu, was President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences until March 2011.-Biography:Lu studied in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, and majored at hydrodynamics . He graduated from Zhejiang University in 1964, and became a lecturer in his...

, both of whom are Zhejiang University alumni. Tsung-Dao Lee was named the first Director

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of the institute. The prominent leader Chen Yun

Chen Yun

Chen Yun was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 90s, and one of the top leaders of the Communist Party of China for almost its entire history. He was also known as Liao Chengyun ; it's unclear whether this was his original name or a pseudonym...

 also wrote (in calligraphy

East Asian calligraphy

East Asian calligraphy is a form of calligraphy widely practised and revered in the Sinosphere. This most often includes China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The East Asian calligraphic tradition originated and developed from China. There is a general standardization of the various styles of...

) the name for the institute.

The facility is located on the hill of the Lingfeng

Lingfeng Hill

The Lingfeng or Lingfeng Hill , is a hill located in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's republic of China.-Introduction:It's partially located both in the Yuquan Campus, Zhejiang University, and the Botanical Garden, and is very close to the famous West Lake.Ling here means clever/smart,...

 (灵峰), and in the Yuquan Campus

Yuquan Campus, Zhejiang University

Yuquan Campus , is a campus of Zhejiang University. It's the location of former headquarters of the university. Today it also owns some administrational departments of the university...

. It has a construction area of 1,000 m².

The Institute focuses on the study of quantum field theory

Quantum field theory

Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of systems classically parametrized by an infinite number of dynamical degrees of freedom, that is, fields and many-body systems. It is the natural and quantitative language of particle physics and...

, string theory

String theory

String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...

, and high-energy physics

Particle physics

Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...

. Current researchers including Mr. Xiaowei TANG (唐孝威, academician of CAS) also perform interdisciplinary studies of biophysics

Biophysics

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...

.

The institute is coupled closely with the Department of Physics of Zhejiang University.