Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences, known as one of the "Two Academies;" the other is the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The Chinese Academy of Sciences functions as a national think tank and academic governing body for the People's Republic of China, offering advisory and appraisal services on issues in the national economy, social development, and science and technology progress. It defines its development strategy as having a greater emphasis on reliance on democratic management, openness, and talent to promote innovative research.

The Academy of Sciences is headquartered in Beijing, China, and is one of the world's largest research organizations, with a network of 104 research institutes. It has been ranked among the top research organizations around the world. The Chinese Academy of Sciences research network includes the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has also created, spun out, or invested in hundreds of commercial enterprises, with Lenovo being one of the more well-known.

As part of their research programs, CAS provides various laboratories, including national labs, state labs, and institution-specific labs. For example, CAS maintains the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory. Some of the state labs include the State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, the State Key Lab of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, and State Key Laboratory of Computer Science. Some of their more local laboratories include the Laboratory of Condensed Matter Theory and Materials Computation, Key Laboratory of Optical Physics, Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, and Key Laboratory of Extreme Conditions Physics.

Some research projects undertaken by the Chinese Academy of Sciences have included the Shenguang-II High Power Laser, LAMOST Telescope, Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, and Steady High Magnetic Field. Some of the research infrastructure, separate from research laboratories, included in CAS are the Hefei Synchrotron Radiation Facility, China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station, Research Vessels, and China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species.

CAS has around 104 research institutes as part of its overall research network, including the following:

• Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science
• Institute of Physics
• Institute of Theoretical Physics
• Institute of Mechanics
• Institute of Acoustics
• Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry
• National Center for Nano Science and Technology
• Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences
• Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research
• National Astronomical Observatories
• Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
• Institute of Atmospheric Physics
• Institute of Semiconductors

Part of the CAS network of research institutions includes overseas affiliated institutions, such as the following:

• South American Center for Astronomy
• Sino-Africa Joint Research Center
• Central Asian Center of Drug Discovery and Development of CAS
• China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for Space Weather
• China-Sri Lanka Joint Center for Education and Research
• Kathmandu Center for Research and Education
• Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute

As part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' research activities, the institution maintains several scientific databases, including the East Asian Paleoenvironmental Science Database, the Open Spatial Data Sharing Project RADI, the Freshwater Algae Culture Collection at the Institute of Hydrobiology, the South China Botanical Garden Herbarium, the Tetrahymena Functional Genomics Database, the Geobiodiversity Database, and the Database of Human DNA Methylation and Cancer.