Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology
Profile
| Official Chinese name | 中国科学院精密测量科学与技术创新研究院 |
|---|---|
| Official English name | Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, CAS |
| Chinese aliases | 精密测量院 |
| English aliases | Institute of Precision Measurement |
| Acronyms | APM |
| Research fields | Atomic and molecular precision measurement physics, magnetic resonance, geodesy and geophysics, mathematical calculation |
| Total employee count | Over 600 (as of 23 November 2025) |
Summary
Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology is categorised as a Limited Defence Partner based on the following indicators:
- Defence advisor
- 4 indicators
- Defence award
- 2 indicators
- Defence funding
- 2 indicators
- Defence laboratory
- 2 indicators
- Military-technology patent
- 2 indicators
- Research collaboration with defence entities
- 3 indicators
A limited defence partner contributes to the development of China’s defence capabilities in ways that are limited in time, frequency, scope or scale. Evidence indicates that participation has either ceased or if it persists, it is narrow in scope, not institutionalised and occurs through isolated or infrequent activities led by individual researchers, rather than through sustained programmes or organisational commitments.
Rules-based framework
| Rule | Resulting category |
|---|---|
| Two or more indicators = 4 | Core defence partner |
| One indicator = 4 and two indicators = 3 or Three or more indicators = 3 | Regular defence partner |
| One indicator = 4 and one indicator = 3 and all other indicators = 1 or 2 or Two indicators = 3 and all other indicators = 1 or 2 | Limited defence partner |
| All indicators between 0 and 2 | Civilian institute |
| Three or more indicators = 0 | Insufficient data |
Note: All indicators operate on a 0 to 4 scale. There are a total of six indicators.
For more information on the graded scales see the user guide.
Defence advisory roles
One member of the leadership of the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology is a member of the expert group for earth observation of the National Manned Lunar Exploration Programme.[1] The Programme is overseen by the China Manned Space Engineering Office/China Manned Space Agency, an agency subordinate to the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission.[2] No publicly available information has been found regarding the group's activities or scope of work.
Service by other members of the academy’s leadership team on defence-related expert committees cannot be fully ruled out as the underlying data are outdated and lack sufficient detail.
Defence awards
Available information indicates that Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology researchers and projects have received at least nine defence awards over time. These include six Military Science and Technology Progress Awards, one All-Army Weapons and Equipment Science and Technology Award, one National Defence Science and Technology Award and one Hubei Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker Award.[3]
Of the nine awards identified, only one was confirmed as being awarded while the researcher was employed by the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. In 2025, a current researcher at the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology was named a Hubei Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker.[4]
The remaining eight awards, six with known dates and two without, were granted to researchers and projects now associated with the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, but prior to its establishment. The academy was created in 2019 through the merger of two CAS institutes: the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics and the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics.[5] All eight awards were granted between 2003 and 2013 to researchers and projects affiliated with one of these two predecessor institutes. While these awards cannot formally be attributed to the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology itself, the institute incorporated two institutes with long-standing close ties to defence research.
Researchers and projects at the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology have almost certainly received one defence award since 2021. As the data reviewed is thorough, recent and covers a significant portion of relevant staff, this assessment is made with high confidence.
Defence funding
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology authored seven publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 22nd percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 1,819 authors affiliated with the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology who published during this period, 10 (1 per cent) had at least one defence-funded publication. However, it is not possible to attribute specific funding to individual researchers based solely on publication data.
Defence laboratories
No publicly available information suggests that this institute hosts or is affiliated with any known defence laboratories. However, one laboratory, not categorised as a defence laboratory, referenced links to defence activities on its Chinese‑language website. General references to promoting national security or defence are common on CAS laboratory websites. These statements often serve as broad affirmations of alignment with national policy objectives — a routine expression of support for government priorities that can be important for maintaining institutional standing, access to funding or official recognition — rather than firm evidence that the laboratory conducts defence-related research.
State Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy
| Name | State Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy [精密大地测量与定位全国重点实验室] |
|---|---|
| Research topics | Time-varying dynamics theory of geophysics, key technologies for precision geodesy, BeiDou benchmark and passive positioning |
| Defence ties | According to its website, this laboratory works to ‘meet the accurate location requirements of national security’.[6] |
There is no public website for the Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment and Disaster Monitoring and Evaluation [环境与灾害监测评估湖北省重点实验室]. It is unclear whether the absence of a website reflects administrative factors or a deliberate effort to limit public visibility.
Military-technology patents
Between 2021 and 2025, the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology was granted three military-technology patents, placing it in the 51st percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. A total of 22 inventors affiliated with the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology were listed on these patents.
Research collaboration with defence entities
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology co-authored 183 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 14th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.
These collaborations include 26 publications with PLA academic institutions, 116 with defence laboratories, 3 with military hospitals, 38 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence and 15 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry.
Of the 1,819 authors affiliated with the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology who published during this period, 231 (13 per cent) had at least one defence-related collaboration.
Return to directoryNotes
All cited web content was viewed at its original website location; however, to ensure ongoing accessibility we are providing links to Internet Archive versions here.
- Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2024. 'Vice Dean Jiang Liming.' [江利明 副院长]. As of 5 March 2026.Return to content⤴
- Lee, Taylor and Peter Singer. 2021. 'China's Space program is More Military Than You Might Think.' Defense One, 16 July. As of 5 March 2026.Return to content⤴
- Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Award Database: Project 921 Precision Orbit Determination Special Project - Ionospheric Time Delay Correction Technology and Methods.' [获奖库：921工程精密定轨专项 - 电离层时延改正技术与方法]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴ Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Award Database: XX Project No. 1 Wide-Range Radio Wave Propagation Error Correction System.' [获奖库：××一号工程大范围电波传播误差修正系统]. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Mei Ganghua has dedicated over two decades to one thing: [Patriotic Striving Individual] Equipping the BeiDou system with a "Chinese Heart".' [梅刚华二十多年做好一件事 - [爱国情 奋斗者]为北斗系统装上 "中国心"]. 25 November. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2025. 'Good news! Li Faquan, a senior engineer at the Precision Measurement Institute, has been awarded the title of "Most Beautiful Scientific and Technological Worker in Hubei Province" in 2025.' [喜报｜精密测量院正高级工程师李发泉荣获2025年 "荆楚最美科技工作者" 称号]. 2 September. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Senior Engineer: Zhong Da.' [正高级工程师：钟达]. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Senior Engineer: Qi Feng.' [正高级工程师：祁峰]. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Senior Engineer: An Shaofeng.' [正高级工程师：安绍锋]. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Researcher: Yuan Yunbin.' [研究员：袁运斌]. As of 7 April 2026. Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2019. 'Researcher: Liu Genyou.' [研究员：刘根友]. As of 7 April 2026.
- Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2025. 'Good news! Li Faquan, a senior engineer at the Precision Measurement Institute, has been awarded the title of "Most Beautiful Scientific and Technological Worker in Hubei Province" in 2025.' [喜报｜精密测量院正高级工程师李发泉荣获2025年"荆楚最美科技工作者"称号]. 2 September. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology. 2026. 'Institute Introduction.' [院情简介]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Geodesy. 2025. 'Laboratory Profile.' [实验室简介]. As of 8 April 2026.Return to content⤴