Institute of Mechanics
Profile
| Official Chinese name | 中国科学院力学研究所 |
|---|---|
| Official English name | Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
| Chinese aliases | 力学所 |
| English aliases | |
| Acronyms | IMECH |
| Research fields | Micro-scale mechanics and trans-scale correlation, high-temperature gas dynamics and trans-atmosphere flight, microgravity science and its applications, key mechanical problems in oceanic engineering, environment, energy and transportation, mechanics in advanced manufacturing, biomechanics and bioengineering |
| Total employee count | Over 800 (as of 24 November 2025) |
Summary
Institute of Mechanics is categorised as a Core Defence Partner based on the following indicators:
- Defence advisor
- 1 indicators
- Defence award
- 2 indicators
- Defence funding
- 4 indicators
- Defence laboratory
- 2 indicators
- Military-technology patent
- 4 indicators
- Research collaboration with defence entities
- 4 indicators
A core defence partner is deeply involved in research and programmes that strengthen and sustain China’s defence capabilities. Senior figures may help steer national defence research priorities; many of its researchers and projects have recently been recognised for addressing defence needs; a significant body of current work is sponsored by defence organisations; it runs laboratories aligned with military objectives; produces a large number of defence-related patents in recent years; and/or publishes extensively and regularly with defence institutions. Together, these patterns show that defence work is routine, largescale and built into the institute’s operations and identity.
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
Members of the leadership of the Institute of Mechanics have almost certainly not served on defence-related expert committees. As the data reviewed are complete, up-to-date and cover all members of the leadership team, this assessment is made with high confidence.
Defence awards
Available information indicates that researchers from the Institute of Mechanics have received at least ten separate defence awards over time. These include one National Defence Technology Invention Award, four National Defence Science and Technology Progress Awards, one National Defence Science and Technology Award of Shaanxi Province, one award from the Air Force's First Aviation Creativity Challenge, one Excellent Party Member of Enterprises under the Henan Provincial Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence Award, one Merit Award of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, and one Science and Technology Progress Award from the General Armaments Department of the PLA.[1]
Of the ten awards, dates were only confirmed for five that confidently connected them to work conducted at the Institute of Mechanics. Dates are known for three of the National Defence Science and Technology Progress awards, but they were awarded at times when the recipients were not employed by the Institute of Mechanics.[2] Two of the awards, specifically the Henan award and the Commission's Merit Award, did not provide any indication of when they were granted.[3] Further information could not be found on the recipient of the Henan award. Because the recipient of the Merit Award had only joined the Institute of Mechanics in 2019,[4] our analysis was unable to confirm whether the award was granted for work conducted at the institute.
The identified awards were interspersed between 1990 and 2024, but only two were granted after 2021, indicating limited recognition of the institute's more recent work in defence science and technology circles.
Researchers and projects at the Institute of Mechanics have probably received two defence awards since 2021. However, incomplete data and insufficient source detail prevent confirmation of whether the awards were received during employment at the institute. The assessment is therefore made with medium confidence. This indicates that awards granted to individuals not surveyed, or awards that may have been received prior to their affiliation or more recently, cannot be fully ruled out.
Defence funding
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Mechanics authored 100 publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 92nd percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 1,830 Institute of Mechanics authors who published during this period, 135 (7 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, two laboratories, not categorised as defence laboratories, referenced links to defence activities on their 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 Nonlinear Mechanics in Extreme Environments
| Name | State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics in Extreme Environments [超常环境非线性力学全国重点实验室] |
|---|---|
| Research topics | Nonlinear mechanics and associated engineering technologies |
| Defence ties | According to its website, this laboratory 'focuses on the strategic and forward-looking needs of national development and security'.[5] |
Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems
| Name | Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems [流固耦合系统力学重点实验室] |
|---|---|
| Research topics | Gas-liquid-solid interactions; wave-vortex-flow interactions; gas flow and engineering structure interactions |
| Defence ties | According to its website, this laboratory focuses on solving key problems in areas including national defence and security.[6] |
Military-technology patents
Between 2021 and 2025, the Institute of Mechanics was granted 16 military-technology patents, placing it in the 92nd percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. A total of 73 inventors affiliated with the Institute of Mechanics were listed on these patents.Research collaboration with defence entities
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Mechanics co-authored 573 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 76th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.
These collaborations include 12 publications with PLA academic institutions, 76 with defence laboratories, 1 with a military hospital, 471 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence, 190 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry and 40 with defence conglomerates.
Of the 1,830 authors affiliated with the Institute of Mechanics who published during this period, 550 (30 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.
- Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Luo Gengxing' [罗耕星]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Researcher: Zhang Kun' [研究员：张坤]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Researcher: Li Xinliang' [研究员：李新亮]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Associate Researcher: Wu Kun' [副研究员：吴坤]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Wang Chun' [王春]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; 'He Xuan' [何轩]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Zheng Kunpeng' [郑鹍鹏]. Institute of Mechanics. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Researcher: Yang Yiqiang' [研究员：杨毅强]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Wang Chun' [王春]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; 'He Xuan' [何轩]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Zheng Kunpeng' [郑鹍鹏]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴; Institute of Mechanics. 2026. 'Researcher: Yang Yiqiang' [研究员：杨毅强]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Baike Baidu. 2025. 'Yang Yiqiang' [杨毅强]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics. 2010. 'Introduction to the State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics (LNM) in Extreme Environments' [超常环境非线性力学全国重点实验室(LNM)简介]. As of 8 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems. 2025. 'Laboratory Introduction' [实验室介绍]. As of 8 April 2026.Return to content⤴