Institute of Theoretical Physics
Profile
| Official Chinese name | 中国科学院理论物理研究所 |
|---|---|
| Official English name | Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
| Chinese aliases | 理论物理所 |
| English aliases | |
| Acronyms | ITP |
| Research fields | Particle physics, nuclear physics, quantum field theory, string theory, mathematical physics, gravitational theory, cosmology, astrophysics, quantum physics, atomic and molecular physics, condensed matter physics, biophysics, soft matter physics, statistical physics, applied studies of theoretical physics |
| Total employee count | Around 70 (as of 24 November 2025) |
Summary
Institute of Theoretical Physics is categorised as a Limited Defence Partner based on the following indicators:
- Defence advisor
- 0 indicators
- Defence award
- 2 indicators
- Defence funding
- 2 indicators
- Defence laboratory
- 1 indicators
- Military-technology patent
- 1 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
Members of the leadership of the Institute of Theoretical Physics have possibly not served on defence-related expert committees. However, because the underlying data are outdated and lack sufficient detail, this assessment is made with low confidence, and such service by any member of the leadership cannot be fully ruled out.
Defence awards
Available information indicates that only one researcher from the Institute of Theoretical Physics has received a defence award: a Science and Technology Progress Award, granted by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence.[1]
This award is known to have been granted in 1997. Available data also provided career information, confirming that the award was granted when the researcher was employed by the Institute of Theoretical Physics,[2] which means that the award can be tied to the work of the institute. However, it is important to note that the researcher has not been employed by the Institute of Theoretical Physics since 2005,[3] indicating that the institute has not received any recent defence-related recognition.
However, because the available data are somewhat outdated, the assessment is made with medium confidence, particularly with respect to more recent awards.
Defence funding
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Theoretical Physics authored three publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 4th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 488 Institute of Theoretical Physics authors who published during this period, 3 (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. The Chinese language laboratory websites do not mention any links or references to defence-related activities.
Military-technology patents
Between 2021 and 2025, the Institute of Theoretical Physics was not granted any military-technology patents. This places it at the very bottom (0th percentile) among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. No inventors from the Institute of Theoretical Physics were listed on any military-technology patents during this period.
Research collaboration with defence entities
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Institute of Theoretical Physics co-authored 217 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 27th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.
These collaborations include 1 publication with a PLA academic institution, 35 with defence laboratories, 173 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence and 39 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry.
Of the 488 authors affiliated with the Institute of Theoretical Physics who published during this period, 121 (25 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 Theoretical Physics. 2021. 'Researcher: Hao Bolin' [研究员：郝柏林]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Institute of Theoretical Physics. 2021. 'Researcher: Hao Bolin' [研究员：郝柏林]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Institute of Theoretical Physics. 2021. 'Researcher: Hao Bolin' [研究员：郝柏林]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴