National Center for Nano Science and Technology
Profile
| Official Chinese name | 国家纳米科学中心 |
|---|---|
| Official English name | National Center for Nano Science and Technology, China |
| Chinese aliases | 国家纳米中心 |
| English aliases | |
| Acronyms | NCNST |
| Research fields | Nanoscience and transformative industrial technologies |
| Total employee count | 278 (as of the end of 2023) |
Summary
National Center for Nano Science and Technology is categorised as a Limited Defence Partner based on the following indicators:
- Defence advisor
- 1 indicator
- Defence award
- 1 indicators
- Defence funding
- 4 indicators
- Defence laboratory
- 1 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
Members of the leadership of the National Centre for Nano Science and Technology have almost certainly not served on any 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 at least one researcher currently affiliated with the National Center for Nano Science and Technology has received a defence award: a Science and Technology Award granted by the People's Liberation Army in 1999.[1]
However, the researcher only joined the National Center for Nano Science and Technology in 2004,[2] meaning that the award cannot be connected to work carried out at the National Center for Nano Science and Technology.
The assessment therefore concludes that researchers and projects affiliated with the National Center for Nano Science and Technology have probably not received any defence awards. However, because data are somewhat outdated and lack sufficient detail, this assessment is made with medium confidence. Awards granted prior to researchers' affiliation with the institute or more recently cannot be fully ruled out.
Defence funding
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology authored 83 publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 90th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 2,486 authors affiliated with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology who published during this period, 171 (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. The Chinese language laboratory websites do not mention any links or references to defence-related activities.
Military-technology patents
Between 2021 and 2025, the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology was granted one military technology patent, placing it in the 39th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. A total of three inventors affiliated with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology were listed on these patents.
Research collaboration with defence entities
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology co-authored 494 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 69th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.
These collaborations include 35 publications with PLA academic institutions, 83 with defence laboratories, 19 with military hospitals, 372 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence, 194 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry and 2 with defence conglomerates.
Of the 2,486 authors affiliated with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology who published during this period, 688 (28 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.
- National Center for Nano Science and Technology. 2009. 'Wang Chen.' [王琛]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- National Center for Nano Science and Technology. 2009. 'Wang Chen.' [王琛]. As of 7 April 2026.Return to content⤴