A Brief Introduction to the Department of Physics of Nanjing University

    The department of physics of Nanjing University is one of the oldest physics departments established in China in 1920. The present department was made up of the physics departments of Nanjing University and Jinling University in 1952. The department has been very active in frontier fields of scientific interests since it pays special attention to cultivate the research atmosphere and set up the well structured and experienced research teams. The academical activities are led by academicians Feng Duan, Wang Yening, Ming Naiben, and 62 other well known professors , followed by 65 associate professors. The main research units are National key laboratory of solid state microstructure physics, Institute of solid state physics, Institute for acceralator, Institute of applied physics, Institute of biomedicine and biophysics, and The center for theoretical physics. In particular, The national key lab of solid state microstructure physics has been contineously rated by the government agencies as one of the best in the country since its founding and was one of the first five key national laboratories to be heavily invested by the govenment. In the mean time, this lab has formed an Advanced research center for microstructures and technologies joiuntly with eight other laboratories in the eastern coast and Hong Kong area to prompt the regiomal collaborations.
    The department also serves as a training base for educating the skillful profesionals in the physical research. It hosts the national bases for key disciplineson the condenced matter physics and theoretical physics and the provincial bases for key disciplines on the nuclear physics and semiconductor physics and devices. Also based in this department in a postdoctoral stations. The department also gets approvals to award the Ph.D degree in four specialities, the Master of science degree in five specialities, and the Bachelor's degree in three specialities. Since 1982, the number of students who received their Ph.D, Master of Science, and Bachelor degree are 133, 314, and more than 1600, respectively. Right now, there are 15 postdoctorals, 90 Ph.D students, 94 master degree students, and near 500 undergraduate students are studying in the department.
    With many years of the painstaking efforts, the department of physics has become one of best on the basic research in the country with well equipped personels and research facilities, its research achievements are increasingly appreciated by the world physical community. It has also established close ties with 20 countries and regionson research collaboration and scieatific exchange program. The main research fields and specialities are the multilayer films,superlattice materials and physics, nano-materials and cluster physics,crystal physics, superconductor physics and superconducting electronics, nuclear physics and nulcear solid state physics, condensed matter and statistical physics, theoretical nuclear physics and elementary particales, biomedical physics etc.. During 1987-1995, the department of physics has published 22 monographs and more than 1607 scientific papers in the key international and domestical physical journals, near 946 papers have been included in the Science Citation Index . The abundant research and teaching works have also earned the department numerous recognitions. In the recent past, the department was awarded 7 titles of national natural science prizes, 2 for national science and technology advancement prize and 1 for national invention prize. It has earned more than 50 titles from the provencial science and technology advancement prizes. In particular, the academicians Duan Feng and Naiben Ming are the chief scientists in the fields nano-material science and optico-electronic function materials, respectively. In addition, it has won several prizes of the State Excellent Educational Achievement Award, and of the Excellent Teaching Materials Awards of the State Education Commission. At the same time, the department is also engaged in 84 national and provincial research projects. A key project of the department , Microstructure Physics and Its Application, entered into the national " Project 211" and is being put into effect.
    With the advantage of the basic research strength, the department has recently expanded also into the applied physics field so that the results of the basic researches can be quickly transfered into applications and product developments. Currently, the applications involve mainly various metallic materials, metallic and semiconductor thin films and superlattices, microwave absorption materials, acceralator application in medical treatment and industry, as well as the development of electronic devices and equipments etc..