Since its foundation in 1973, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) has experienced significant growth, as well as difficult times. IHEP has developed and evolved to include three major strands of research: particle physics and astrophysics, advanced accelerator physics and technologies, and synchrotron and nuclear radiation technologies and applications. Taking advantage of its major science facilities and interactions across disciplines, IHEP has become a large, comprehensive and internationally renowned institution in basic and applied sciences, playing a significant role in the nation’s innovation system.

In today’s world, IHEP has unprecedented opportunities, but also faces great challenges. With the successful completion of the Beijing Electron Positron Collider Upgrade Project, IHEP has stepped to the forefront of high energy accelerator and detector technology research, and has also developed into a world-class institute in the field of particle physics research. The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment and the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory have led our neutrino physics program into the international spotlight. The China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) and the Accelerator-Driven Sub-critical System (ADS) are invaluable not only for their unique research facilities but also for IHEP staff to improve their innovation and organizational capabilities. The construction of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory and the High Energy Photon Source will lay further foundations for future development of the Institute. The proposal for a Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC), mooted by the Chinese high energy physics community in 2012, has been warmly received by the international community. This machine could later be upgraded to a high energy proton-proton collider with physics potential far beyond a Higgs factory, which would open up new paths to exploring science beyond the Standard Model of particle physics.

Aiming to develop IHEP into a world-class research center for high energy physics and a large-scale, multi-disciplinary, comprehensive research base, we are determined to devote all of our energy to completing the tasks before us and making a lasting contribution to the nation’s future development, to science and to humanity.

WANG Yifang

October, 2016