The National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) is the main platform for the University of Science and Technology of China’s first-tier discipline “Nuclear Science and Technology.” It underpins the development of the School of Nuclear Science and Technology and is dedicated to training interdisciplinary talent for national mega-facilities and cutting-edge nuclear research. NSRL offers a full bachelor–master–PhD education system, is a Chinese Academy Sciences (CAS) key PhD-training base and a Ministry-of-Education Doctoral Innovation Center for synchrotron radiation. The laboratory currently hosts 37 PhD supervisors and 32 master supervisors; over the past decade it has awarded degrees to more than 500 graduate students and presently has ~300 enrolled.
Degree directions and research areas
Nuclear Technology and Applications
Core topics: charged-particle beams, accelerator physics, beam manipulation, particle sources, electron guns, and acceleration technologies. These enable construction and operation of light sources, free-electron lasers, high-energy colliders, industrial/ medical accelerators, neutron sources and ion-implantation devices, with applications in radiation therapy, nuclear energy, materials modification and civil irradiation.
Synchrotron Radiation and Applications
Exploits high brightness, broad spectrum, excellent collimation and polarization, and picosecond time structure for research in life sciences, materials science, information science, new energy, environmental science, atomic & molecular physics, chemistry, earth science, medicine, pharmaceutics, metrology, and micro-/nano-fabrication. NSRL’s dedicated synchrotron source provides an essential tool for interdisciplinary breakthroughs and for national economic and security needs.
Radiation Protection and Environmental Science
Based on the Hefei light source, this program conducts research and graduate education in radiation protection, environmental monitoring, and radiation-impact mitigation.
The National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) of the University of Science and Technology of China runs a year-round “Chasing Light” outreach program. Through USTC campus open days, National Science Popularization Day, the CAS Science Festival, Science Week and winter camps for high-school talent programs, visitors walk the 4 GeV storage-ring tunnel, operate X-ray fluorescence, crystal-diffraction and laser-alignment experiments, and talk with scientists in the “Chasing Light” exhibition hall, model and hardware gallery, and video theatre. In 2023 Science Week alone NSRL welcomed 8 000 visitors in two days; in 2025 the laboratory core site received about 20 000 on-site guests under an online reservation system, while live-stream views reached 50 000. Regular visits plus themed events keep annual attendance at roughly 16 000; 96 % of teenagers report “significantly increased interest in research”. Many schools have since set up photon-science clubs and co-design long-term projects with NSRL, creating a sustainable pipeline of “visit – experience – dive deeper” science engagement.
