USTC

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 44 195
Alias(es)	USTC; “Wo Ke” (“Our University”), a nickname used in contrast to UCAS’s “Guo Ke” 195
Institution Type	C9 League university and major domestic scientific-research institution 44
Affiliation	Chinese Academy of Sciences system 79 195
Location	Luzhou, where the university is situated within the city center rather than a suburban campus 87
Occupation/Role	Higher education, scientific research, technology incubation, and institutional cybersecurity 44 77 79
Status	Active 812
First Appearance	32

History

USTC relocated from Yanjing to Luzhou in 1969 after prospective host locations in Shashi, Henan, and southern Jiangxi declined to accept it. Southern Anhui agreed to support the university despite limited resources, enabling the move south. 377

The relocation involved 865 tons of goods, more than 35,000 boxes of books and equipment, nearly 490 faculty households, and over 6,000 person-times of relocation. USTC lost nearly two-thirds of its equipment and supplies and more than half its faculty during the process, but did not expel a single student. 377

In 1978, USTC established a Yanjing branch campus, the Graduate School of the University of Science and Technology of China. After 1982, it also used the name Graduate School of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; the institution later became independent as UCAS in 2012. 195

Academic Profile

USTC is described as one of Huaxia’s top-tier institutions for education and scientific research. Its strengths are notably uneven across disciplines: physics was rated A+ alongside Peking University in the cited national discipline assessment, while its humanities and social sciences received a C rating. 44 82

The university has comparatively few national key laboratories, but holds two national laboratories and was approaching a third; the text characterizes a national laboratory as substantially more significant than a conventional national key laboratory. 54

Campuses and Facilities

Facility / Area	Details
Medical Center	A standalone central-campus research module beside Building 8. Though the School of Life Sciences relocated to the West Campus, the Medical Center retained a stronger research-and-development foundation. 44
National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory	Located on the West Campus; identified as Huaxia’s first national-level laboratory. Its equipment can accelerate electrons to 800 MeV and supports acceleration and measurement work. 54 180
Insect Research Institute	A lesser-known West Campus research institute involved in the cockroach eradication crisis and subsequent research. 54
Department of Astronomy	Established in 1998 as Huaxia’s fourth undergraduate astronomy program. It enrolls roughly 20–30 students annually and has about 20 teachers. 365
Key Laboratory of Galactic Astronomy and Cosmology, CAS	Originated as a 2005 joint laboratory between the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and USTC; formally approved by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008. 365
Cybersecurity Department	Led by Wang Qingchen since 2013 and equipped with a dedicated, specialized supercomputer for network-security monitoring. 77 384

Institutional Capabilities

Research and Technology Transfer

USTC maintains extensive experience in corporate investment and management through affiliated investment institutions. Its university ventures are structured around incubation and support rather than direct corporate decision-making. 79 80

The USTC New Venture Fund operates through USTC Investment, with Zheng Zu serving as both general manager of USTC Investment and Secretary-General of the fund. 79

Security Operations

USTC’s security department is led by Director Guan, a retired special-forces soldier who also serves as the university’s reserve-company commander. The department has rehearsed responses to unusual emergencies and can field specialized teams, including a twenty-person chemical-defense unit. 74

Cybersecurity

USTC’s cybersecurity capability is portrayed as among the strongest at domestic universities. Wang Qingchen, its cybersecurity director, was formerly a core member of the Red Alliance and one of Huaxia’s first generation of top cybersecurity experts. 77

During the attack surrounding Yi Ge Lang Mie’s launch, USTC’s cybersecurity team assisted UCAS using shared Chinese Academy of Sciences systems and access keys, helping restore UCAS’s academic system after it had been compromised. 195

USTC later joined UCAS and Huadun Biotech in a counterattack against the attackers. Wang Qingchen led a 33-person USTC team, the largest of the three participating groups. 196

Huadun Biotech

USTC incubated Huadun Biotechnology Co., Ltd. alongside Xu Yun, the School of Physical Sciences, and the School of Life Sciences. The company was established around fifth-generation Imidacloprid and its commercial derivatives. 84

Stakeholder	Investment / Position	Equity
USTC New Venture Fund	8 million yuan in cash and resources; lead investor	27% 84
School of Physical Sciences	2 million yuan in cash and resources	10% 84
School of Life Sciences	2 million yuan in cash and resources	10% 84
Xu Yun	1 million yuan plus fifth-generation Imidacloprid technology	38% 84
Employee stock-option pool	Reserved ESOP allocation	15% 84

The three USTC-system stakeholders collectively hold 47% of Huadun Biotech. Tian Liangwei serves as one of its two executive directors, while Xu Yun is the legal representative and first CEO under a dual-class share structure that initially grants him 90.1% voting power. 84

USTC also assisted Huadun Biotech in establishing its headquarters in the USTC High-tech Industrial Park, an innovation hub containing national, provincial, and ministerial-level research platforms. 193

Major Story Role

Cockroach Eradication Operation

USTC’s sudden expansion and announcement of a comprehensive cockroach extermination operation drew widespread public skepticism. Students, particularly from Applied Physics Class 2, publicly defended the university online. 76

The university organized a public extermination livestream across four East Campus sites: the western sports field, Guo Moruo Plaza, the southeastern basketball court, and Glasses Lake. The Security Department and School of Life Sciences jointly conducted the operation. 87

The livestream drew massive attention, with real-time traffic reaching tens of millions and the topic #USTCDisinfection# becoming a top Weibo trend. 95

Public-Opinion Crisis

When Xu Yun and Huadun Biotech were targeted by online accusations, USTC’s leadership debated whether to distance the university from him. The School of Life Sciences and School of Physics largely considered him innocent, while some leaders favored severing ties to limit institutional pressure. 376

USTC ultimately chose to support Xu Yun. Academician Pan invoked the university’s southward relocation history, emphasizing that USTC had not abandoned its students even during its most difficult period. 377

The university used Xu Yun’s work on the infinitude of Mersenne primes to reshape public discussion, mobilized its cybersecurity resources to analyze public-opinion trends, and arranged preliminary external verification through Gregory Margulis. 380 381 382

At its later press conference, USTC assembled evidence from multiple institutions and agencies to refute the accusations against Xu Yun and demonstrate the scale of its institutional coordination. 387 388

Gravity Gradiometer and Yongling

USTC’s “Diting” project developed the measurement module of a gravity gradiometer using the Pangu particle. With the particle’s lifespan extended to more than four hours, the device was considered suitable for surveying Yongling’s approximately 0.25-square-kilometer underground complex. 472

The gravity gradiometer successfully detected two new sacrificial pits at Sanxingdui, giving USTC leverage to seek full participation in the Yongling excavation rather than merely supplying equipment. 485 486

USTC subsequently signed a cooperation agreement to participate in the Yongling excavation project and was officially designated a cooperating unit. 487

Relationships

• Chinese Academy of Sciences — USTC’s institutional backing and a central connection behind its academic, commercial, and network-system resources. 79 195
• University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) — Formerly USTC’s Yanjing graduate school; their shared history produces both rivalry and mutual support, including joint cybersecurity operations. 195 196
• Luzhou — The city and province that accepted USTC during its relocation from Yanjing, forming the basis of the university’s enduring local identity. 87 377
• Huadun Biotech — USTC-incubated company supported by the New Venture Fund, School of Physical Sciences, and School of Life Sciences. 84
• Tian Liangwei — Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Xu Yun’s doctoral supervisor, Huadun Biotech executive director, and a key USTC decision-maker during several crises. 44 84 381
• Wang Qingchen — Director of USTC cybersecurity; directs institutional responses to cyberattacks and online public-opinion operations. 77 381
• Academician Pan Jianwei — Senior USTC figure who advocates for the School of Physical Sciences’ interests, supports Xu Yun, and leads major scientific initiatives. 81 377 487

Trivia

• USTC’s West Library district is informally called “AED” on campus. 59
• Campus folklore claims that USTC’s cats have GPAs above 3.8, including a calico cat named San Pang and other cats jokingly credited with solving physics problems. 59
• The Astronomy Department is obscure enough that a student once showed an astronomy student ID to campus security and was suspected of carrying a forged identification card. 365