The Department of Modern Physics (MPHY) was founded in 1958 in Bei jing, named as the Department of Nuclear Physics and Engineering.The first chairman was Professor Zhao,Zhongrao,CAS Academician and Director of  Institute of Atomic Energy CAS. Its concurrent professors included renowned Chinese scientists Yan, Jici;Zhang, Wenyu; Peng, Hengwu; Zhu,Hongyuan; Guan, Zhaozhi. In 1962, when the university launched its reorganization,the department was named as the present.The department was moved down to Hefei with the whole university in 1970.Faculty and students of the department made painstaking made efforts to maintain and develop it under very hard and critical conditions by developing new and interdisciplenary fields of study, and building principle disciplines according to the needs of different periods.

By now, the staffs of the MPHY are 105,including 32 professors, 35 associate professors and 22 lecterws and engineers. Prof. Zhang Yongde inbvited as corresponding menber of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1997. We fulfil more than 1/3 of full traching task by unibersity every gear. MPHY's education activities are divided into three specialities They are physic (Theoretical physics. Nuclear and particle Physics. Plasma Physics), Applied Physics and Nuclear Techniqucs (Information Processing and Nuclear Electronics, Acceleratro Physics and Applications) MPHY offers doctoral degrees and mobile postdoctoral station in tree disciplones including theoretical physics, nuclear and particle physics, plasma physics MPHY also offers master degrees in four disciplines including throtetical physics, plasma  physics, atomic and molecular physics, Nuclear physics and nuclear techniques.Capable students can get their master's degrees in 7 years or doctoral degrees in 9 years through our consecutive bachelar-master-doctor system.MPHY prepares students in both fundamental theory and experimental skills in order to develop hugh level research personnel who possess broad knowledges, high flexibility and vreativity in their work .The department also offers engineeting courses with the aim to train composite personnel who have the abilities to conduct both research and technology development. Most of our graduates in the past years engaged in further studyprograms for their master's or docftoral degrees in Chinese or foreign unibersities. The others found their positions in CAS institutes or various hi-new tech. enterprises and companies. At present it consists of 288 undergraduates, 77  postgraduates and 42 doctoral candidates. Since it's founding, the department has yielded 2102 bachelars, 248masters, and 62 doctors.

MPHY has four teaching organs, namely theoretical physic,nuclear and particle physics, information  processing and nuclear electronics, plasma phycics.It consists of 12 well equipped research groups all at leading Chinese levels, MPHY's powerful research capacity finds full display in the numerous projects.It has undertaken for the National Climb Project, High Technology Project, Projects of Basic Research National Natural Science Foundation of China,CAS Key. The research has resulted in high level achievements honored with Natural Science Award, Science and Technology Advancement Award and Innovation Awards at national, provincial and ministry levels. Since 1994, wehave strived to obtain varipus funds about 2,500,000 yuan for science research and technology development every year.It is the first science department of the USTC.

MPHY has established close cooperatias with research institutes in USA, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and Italy. Collaborations take the form of academic excahges, joint doctoral training programs and joint research, covering fields like high energy physics, atomic and molecular physics, theoretical physics, plasma physics, and nuclear medicine. MPHY has established a Joint Institute of High Energy Physics with ETHZ (Switzerland) to participate in thedevelopment of detectors (CMS) for the world largest high energy hadrom collider (LHC). MPHY is also equipped with advanced network servers, workstations and microcomputers. Students and faculties are provided with opportunities to touch frontiers in science and the latest technological developments through INTERNET.