The Institute of Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology was founded in 2014 with three major research focuses: Historical Metallurgy and Materials, Conservation of Cultural Heritage, and Science, Technology and Society. Two research centers are housed within the Institute: the State Administration for Cultural Heritage Key Scientific Research Base for Archaeometallurgy and the Research Center for Science, Technology and Civilization. Currently, the Institute has a PhD program in History of Science and Technology, MSc program in History of Science and Technology, and MA program in Cultural Relics and Museology. The Institute also hosts postdoctoral researchers and visiting scholars.

University of Science and Technology Beijing (USTB) is one of the pioneers in China conducting research on the history of science and technology. As early as 1974, the university had organized an editorial team for the book A History of Metallurgy in China. Over the next forty years, this team conducted extensive research on the history of metallurgy and materials in China, and gradually evolved into the Institute as it exists today. In 2007, the discipline (major) of history of science and technology in USTB was selected as a first level National Key Discipline. The 2008 and 2012 China Discipline Rankings (CDR) ranked USTB as first place in China in the discipline of history of science and technology. In 2017, the discipline was inducted into the National Double-First Class University Plan and received an “A+” record in the CDR.

We aim to conduct cross-disciplinary cutting-edge research in the fields of archaeology, history of science and technology, and conservation of cultural heritage. We also actively support international collaborations, academic publication, sharing of academic resources, and various kinds of social services in heritage management and economic development.

The current director of the Institute is Professor Qian Wei and the three vice directors are Professor Zhang Meifang, Professor Chen Kunlong, and Mrs Wang Yiwei.