In 1952, HIT founded its discipline of mechanics. Now, this discipline consists of 110 faculty members, including four members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), one member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), one member of the Academy of Europe, two World Fellows, and one vice president of the International Committee on Composite Materials.

HIT’s Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) discipline spreads across all three campuses. According to the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database, HIT’s Materials Science ranks in the top 1‰ globally.

Civil engineering and architecture make up a powerful group at HIT—consisting of civil engineering at the core and also including related areas of study, such as architecture and transportation engineering. This discipline arose from the railway construction program, which made up part of HIT at the beginning in 1920.

HIT's Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) discipline includes Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Municipal Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Life Science, and Energy Science and Engineering.

HIT’s Automation & Electrical and Electronic Engineering discipline consists of a powerful team: two and three CAS and CAE members, respectively; 127 professors; 140 associate professors; and 76 lecturers.

HIT’s Automation & Electrical and Electronic Engineering discipline consists of a powerful team: two and three CAS and CAE members, respectively; 127 professors; 140 associate professors; and 76 lecturers.

This interdisciplinary group at HIT focuses on “mechanical engineering”, including “instrument science and technology” and “power engineering and engineering thermophysics.” It contributes to major national projects, including manned space flight, deep-space exploration, inertial-confinement fusion, aeroengines, and gas turbines.

With 20 successful microsatellite launches, HIT reached many firsts in the field of aerospace at home and abroad. On April 18, 2004, the Shiyan-1 satellite—the first microsatellite developed independently by Chinese universities, including HIT—was successfully launched. It completed the first satellitebased three-dimensional surveying and mapping of the Earth. Some of the other successfully launched HIT satellites include the Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 satellites to the Moon.

HIT’s School of Management, an AI team from the School of Computer Science and statisticians from the Department of Mathematics work together to form the discipline of Big Data and Management Science, which makes use of resources at all HIT campuses.

HIT's Space Environment Simulation and Research Infrastructure (SESRI) is a ground-based large-scale space science and technology experimental platform. Currently under construction at HIT, SESRI will go into service to users around the world in 2022. It is designed for studying basic scientific issues in space materials, devices, magnetospheric physics, and other areas—all with world-leading capabilities of simulating a wide range of factors in a space environment.