The Agrophysical Research Institute (AFI, Агрофизический научно-исследовательский институт) is a public research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of

agrophysics Agrophysics is a branch of science bordering on agronomy and physics, whose objects of study are the agroecosystem - the biological objects, biotope and biocoenosis affected by human activity, studied and described using the methods of phys ...

, agricultural sciences and research on physical problems of agriculture. The Institute was founded in 1932 in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(now

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Russia). The Institute is part of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences which, in 2013, became part of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

Mission

The AFI conducts research and undertakes education to advance understanding of the agrophysics, including physical mechanisms influencing agriculture, and to communicating this understanding for the benefit of society.

History

The AFI was founded in January 1932 by the Soviet Ministry of Agriculture and Food (which was known at the time as the People's Commissariat for Agriculture-Narkomzem) and the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

recognized the AFI's work in the development of agricultural science and application of scientific achievements to agricultural production. In 1982 it awarded the AFI the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

, and so the AFI became the Order of the Red Banner of Labor Agrophysical Research Institute of the

Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences VASKhNIL (), the acronym for the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences or the V.I. Lenin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (), was the Soviet Union's academy dedicated to agricultural sciences, operating from 1929 to the dissolution of ...

(AFI of Agricultural Sciences). In 1992, after the dissolution of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, a decree by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

created a unified Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The AFI was renamed the Order of the Red Banner of Labor Agrophysical Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (RAAS AFI). In 2003, AFI was renamed the State Scientific Institution of the Order of the Red Banner Agrophysical Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (RAAS GNU AFI). In 2014, the Institute was renamed yet again to the Federal State Scientific Institution "Agrophysical Research Institute" (FGBNU AFI). Throughout its history, the AFI's scientists have highlighted the importance of physical factors in the life of plants and formulated the main task of agronomic physics to be the comprehensive study of these factors. The AFI uses advances in physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology, to solve problems in agriculture and to increase its efficiency. The AFI sees its work today as continuing the scientific traditions of the world-famous physicist

Abram Ioffe Abram Fedorovich Ioffe ( rus, Абра́м Фёдорович Ио́ффе, p=ɐˈbram ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ ɪˈofɛ; – 14 October 1960) was a prominent Soviet Union, Soviet physicist. He received the USSR State Prize, Stalin Prize (1942), the ...

and the botanist and geneticist

Nikolai Vavilov Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Вави́лов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ vɐˈvʲiləf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Ivanovich_Vavilov.ogg; – 26 January 1943) was a Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet agronom ...

. In fact, the term 'agrophysics' itself was first proposed by Ioffe to cover the relations within the soil environment, and especially those of the mass and energy transfer in the soil–plant–atmosphere system. Gliński, J., J. Horabik, and J. Lipiec (2011). Agrophysics: physics applied to agriculture. ''Encyclopedia of Agrophysics, Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series'', pages 35-48, . Ioffe was founder and director of the AFI for 28 years.

References

External links

Agrophysical Research Institute website (in Russian)

ResearchGate webpage for the AFI (in English)
{{authority control Research institutes in Saint Petersburg Independent research institutes Agricultural research institutes Education in Saint Petersburg Research institutes established in 1932 1932 establishments in the Soviet Union Agricultural organizations based in Russia Research institutes in the Soviet Union