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 physical ...

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

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(now

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

). 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; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

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 (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

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

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, 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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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 and the prominent 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 agronomist, botanist a ...

. 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 Russia 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