Chemical Research Institutes

institutions that conduct research in chemistry. Such institutes develop methods for the comprehensive study of the composition, properties, structure, and transformation of substances. The problems worked on by the institutes’ staffs are closely tied to practical goals.

Chemical research institutes as scientific institutions arose at the turn of the 20th century in response to a need for new organizational forms of research work; such a need derived from the differentiation and integration of chemistry as a science and from the emergence of theoretical and technical problems whose solutions required the collective efforts of scientists with various specializations.

The first scientific institutions to conduct research in chemistry were chemistry laboratories, such as the royal laboratory in Stockholm (1637) and the laboratories attached to the Institute of Bologna (1714), the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (established by M. V. Lomonosov in 1748), the Royal Institution of Great Britain (1799), and the University of Giessen (established by J. von Liebig in 1825).

The first chemical research institutes were established at universities and other higher schools. The founders were leading chemists, who shaped the new trends of scientific inquiry: F. A. Kekulé founded the chemistry institute at the University of Bonn (1868); W. Nernst, the physical chemistry institute at the University of Göttingen (1896); W. Ostwald, the physical chemistry institute at the University of Leipzig (1898); S. Arrhenius, the Nobel Institute of physical chemistry in Stockholm (1905); A. Werner, the chemistry institute at the University of Zürich (1909); and M. Curie, the Radium Institute in Paris (1914).

In the early 20th century, major national centers of scientific research were established in various countries with government financing and administration; they included several chemical research institutes, such as those of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in Germany (1911; since 1948, the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science). In 1915, Great Britain established a special government agency, the Department of Research Industry Establishments, which operates the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.

In Russia, scientific research in chemistry was conducted in the chemistry laboratory of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, as well as in the laboratories of the universities in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Moscow, Dorpat (now Tartu), Kiev, and Kharkov and Novorossia University in Odessa. Research was also conducted in chemistry laboratories attached to polytechnic institutes (Riga, Kiev, St. Petersburg), institutes of technology (St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Tomsk), mining institutes (St. Petersburg, Ekaterinoslav), and other technical higher educational institutions. In all the laboratories, major scientific schools were established and highly qualified chemists were educated. There were no specialized chemical research institutes in prerevolutionary Russia, although leading scientists, such as V. I. Vernadskii, N. S. Kurnakov, L. A. Chugaev, insisted that the need for them was great.

The early years of Soviet power saw the founding of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Analysis (Petrograd, 1918), the Institute for the Study of Platinum and Other Noble Metals (Petrograd, 1918), the Radium Institute (Petrograd, 1922; renamed in honor of V. G. Khlopin in 1950), and the Chemical Institute (Leningrad, 1924; organized from the chemistry laboratory founded in 1748).

Several chemical research institutes established are now part of the Ministry of the Chemical Industry of the USSR: the L. Ia. Karpov Physical Chemistry Institute (Moscow, 1931; organized from the L. Ia. Karpov Chemical Institute, 1921, which in turn was formed from the Central Chemistry Laboratory of the Supreme Council on the National Economy, 1918), the State Institute of Applied Chemistry (Petrograd, 1919; until 1924, the Russian Institute of Applied Chemistry), the Scientific Research Institute for Fertilizers, Insecticides, and Fungicides (Moscow, 1918; until 1933, the Scientific Institute for Fertilizers), and the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for Chemical Reagents and Substances of High Purity (Moscow, 1918).

The Ministry of the Chemical Industry of the USSR and the Ministry of Petroleum Processing and the Petrochemical Industry of the USSR operate the Institute of the Nitrogen Industry, the S. V. Lebedev All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Synthetic Rubber (Leningrad, 1945), the Scientific Research Institute of the Rubber Industry (Moscow, 1945), the Scientific Research Institute of the Tire Industry (Moscow, 1945), the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Petrochemical Processes (Leningrad, 1958), and the Scientific Research Institute for Synthetic Rubber Monomers (Yaroslavl, 1958).

The Academy of Sciences of the USSR operates the following chemical research institutes (1976): the Institute of Macromolecular Compounds (Leningrad, 1948), the A. V. Topchiev Institute of Oil Chemical Synthesis (Moscow, 1959; organized from the Institute of Petroleum, 1947), the N. S. Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (Moscow, 1934; organized by merging the laboratory of general chemistry of the Institute of Chemistry, 1924, the Institute for the Study of Platinum and Other Noble Metals, 1918, and the Institute of Physical and Chemical Analysis, 1918); the Institute of Physical Chemistry (Moscow, 1945; organized from the Colloid-Electrochemical Institute, founded in 1934 by V. A. Kistiakovskii as a reorganization of the colloid-electrochemistry laboratory that he founded in 1930, the Institute of Chemistry (Gorky, 1969; organized from a polymer stabilization laboratory), the Institute of Chemical Physics (Moscow, 1931), the Institute of Electrochemistry (Moscow, 1957), the Institute of Organic-Element Compounds (Moscow, 1954), the V. I. Vernadskii Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry (Moscow, 1947; organized from the laboratory for geochemical problems founded by V. I. Vernadskii in Moscow in 1929), the Institute of New Chemical Problems (Chernogolovka, Moscow Oblast, 1964), the I. V. Grebenshchikov Institute of Chemistry of Silicates (Leningrad, 1948; organized from the laboratory for silicate chemistry, 1934, the M. M. Shemiakin Institute of Bio-Organic Chemistry (Moscow, 1959; until 1974, the Institute of Chemistry of Natural Compounds), and the N. D. Zelinskii Institute of Organic Chemistry (Moscow, 1934; organized from the organic chemistry laboratory of the Institute of Chemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the S. V. Lebedev Laboratory for Macromolecular Compounds, 1934).

The Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR operates the following chemical research institutes: the Institute of Catalysis (Novosibirsk, 1958), the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (Novosibirsk, 1957), the Institute of Organic Chemistry (Novosibirsk, 1958), the Irkutsk Institute of Organic Chemistry (1957), the Institute of the Physical and Chemical Foundations of Mineral Processing (Novosibirsk, 1944; until 1964, the Chemicometallurgical Institute), the Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion (Novosibirsk, 1957), and the Institute of Oil Chemistry (Tomsk, 1970).

The Far East and Urals scientific centers and the Bashkir, Kazan, and Kola branches of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR operate the following chemical research institutes: the Institute of Chemistry (Vladivostok, 1971), the Pacific Institute of Bio-Organic Chemistry (Vladivostok, 1974; formerly the Institute of Biologically Active Substances), the Institute of Chemistry (Sverdlovsk, 1955), the Institute of Electrochemistry (Sverdlovsk, 1947), the Institute of Chemistry (Ufa, 1969; formerly the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Bashkir Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR), the A. E. Arbuzov Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry (Kazan, 1965, formed by merging the A. E. Arbuzov Institute of Chemistry, 1946, and the Kazan Organic Chemistry Institute, 1958), and the Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements and Minerals (1957, Apatity, Murmansk Oblast).

As of 1975, the academies of sciences of the Union republics operate the chemical research institutes listed below.

The Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR operates the A. L. Mndzhoian Institute of Fine Organic Chemistry (Yerevan, 1955), the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (Yerevan, 1969), the Institute of Organic Chemistry (Yerevan, 1957; organized from the organic chemistry department of the Institute of Chemistry, 1935), the Institute of Biochemistry (Yerevan, 1961), and the Institute of Agrochemical Problems and Hydroponics (Yerevan, 1966).

The Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR operates the Iu. G. Mamedaliev Institute of Petrochemical Processes (Baku, 1959) and its Sumgait branch, the Institute of Theoretical Problems of Chemical Technology (Baku, 1965), the Institute of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (Baku, 1965; organized from the Institute of Chemistry, 1935) and the affiliated Nakhichevan Scientific Center (Nakhichevan, Nakhichevan ASSR, 1972), and the Institute of Chemistry of Additives (Baku, 1965; organized from the laboratory for the synthesis and technology of additives of the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, 1959).

The Academy of Sciences of the Byelorussian SSR operates the Institute of Physical-Organic Chemistry (Minsk, 1959; organized from the Institute of Chemistry, 1931), the Institute of Bio-Organic Chemistry (Minsk, 1974), the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (Minsk, 1959; formed from the Institute of Chemistry, 1931), and the Institute of Geochemistry and Geophysics (Minsk, 1971).

The Academy of Sciences of the Estonian SSR operates the Institute of Chemistry (Tallinn, 1947).

The Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR operates the P. G. Melikishvili Institute of Physical and Organic Chemistry (Tbilisi, 1929), the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrical Chemistry (Tbilisi, 1956), the I. G. Kutateladze Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (Tbilisi, 1932), and the Institute of Plant Biochemistry (Tbilisi, 1971).

The Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR operates the Institute of Chemical Sciences (Alma-Ata, 1945), the Institute of Organic Catalysis and Electrochemistry (Alma-Ata, 1969), the Chemical-Metallurgical Institute (Karaganda, 1958), and the Institute of Oil Chemistry and Mineral Salts (Gur’ev, 1960).

The Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR operates the Institute of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (Frunze, 1960; formed from the Institute of Chemistry, 1943), the Institute of Organic Chemistry (Frunze, 1960), and the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology (Frunze, 1964).

The Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR operates the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (Riga, 1946), the Institute of Organic Synthesis (Riga, 1957; organized from several laboratories of the Institute of Forestry Problems, 1946), and the Institute of Wood Chemistry (Riga, 1963; organized from the Institute of Forestry Problems, 1946).

The Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR operates the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technology (Vilnius, 1945) and the Institute of Biochemistry (Vilnius, 1967).

The Academy of Sciences of the Moldavian SSR operates the Institute of Chemistry (Kishinev, 1959).

The Academy of Sciences of the Tadzhik SSR operates the Institute of Chemistry (Dushanbe, 1945).

The Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR operates the Institute of Chemistry (Ashkhabad, 1957).

The Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR operates the L. V. Pisarzhevskii Institute of Physical Chemistry (Kiev, 1927), the Donetsk Department of Physical and Organic Chemistry (Donetsk, 1966), the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (Kiev, 1931; until 1945, the Institute of Chemistry), the Institute of Colloidal Chemistry and Chemistry of Water (Kiev, 1967), the Institute of Organic Chemistry (Kiev, 1939), the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (Kiev, 1958; until 1964, the Institute of Polymer and Monomer Chemistry), the Institute of Gas (Kiev, 1949), and the A. V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry (Kiev, 1925).

The Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR operates the Institute of Chemistry (Tashkent, 1943), the Institute of Botanical Chemistry (Tashkent, 1956; organized from the alkaloid chemistry laboratory of the Institute of Chemistry, 1943), and the Institute of Biochemistry (Tashkent, 1967). The academy also has scientific and administrative control of the Scientific Research Institute of the Chemistry and Technology of Cotton Fiber of the Ministry of the Chemical Industry of the USSR and the Middle Asian Scientific Research Institute for Petrochemical Processing of the Ministry of Petroleum Refining and the Petrochemical Industry of the USSR.

As of 1974, chemical research is conducted at more than 155 institutes and affiliates of various sectors of industry, more than 50 institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the academies of sciences of the Union republics, and more than 110 special problems laboratories at higher educational institutions. Research on many chemical and interdisciplinary problems is conducted by both chemical research institutes and certain biological research institutes (the Institute of Agrochemistry and Soil Science, the Institute of Protein, the A. N. Bakh Institute of Biochemistry, the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, the Institute of Molecular Biology, and the Institute of Photosynthesis), geological research institutes (the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry and the Institute of Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Crystallochemistry of Rare Elements), and the P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanography, as well as other institutes and laboratories.

In other socialist countries, scientific research is conducted at the chemical research institutes of the academies of sciences and various industry ministries. Fundamental research is conducted chiefly at academic chemical research institutes located in the capital cities. Major institutes are as follows: in the People’s Republic of Bulgaria—the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, the Institute of Organic Chemistry, and the Institute of Physical Chemistry; in the Hungarian People’s Republic—the Central Research Institute for Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Isotopes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Technical Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Biochemistry, and the Research Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; in the German Democratic Republic—the Central Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, the Central Institute of Organic Chemistry, and the Central Institute of Physical Chemistry; in the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea—the Central Chemical Institute, the Research Institute of Chemical Fiber, and the Research Institute of Chemical Engineering; in the Mongolian People’s Republic—the Institute of Chemistry and the Institute of Biologically Active Substances; in the Polish People’s Republic—the Institute of Physical Chemistry, the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics; in the Socialist Republic of Rumania—the Center for Physical Chemistry, the Center for Organic Chemistry, and the Center for Inorganic Chemistry; and in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic—the Institute of Physical Chemistry, the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, and the Institute of Chemical Process Foundations.

In the capitalist countries, chemical research institutes are usually attached to state agencies, universities and other higher educational institutions, and scientific societies partially funded by the state. Fundamental research is conducted at the following institutes: in the USA—at the universities of California and Pennsylvania, Cornell University, the Institute of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio; in Great Britain—at the universities of Bristol, Glasgow, Cambridge, Liverpool, London, Nottingham, Oxford, and Edinburgh, and at Victoria University of Manchester and the Fulmer Research Institute, Ltd.; in the Federal Republic of Germany—at the institutes of physical chemistry attached to the universities of Bonn, Hamburg, and Würzburg and at the institute of organic chemistry at the University of Mainz, the institute of inorganic chemistry and electrochemistry at the Aachen Technical Hochschule, the institute of chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, the Institute for Spectrochemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, and the German Plastics Institute; in France—at the National Institute for Research in Applied Chemistry, the Research Center for the Study of Plastics, the Institute for Rubber Research, the chemical engineering institute at the University of Toulouse, and the Institute for Catalysis Research; in Italy—at the National Institute of Chemistry, the Center for Research in Applied Chemistry, chemical research institutes with different specializations at various universities (Rome, Milan, Pavia, Pisa), and the institutes of chemistry, industrial chemistry, physical chemistry, and electrochemistry at the Polytechnic Institute in Milan; in Japan—at the state institutes for industrial research in Nagoya and Osaka, the research institute for industrial chemistry in Tokyo, the Research Institute for Catalysis at Hokkaido University, and the Civil Engineering Research Institute and the Institute for Chemical Research at the University of Kyoto.

Fundamental and applied research in chemistry and chemical engineering is also conducted in the research departments of capitalist industrial firms.