Institute of Spectroscopy of Russian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1968 on the basis of laboratory of Spectroscopy Committee of Soviet Union Academy of Sciences. Initial goals of the laboratory included the support of scientific and organizational activities of the Spectroscopy Committee, work on a number of technical problems, training of staff, etc. As time passed, activities of the lab reached far beyond its initial scope. The laboratory has become the place of full-scale research focused on spectral instrument making and implementation of atomic and molecular spectroscopy in national economy. Significant scientific and practical results were obtained. Laboratory of the Spectroscopy Committee turned into an independent scientific institution with highly skilled specialists. On 10 November 1967 Presidium of Academy of Sciences of USSR approved a resolution to reorganize the laboratory of Spectroscopy Committee into an Institute for Spectroscopy AS USSR to form a USSR head body in the field of spectroscopy. Soon after that, the Government Committee for Science and Technology gave consent to create an institute and on 29 November 1968, Presidium AS USSR decided to reorganize the Laboratory into an institute. As was proposed by secretary academician L.A. Artsimovich, construction of the Institute building was planned to take place in the Krasnaya Pakhra Scientific Centre, which was being developed at the time and already included the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation and Institute for High Pressure Physics. Dr. Prof. Sergey Leonidovich Mandelstam was the first director and ideologist of scientific research areas of ISAN. Core staff was formed by the former members of Spectroscopy Committee lab: S.A. Uholin, Kh.E. Sterin, G.N. Zhizhin, V.B. Belyanin, Ya. M. Kimelfeld, E.Ya. Kononov, M.R. Aliev, S.N. Murzin. The following researchers have moved to ISAN from Lebedev Physical Institute: V.G. Koloshnikov, B.D. Osipov, V.S. Letoknov, R.V. Ambartsumyan, O.N. Kompanets, O.A. Tumanov. V.M. Agranovich moved to ISAN from Obninsk, R.I. Personov - from Moscow State Pedagogical University. S.G. Rautian worked in ISAN since 1971 to 1977. Involvement of famous scientists facilitated the rapid formation of highly skilled research team. At the same time, ISAN personed was being enriched by talented graduates of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology who still work in the Institute and play key roles in science worldwide. In 1989-2015 the institute was headed by corresponding member of RAS Prof. Dr. Eugeny Vinogradov''. According to Mandelstam's concept, staff of ISAN should not exceed three-four hundred in number. Laboratories of only a handful of researchers made it possible to flexibly change the directions of research and to focus on scientific work instead of administrative concerns. Today, staff of ISAN numbers to 239 employees, including 113 scientists of which 30 are Doctors of Science and 45 are postdocs. ISAN holds the "Chair of Nanooptics and Spectroscopy" at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. ISAN holds the "Chair of Quantum Optics and Photonics" at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Broad-range spectroscopy of atoms, ions, molecules, clusters, plasma, condensed matter, novel materials with ultrahigh temporal, spectral, spatial resolution.
Development of new spectroscopic methods.
Laser spectroscopy
Analytical spectroscopy
Development of unique apparatus, spectral instruments, detection systems, methods for spectral analysis in fundamental sciences as well as in applied fields.
Education of scientific personnel of highest degree.
In particular: - Atom and nanooptics - Femtosecond spectroscopy - Spectroscopy of excited state of atoms, molecules and condensed matter - Plasma spectroscopy - Single-molecule spectroscopy and imaging - Photon Echo spectroscopy - Near-field microscopy - High resolution Fourier-spectroscopy - Spectroscopy of quantum objects and nanostrusctures
