History
Water Problems Institute was founded on December 29, 1967, as Water Problems Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Its organization was conditioned by the necessity of creating a single highly authoritative scientific center within the USSR Academy of Sciences. The center would solve problems of scientific and economy-related assessment of water resources in general, their use, fully taking into account the needs of all water management sectors and providing a long-term scientific forecast.
The history of the Institute is connected with the names of world-famous scientists, who made a significant contribution into its establishment and development: A.B. Avakyan, G.M. Barenboym, A.I. Budagovsky, S.L. Vendrov, A.N. Voznesensky, G.V. Voropaev, Y.S. Dolotov, I.S. Zektser, G.P. Kalinin, S.N. Kritsky, B.I. Kudelin, V.N. Kunin, M.F. Menkel, G.N. Panin, V.G. Pryazhinskaya, D.Y. Ratkovich, K.I. Rossinsky, B.A. Fidman, M.G. Khublaryan and many others. Their work laid the basis for today’s research, which is successfully carried out and developed by the Institute’s scientific group.
Today, Water Problems Institute of RAS is Russia’s leading scientific center in the fundamental research of water resources, surface water regime and quality, ecological state of water objects, problems of water supply in Russian regions, water resources management and water protection. The Institute’s research staff are highly qualified: about 70% of the researchers have advanced degrees (there are 42 Doctors of Science and 80 Candidates of Science (PhD) among them).
The research staff includes 2 corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 academicians of the Water Academy, 7 academicians of the Russian Ecological Academy, one academician and 2 corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, 2 scientists were awarded the rank “Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation”, one was given the rank “Honored Scientist and Engineer of the Russian Federation”.
Licensed training is provided at the post-graduate level of the Institute in two directions: “Earth Sciences” and “Technique and Technologies”. The educational process is organized at the Department of Water Resources of WPI RAS. The Institute has a Dissertation Council for presenting dissertations for a doctorate degree in the following sciences: Terrestrial Hydrology, Water Resources, Hydrochemistry (Geographical, Technical, Phys. & Math. sciences), Geo-Ecology (Geographical sciences). The Institute is a co-founder of the peer-reviewed journals “Water Resources” (within the Web of Science Core Collection), “Arid Ecosystems”, and the online journal “Ecosystems: Ecology and Dynamics”.