The largest of all the scientific institutions of the center is the Institute of Chemical Physics in Chernogolovka, where fundamental problems of chemical physics are studied: kinetics and mechanisms of chemical and biological processes; processes of combustion, explosion, and polymerization; and mechanisms of elementary reactions involving high energy particles.

The second largest institute is the Institute for Solid State Physics, where investigations in low-temperature and dislocation solid state physics, superconductivity, electron kinetics, the physics of low-dimensional systems, high-pressure physics, and the physics of materials technology are successfully being carried out.

The scientific activity of the youngest institute, the Institute of Structural Macrokinetics, began in 1988 and is developing in the following directions: general and structural macrokinetics, processes of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, applied materials technology, and the creation of technological processes for obtaining inorganic materials.

The main focus of work at the Institute of Microelectronics Technology and High Purity Materials is investigation of physical bases for quality control in semiconducting materials and microelectronic structures, the technology for preparing micro- and nanostructures, electrical and optical properties of metallic and semiconducting nanostructures, and the operating principles of X-ray optical elements.

The Institute of Experimental Mineralogy conducts fundamental investigations into the processes of ore formation. These studies aim to solve how to find deposits of useful minerals by studying models that reproduce under laboratory conditions the processes of matter transfer taking place in open systems under the pressure, temperature, and chemical compositions found in the crust and mantle.

At the Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds, investigations are conducted in the areas of synthesis, the study of structures, physicochemical properties, and the mechanisms of action by physiologically active substances of various classes, including agricultural preparations, enzymes, and proteins.

The work of the Institute for New Chemical Problems is devoted to fundamental investigations into the chemistry of new materials, solid state ionics, synthesis of inorganic compounds, and development of the production technology for refractory metal powders and new materials based on them.

The Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics is a unique center for theoretical physics created by the students of Academician L.D. Landau, after whom the institute was named. The spectrum of the institute's scientific directions embraces many fields of modern theoretical and mathematical physics: solid state theory, superconductivity, field theory, elementary-particle theory, and theoretical investigations in astrophysics. The presence of a strong group of theoreticians in the scientific center and its close cooperation with other institutes helps greatly in solving fundamental scientific problems.

A branch of the Institute of Energy Problems in Chemical Physics carries out research in the following basic directions: chemical- physical processes governing the solution of new energy problems, the mechanisms of physico-energetic action on nature and technical objects, the application of various types of radiation in developing new energy-saving and ecologically clean processes, radiation and laser chemistry, and mass spectroscopy.

The cosmochemistry laboratory of Moscow's Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry was established in Chernogolovka as a special low-background laboratory for the study of radioactive meteorites and lunar probes using modern methods for measuring radiation.

The presence of suitable forest tracts near Chernogolovka determined the creation in our generally physicochemical scientific center of an experimental base of Moscow's Severtsev Institute of Ecology and Evolution for the development of work on the ecological behavior of wild animals.

A somewhat unusual matter for the scientific center was organizing the first industrial enterprise in the Academy of Sciences system, the Experimental Factory of Scientific Instrumentation, to produce equipment for scientific investigations and tools that automatically control experiments. Founded in 1972, the factory is now one of the best producers of scientific equipment in Russia and stands out for its high level of production and excellent technical equipment.

Research by scientists from Chernogolovka's scientific center in various areas of fundamental physics, chemical physics, and chemistry is recognized all over the world. In recent years, an active search has been underway for ways to speed up the pace of scientific and technological achievements in production.

The results of applied research by scientists from the Institute of Chemical Physics on the development of catalytic processes, including processes of enzyme catalysis, nitrogen fixation, hydrocarbon oxidation, and the preparation of new medicinal compounds, have received wide attention.

Also of great interest is technology developed by specialists from the Institute for Solid State Physics to produce articles of a desired shape from single crystals of sapphire or from heat- and shock-resistant structural ceramics for engines, armored protection, and other applications. Technology for the preparation of magnetic recording elements using amorphous ferromagnetic materials and technology for deformation polishing optical elements for laser equipment were also developed at this institute.

Great progress has been made by specialists at the Institute of Microelectronics Technology in developing methods to obtain and analyze high purity materials for electronic applications, and in the technology of preparing x-ray optical elements, nanostructures, and structures of silicon on a dielectric for the preparation of highly stable microcircuits.

Of great practical importance is technology using self-propagating high-temperature synthesis that is being developed at the Institute of Structural Macrokinetics to obtain various inorganic compounds, as well as articles and coatings from these compounds. Over 500 compounds and materials of practical interest have already been produced, and several dozen new technologies, many of which have been produced industrially, have been created.

The scientists of the Institute for New Chemical Problems have achieved considerable success in developing technology to produce ultrafine powders of refractory metals, and in developing a physicochemical basis for ecologically friendly complex treatment of metallurgical raw materials.

Among the achievements by the Chernogolovka branch of the Institute of Energy Problems in Chemical Physics in the area of applied research, we should point out the development of a new type of time-flight mass spectrometer with ionization at atmospheric pressure, which has a sensitivity three orders of magnitude higher than that of existing devices. Also created in this branch was a complex for laser monitoring the environment and determining the influence of destruction of the planet's ozone layer and of increasing doses of biologically active ultraviolet light on the biosphere. One of the important technological developments of this Branch is the plasma-chemical method of modifying the surfaces of polymeric materials, including elastomers.

Products from the Experimental Factory of Scientific Instrumentation are well known in Russia and neighboring countries: electron and ion guns; Auger-electron analyzers; energy and mass analyzers; gas and liquid chromatographs; NMR and EPR spectrometers; installations for molecular beam epitaxy; automized units for the growth of "acoustic", "laser", and other single crystals; and various electronic devices for automation and data analysis.