History of Agrophysics: The Creative Activity of A. F. Chudnovsky

A. F. Chudnovsky was a prominent agrophysicist and a pioneer in the heat physics of soil. His primary research interests were thermo-physics of soils, thermo-physical properties of dispersed materials, the thermal conductivity of semiconductors, engineering and physical aspects of thermal soil melioration, and energy and mass transfer in the soil-plant-air system. He also conducted research on physical and technical methods (electronics) in agrophysics, remote sensing of agricultural fields, and agrophysical basics of crop programming. Among these areas of agrophysics, he completed 20 scientific monographs. A. F. Chudnovsky was a talented scholar, a great mentor, and under his leadership, more than 50 Masters of Science and 20 Doctoral Theses were completed. This paper is written to commemorate Dr. A. F. Chudnovsky’s dedicated contributions to agrophysical research and development.