The Samara branch was established in 1980 on a joint initiative of the regional administration and the Nobel Prize winner academician N. G. Basov to solve fundamental and applied problems concerning creation of new laser systems and technologies.

Since the establishment and until 1998, the Branch was headed by its Director, Professor Viktor Anatolyevich Katulin, a Deputy Director of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Presidium of the Samara Scientific Center and the Volga Branch of the Engineering Academy of Sciences, academician of the Russian Engineering Academy, twice winner of the State Prize, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

Currently, the Samara branch of the Lebedev Physical Institute has more than 90 employees, including about 50 researchers, including 10 doctors of sciences (DSci), 20 candidates of sciences (Ph.D.). Over the past years, more than 1,000 articles have been published, more than 500 reports have been delivered at international and Russian conferences, more than 100 author's inventions and patents certificates have been obtained, two volumes of Lebedev Physical Institute's Works, 12 monographs and 10 selected chapters have been published in collaborative publications both in Russia and abroad. 35 candidate's and 11 doctoral dissertations were prepared and defended.

Main research areas:

• Development of methods and means for forming light fields with specified properties and controlling their characteristics. Fundamental research of such fields and their various applications.
• Physical and chemical processes in gas environments, including active environments of lasers, planetary atmospheres. Energy exchange and chemical processes in hydrocarbon flames and electrical discharges.
• Creation and research of new types of laser systems.
• Optical systems based on diode lasers and their applications.
• Nonlinear dynamics of nonequilibrium distributed systems, including laser systems, heat-generating media and plasma. Investigation of the structure of shock and acoustic disturbances, magnetogasodynamic waves, numerical simulation of vortex flows.
• Investigation of the laser radiation effect on the substance. Development of physical and chemical bases for processing materials with concentrated energy flows. Synthesis of structures and materials with specified properties. Synthesis of nanoparticles and aggregated nanocomplexes.