This volume contains the materials of a conference held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Umirbek Uspanov (Умирбек Успанов), Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Honored Scientist of the Kazakh SSR, recipient of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and founder of the Institute of Soil Science of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. During his tenure as Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR from 1942 to 1946, U. U. Uspanov devoted great efforts to strengthening existing research institutions and establishing new ones. Together with K. I. Satpayev, he actively participated in all preparatory work related to the organization of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. As the only soil scientist at the Kazakhstan Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, he played a key role in the establishment of the Institute of Soil Science of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR in 1945. From the very founding of the Institute, U. U. Uspanov served as its director for more than twenty-three years. Under his leadership and with his direct participation, the Institute conducted extensive and substantive research in soil geography, land reclamation, field survey and mapping, and laboratory investigations. During the large-scale cultivation of virgin and fallow lands in Kazakhstan in 1954-1955, U. U. Uspanov was one of the principal organizers, leaders, and executors of the surveys and selection of arable lands for the development of new grain-producing regions. At the initiative and under the editorship of U. U. Uspanov, a thirteen-volume monograph series entitled Soils of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic and a set of regional soil maps were compiled and published. These works provided a detailed description of the soils and land resources of the entire territory of Kazakhstan and subsequently served as the foundation for further land-reclamation studies. U. U. Uspanov was one of the compilers and the chief scientific editor of the 1:2,500,000-scale color soil map of Kazakhstan. This map received First Prize at the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy of the USSR in 1974. His scientific contributions were incorporated into fundamental monographs on the soils and land resources of the Soviet Union, as well as into general soil maps of the USSR, Asia, and the world. After U. U. Uspanov, large-scale soil mapping was no longer carried out for a considerable period. In recent years, however, these activities have been revived through the efforts of departments specializing in soil geography, soil genesis, and land evaluation. Using modern geographic information system (GIS) technologies and satellite imagery, a soil map of the Semirechye (Seven Rivers) region at a scale of 1:500,000 has been prepared. The Institute of Soil Science founded by U. U. Uspanov has become the flagship institution of soil science in Kazakhstan and now bears his name. To maintain this status, the Institute must, at the present stage, address the urgent issues of the rational utilization of soil resources in accordance with the objectives outlined by President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan in his strategic message Kazakhstan Among the Fifty Most Competitive Countries in the World. In recognition of U. U. Uspanov's immense contribution to the development of soil science in Kazakhstan and his outstanding organizational role in the advancement of national science, the Institute organized this international conference in honor of his anniversary. The conference was attended by specialists in soil science and agricultural chemistry from the Russian Federation, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and various regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including Almaty, Astana, Taraz, Shymkent, Kyzylorda, and other cities. The first part of this volume contains memoirs written by colleagues, students, and relatives of Umirbek Uspanov, while the second part presents the materials of the commemorative conference. The papers and abstracts submitted to the conference address contemporary issues in soil science and agricultural chemistry and highlight the continuity between these studies and the research once led by U. U. Uspanov. The organizers sincerely thank all those who responded to the call, submitted papers, and participated in this conference.