Company History

Apogee Instruments was created in 1996 by Dr. Bruce Bugbee, a professor of crop physiology at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. As a researcher, Dr. Bugbee often found the need for instrumentation that did not exist or that was too costly for his department's budget. He began creating and manufacturing his own instruments in his garage. Word spread among the academic community, and requests for Dr. Bugbee's instruments began coming in from around the world. Apogee Instruments, Inc. was born.

The steady growth of the company caused it to expand far beyond the adequacies of Dr. Bugbee's garage and, in 2007, the employees moved to the new, state-of-the-art facility shown in the adjacent photo. This 480 m2 (5,100 ft2) building has passive solar windows, and an open internal architecture to provide natural lighting to all work stations. The building has radiant floor heat and is “super-insulated” to reduce energy costs, and increase comfort. The roof has an R-value of 80, the walls are R-40, and the low-E thermopane glass has an R of 3.4. The building is monitored and controlled with a Campbell Scientific CR3000 datalogger coupled to 64 multiplexer input channels and 32 output control channels. Internal and external temperature, humidity, CO2, O2, air velocity, and solar radiation are graphed on large displays on the wall. The company logo on the roof is visible from commercial aircraft flying at 8,000 meters. Visitors are always welcome to stop by for a tour. We are proud of where we work.

Apogee Instruments has become a respected leader in the manufacture of innovative, durable, and accurate environmental instruments. Our instruments have been trusted for thousands of applications around the globe. Our passion for research and attention to detail in manufacturing, has made our products renowned for cost effective measurement technology.

Light

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is the spectral range from 400 to 700 nm, which plants use for photosynthesis. PAR is quantified in units of micromole per meter squared per second (µmol m-2 s-1) and is designated as the Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF), also known as Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD). Apogee offers several models of quantum sensors and meters for measuring PPF. For measurements requiring the best accuracy, spectroradiometer models are also available.

Total Solar Radiation, also known as Shortwave Radiation, refers to the radiant energy emitted from the sun. Solar, or shortwave, radiation at the earth’s surface is contained in the region from 280 to 3,000 nm. The instrument used to measure irradiance of solar radiation is called a pyranometer, and units are typically expressed in watts per meter squared (W m-2). Apogee offers several models of pyranometer sensors and meters for measuring solar radiation.

Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation from sunlight is subdivided into three wavelength ranges: UV-A (320-400 nm), UV-B (280-320 nm), and UV-C (100-280 nm). Although much of the UV-B and UV-C wavelengths are blocked by earth’s atmosphere, UV radiation is critically important in photochemical and photobiological reactions. UV radiation is typically quantified in micromoles per meter squared per second (µmol m-2 s-1) or in watts per meter squared (W m-2). Apogee offers several models of UV sensors and meters for measuring UV radiation.