Early spring is a special time each year for Yuri Bohomol, Head of the Department of High-Temperature Materials and Powder Metallurgy at Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute and recipient of the 2025 Borys Paton National Prize of Ukraine.
He appreciates the simple, familiar pleasures of everyday life, and the awakening of nature is one of them. He has loved this kind of weather since childhood: when the sky over his native town of Polonne in Khmelnytskyi region becomes clear after the first warm rain. In the family garden, nestled beside his parents’ house, the buds of the fruit trees will soon fill the air with their fragrance. This is where he rested after school. Here, he prepared for his entrance examinations in Kyiv. He returned here during university holidays to breathe in the clean Podillia air, walk along the winding banks of the Khomora River, and stroll through the paths of Polonne Park. "Life is like a book," my interviewee reflects. "Sometimes you want to remember the old days and return to the places that are dear to you. I am happy that I have the opportunity to do so." He talks about his plans for the household: to renew the garden, tend the vegetable patch, and help his elderly parents, Ivan Oleksiiovych and Tetiana Ivanivna…
…Yet this story is not about Yuri Ivanovych’s feelings and emotions while visiting his native town. It is about the scientific work of a renowned Ukrainian scientist specializing in research into processes involving refractory materials. Moreover, the department headed by Yuri Bohomol is a leading Ukrainian center for training engineers and researchers in materials science and for developing composite, powder, and ceramic materials.
The purpose of the Kyiv Polytechnic correspondent was to visit one of the laboratories of the Department of High-Temperature Materials and Powder Metallurgy and see firsthand the benefits of the powerful equipment and 3D printers used to produce advanced materials and dual-use components based on refractory compounds, powder structural materials, specialized coatings, and high-performance emission materials. Before the visit, I asked Yuri Ivanovych about his path into science. For a moment, his thoughts returned to his childhood and youth. An honors student and gold medalist at one of the schools in Polonne, he dreamed of studying at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
"And why did you ultimately choose Kyiv Polytechnic Institute for your studies?" I ask.
"Everyone interested in studying at our university has long known that it brings together outstanding lecturers, research communities, leading authors of textbooks and study guides, and innovative teaching methods for higher education," says Yuri Bohomol. "I learned about this while I was still in high school. So I understood that I was going to apply to Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. That is why I studied hard and graduated with honors. I also completed the university's preparatory program. Whatever you may call it, it was a solid foundation for preparing for—and, forgive the tautology—passing challenging entrance examinations. Hardly anyone would dispute that Kyiv Polytechnic is one of the country's leading higher education institutions. Its unique role in training specialists has been demonstrated for decades. This is achieved through a combination of high-quality teaching and in-depth exploration of the essence of natural phenomena and technological processes that students study. From the perspective of my years as a teacher and researcher, I can say with confidence that the academic and teaching schools of the various departments at Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute carefully preserve and develop their traditions—even despite today's difficult circumstances caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war—and pass them on to the next generations of educators and researchers. The thoughtful and optimal combination of engineering and fundamental sciences ensures positive outcomes for graduates, including those of our Educational and Research Institute of Materials Science and Welding named after Ye.O. Paton (IMZ). Successful employment at prestigious industrial enterprises is one of the guarantees provided by the university degree. But earning that degree requires completing and defending a thesis, and that, in turn, means working hard throughout one's bachelor's, master's, and PhD studies. It is an axiom of life."
Now, about research. Today, together with my colleagues, we are concerned about the loss of some of our best academic and teaching staff, partly due to insufficient material and technological resources. Nevertheless, I am convinced that my colleagues and I will overcome these challenges. We hope that, thanks to new international projects and business partners, our laboratory will soon receive a 3D printer for manufacturing parts based on metal powders. At the department, we are developing new Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technologies under the supervision of my teacher and predecessor as Head of the Department, long-serving Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physics, Doctor of Engineering, Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, and State Prize of Ukraine laureate Petro Ivanovych Loboda. It was he who, when we first met, convinced me that materials science was an interesting and fascinating field. I agreed—and have never regretted it. I believe that, despite the difficult circumstances, my colleagues and I are achieving positive results. These are not just lofty words: together with our partners, including graduates of the Educational and Research Institute of Materials Science and Welding, we continue to modernize the production and research facilities of our laboratories. This demonstrates that we have strong scientific and technological potential. We understand the importance of professionally oriented education and are expanding our partnerships with employers. After all, Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute remains among the top five higher education institutions in Ukraine. The staff of our department, including my colleagues who are also laureates of the 2025 Borys Paton National Prize of Ukraine—Doctor of Engineering and Professor of the Department Oleksandra Ivanivna Yurkova and PhD in Engineering, Associate Professor of the Department Yevhen Vasylovych Solodkyi—has contributed to this achievement. We also work in partnership with other laureates of the Boris Paton National Prize: Tetiana Oleksiivna Prikhna, Doctor of Engineering, Professor, Head of a Department at the V.M. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Professor Mykhailo Mykhailovych Student, leading researcher at the H.V. Karpenko Physico-Mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine; and others.
Yurii Bohomol and his fellow researchers are also highly respected internationally. This is evidenced by the hundreds of congratulatory messages he and his colleagues received following their being awarded the Boris Paton National Prize of Ukraine.
Yurii Bohomol recalls the contribution of his teacher, Petro Loboda, to the development of the department, the Collective Use Center Materials Science of Refractory Compounds and Composites, the entire Faculty of Engineering and Physics, and later the Educational and Research Institute of Materials Science and Welding, particularly in implementing international projects such as Horizon Europe, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, and the Tempus educational programme. A distinguished scientist in the field of refractory materials science and the head of the scientific school Materials Science of Refractory Compounds and Composites at the Educational and Research Institute of Materials Science and Welding named after E.O. Paton, Petro Loboda became a mentor to Yurii Bohomol, as he did to many other contemporary researchers. To this day, Yurii Ivanovych is grateful for the knowledge he gained from the outstanding lecturers who worked at the Faculty of Engineering and Physics, including Volodymyr Yakovych Shliukov, Viktor Vasylovych Morozov, Petro Antonovych Boiko, Ihor Ivanovych Bilyk, Kostiantyn Kuzmych Paliosa, Oleksii Pavlovych Epik, and many others.
Looking back, Yurii Bohomol recalls that after graduating with honors, he was invited to pursue postgraduate studies. He believes that the years spent in graduate school, followed by work as a research fellow and then as an assistant at his home department, were not simply a period to be counted toward his overall academic and teaching experience. “The creative energy and youthful enthusiasm of a promising young scientist do not emerge by chance. A favorable combination of circumstances, the opportunity to continue studying at Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute after completing undergraduate studies, and a complete educational trajectory—from student to postgraduate researcher, and later to lecturer, associate professor, and professor—serve as an example for today’s ambitious young people who are currently pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degrees,” Professor Yurii Bohomol is convinced. He continues: “There is still much useful work to be done. This includes consulting with companies that implement powder metallurgy in their production processes, involving graduates of the department in the development of the additive manufacturing laboratory, and teaching students the production process from a digital model to a finished product.” The research activities of Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Yurii Bohomol are focused on introducing innovations into Ukraine’s knowledge-intensive manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, teaching students courses such as Mechanical Properties of Materials, Project Management, and Organization of Research and Innovation Activities is his contribution to preparing qualified engineers and researchers for the future of Ukraine despite the difficult challenges facing the country today.
The experience and expertise accumulated in the laboratory in the field of refractory compound materials science enabled Yurii Bohomol to establish a partnership with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) in Tsukuba, Japan, a world-leading research institution specializing in the development of advanced materials. Collaboration with Oleh Orestovych Vasylkiv, a graduate of the department and a leading researcher at NIMS, has also played an important role. His research focuses on the chemical and structural engineering of deformation-resistant carbides, borides, and nitrides of refractory metals, which retain high mechanical properties at temperatures of up to 2,000 °C. This cooperation has enabled Professor Bohomol and his colleagues to take their research and technological developments to a qualitatively new level and to participate in cutting-edge international technology projects.
“Thanks to the implementation of additive technologies, manufacturers will ultimately be able to reduce energy-intensive and environmentally harmful production operations while improving the manufacturing process for a wide range of components,” he says confidently. “I would like to emphasize that additive technologies can be used to produce a refractory insert for, say, a milling tool, a structurally complex component for a military vehicle, or even a sophisticated prosthetic joint. And, of course, even a tree of happiness—a multifaceted symbolic talisman believed to attract good fortune—can be created using a 3D printer. These are exciting technological prospects. First, they will help foster a new generation of materials scientists in both academia and industry. Second, they will ensure high-quality training for specialists working in Ukraine’s research and industrial sectors, allowing us to contribute to the struggle for life, for Ukraine’s independence, and for a just peace!”
…The Ukrainian idea of “tending one’s own garden,” in the words of our outstanding poet Maksym Rylskyi, is a call to preserve our native language, culture, and spiritual heritage. It symbolizes the daily cultivation of national consciousness, the protection of our values, and the development of our own state in every sphere, much like the careful tending of plants in a garden. It is also about people of our time such as Yurii Bohomol. We wish him every success in continuing this work!