54 Volodymyrska St., 01601, Kyiv, Ukraine

Secretariate phone: (044) 234 5167; fax: (044) 234 3242;
e-mail: prez@nas.gov.ua

Foreign relations department phone: (044) 235 2239
http://nas.gov.ua

A Historical Profile

On November 27, 1918 the constituent General Assembly of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was held, which elected a world-famous geology scientist V.I.Vernadsky its first President. Over the many-year history of the Academy, prominent scientists were elected its presidents: M. P. Vasilenko (1921-1922), O. I. Levitsky (1922), V. I. Lipsky (1922-1928), D. K. Zabolotny (1928-1929), O. O. Bohomolets (1930-1946), O. V. Palladin (1946-1962). Since 1962 the Academy has been headed by B.E.Paton.

The name of the Academy was changed four times. In 1918-1921 its name was the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (UAS), from 1921 till 1936 – the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (AUAS), in 1936-1991 – the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, from 1991 till 1993 – the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and since 1994 the name has been the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NAS).

The Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was the oldest and the largest republican academy in the FSU.

In the first year of its activities the Academy consisted of three research departments: those of history and philology, physics and mathematics and of social studies, which involved 3 institutes, 15 commissions and the National library. Now NAS of Ukraine has 3 Sections, 14 Departments, over 170 institutes and other research institutions, where more than 15 thousand researchers are working.

The Academy has formed numerous science schools. They were founded by prominent scientists in mathematics – D. O. Grave, M. M. Krilov, M. M. Bogoliubov; mechanics – O. M. Dynnik, M. O. Lavrentiev; physics – K. D. Sinelnikov, L. V. Shubnikov, V. Ye. Lashkariov, O. I. Akhiezer, O. S. Davidov, A. F. Prikhotko, O. Ya. Usikov, S. Ya. Braude; geology – P. A. Tutkovsky; materials research – I. M. Frantsevich; chemistry – L. V. Pisarzhevsky, O. I. Brodsky, A. V. Dumansky; biology and medicine – D. K. Zabolotny, O. O. Bohomolets, V. P. Filatov, M. H. Kholodny, I. I. Schmalhausen. Ukrainian E. O. Paton’s school in electric welding, V. M. Glushkov’s school in cybernerics have won world-wide recognition. Academic schools in economics and humanities, headed by economists M. V. Ptukha and K. H. Vobly, historians M. S. Hrushevsky and D. I. Yavornitsky, orientalist A. Yu. Krymsky, linguist L. A. Bulakhovsky, literature scholars S. O. Yefremov and O. I. Biletsky have also attained great renown.

Principles of Activities and Structure

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is the highest state research organization of Ukraine enrolling academicians, corresponding members and foreign members. It unites all researchers of its institutions and carries out research in various fields of knowledge, develops scientific fundamentals of technological, socio-economic and cultural progress of the nation. In accordance with its Statute, the Academy enjoys the rights of self-government in making decisions concerning its own activities.

The supreme NAS organ is its General Meeting that now involves 481 academicians and corresponding members and 126 foreign members. In the periods between sessions of the General Meeting, the Academy’s activities are directed by NAS Presidium, consisting of the President, Vice-Presidents, Chief Scientific Secretary and Presidium members, who are elected every five years. Academician-Secretaries of research Departments and Heads of Regional Science Centers are also members of the Presidium. Presidents of other state-supported academies of Ukraine permanently take part in its work.

The National Academy of Sciences has three Sections incorporating 14 research Departments – those of Mathematics; Information Science; Mechanics; Physics and Astronomy; Earth Sciences; Physical and Technical Problems of Materials Science; Physical and Technical Problems of Power Engineering; Nuclear Physics and Power Engineering; Chemistry; Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Experimental and Clinical Physiology; General Biology; Economics; History, Philosophy and Law; Literature, Language and Art Criticism. The Academy incorporates 6 Regional Science Centers, also subordinated to the Ministry for Education and Science of Ukraine. The basic elements in the NAS structure are research institutes and other equivalent research institutions. Their work is guided by their own statutes, approved and registered by NAS of Ukraine.

The Academy has an R&D network, which covers pilot facilities, design agencies, engineering and computational centers. Small businesses and joint ventures function within NAS institutions, promoting the commercialization of research results.

Academy institutions were founders of the first in Ukraine R&D facilities pools (technoparks).

The activities of two academic libraries facilitate the intellectual quest and propaganda of the results obtained. These are V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, which is an UNO depositary and whose collections consist of nearly 10 million books and manuscripts, and Lviv V. Stefanyk Academic Library. The Academy has ‘Naukova Dumka’ and ‘Academperiodica’ publishing houses. They prepare to publication and issue numerous monographs, journals and other periodicals, as well as reference books, textbooks, dictionaries, popular science books etc.

Principal research areas and achievements

Scholars of NAS of Ukraine enriched the scientific-and-technical progress with numerous international-level accomplishments in fundamental and applied research. They are responsible for over 90% discoveries made in Ukraine and a number of other achievements that are widely used in industry, agriculture and culture. Back in 1930-s they effected the man-made nuclear reaction of transforming lithium atoms to helium ones, constructed an accelerator of charged particles, produced heavy water, developed a 3-d radar operating in the decimeter range.

In the turbulent years of the Great Patriotic War, the Academy introduced to the defense industry a high-efficiency technology of flux welding of tank and artillery-system hulls, bomb shells, thus improving the performances of combat materiel. Major challenges of aircraft and motor engineering, mass production of ammunition and other defense products were successfully dealt with due to these and other achievements. Medical and biological scientists also made an important contribution to the development of new medicinal preparations and treatment methods.

Just five years after the lengthy and devastating war, NAS scientists constructed the first in Europe Minor electronic calculating machine and later developed the theory of digital automata, which backed up the designing of several generations of electronic computing equipment.

The Academy scientists’ efforts resulted in advanced technologies of all-in-one joining of metals and non-metals in various conditions and environments, electro-slag re-melting, they developed fundamentals for a new metallurgy branch – special electrometallurgy, started the production of superhard materials, synthetic diamonds, metal-ceramic contact alloys and numerous other innovative projects.

Major results were obtained in mathematics, mathematical physics, information science, in various branches of biological cybernetics. A significant momentum was given to the progress in mechanics of solids, liquids and gases.

In particular, physicists and astronomers of the Academy made major contributions to theoretical physics, solid state and semiconductor physics, low-temperature physics, physical electronics, radio physics and astronomy. In these very areas, a number of physical phenomena were discovered, which gave a much deeper insight into the properties of matter under various conditions as well as into physical processes in the Universe. Those theories form the background of numerous state-of-the-art technologies in electronics, holography, radio engineering.

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has become a world-famous materials science center in the areas of electric welding, special electrometallurgy, superhard materials and instruments manufactured on their basis.

An important page in its history was opened by integrated space exploration, implementation of the technology of electric welding and cutting of metals in orbital flights and in the open space, provision of assembly and maintenance operations in space, solar energy utilization for spacecraft power supply, conducting a series of biological experiments in orbit.

Specialists in the Earth sciences have attained significant results in geo- and hydrophysics, hydrogeology, geochemistry and physics of minerals, oceanology. Of excellent repute are their achievements in physical and technical problems of power engineering, investigations into heat-and-mass exchange, electrophysics, simulation of electroengineering and power-engineering facilities, energy-saving, alternative and renewable power sources.

A significant contribution was made to the studies of fundamental problems of catalysis, organic synthesis, macromolecular chemistry, electrochemistry, inorganic chemistry, water chemistry, nanochemistry, coal chemistry and other areas of chemical science.

Fundamental research in biology – studies in membrane biology, human and animal physiology, neurophysiology, biosensors and genome – gained appreciation of both Ukrainian and foreign scientists.

Purposeful search is going on in theoretical and experimental oncology, radiation medicine, cryobiology and cryomedicine, molecular and cell biology, genetic engineering, microbiology and virology.

Numerous achievements were attained in socio-humanities. Institutions of political, juridical, economical and sociological research made a significant contribution to the theoretical substantiation and information-and-analytical backup of sociopolitical and socioeconomic transformations, study of the present-day transformations in the society, working out of fundamentals of structural-investment, innovation, regional, ethno-national and humanitarian policy of the state.

Fundamental multi-volume works have been produced, which cover early history of Ukraine, political history of the 20-th century, history of the Ukrainian culture. A 15-volume monographic series «Ukraine through Centuries» was issued. Quite a number of new-generation dictionaries were published. The first domestic software lexicographical system, created to meet the needs of academic studies, education and publishing activities, won recognition in the society.

Of special importance is the role of NAS of Ukraine in alleviating the impact of the major technological disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. It is well known that the Academy had warned the USSR highest authorities about the danger of concentrating dozens of power units and their wrong location, but those warnings were ignored. Since the very first days of the accident and till the present day, the Academy’s scientists have carried out intense work towards abating grave impacts of the catastrophe and losses inflicted by it, as well as transforming the ruined unit and disaster zone into a pollution-free territory.

Striving for the integration of science and education, the Academy maintains permanent ties with the Ministry for Education and Science of Ukraine and leading Ukrainian universities. This collaboration is seen in the activities of joint research-and-education centers, chairs, laboratories and other forms of cooperation of scholars and educationalists. The Academy also performs coordinating functions for other state-supported academies of sciences in Ukraine.

A lot of attention is given to training highly qualified research personnel, in particular, through post-graduate and post-doctorate courses. Numerous Academy alumni successfully work at its research institutions, in industry, business and banking, in legislative bodies of various levels, central and local governments.

In the years of Ukraine’s transition to the market-type economy, NAS scientists developed dozens of advanced technologies that further the progress of the nation, promote home manufacturing of competitive research-intensive products.

International Scientific Relations and Foreign Economic Activities

The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine gives much effort to the development of international scientific ties, integration to the world academic community. Academy institutions take an active part in implementing joint research works under direct bilateral agreements with foreign research institutions, as well as grants provided by numerous international science foundations and programs.

Agreements have been concluded and intellectual contacts established with academies of sciences and other research centers of over 50 countries of Europe, Asia and America. Among them are academies of sciences of Austria, the USA, China, India, renowned research associations, such as the National Scientific Research Center (CRNS, France), German Research Society (DFG), London Royal Society, the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Austria) and numerous universities from various countries. NAS of Ukraine has made a significant contribution to the multilateral cooperation of the academies of sciences of the Black-Sea countries.

Over ten years ago NAS of Ukraine initiated the establishment of the International Association of the Academies of Sciences, which now incorporates national academies of sciences and leading research centers of CIS countries.

NAS of Ukraine participates in the work of over 20 prestigious international organizations – UNESCO, WHO, IAEA, ICSU etc.

Foreign economic ties of NAS institutions are expanding. R&D works are implemented under assignments of foreign science organizations and firms, institutes sell licenses and their own research-intensive products. Dozens of joint ventures with foreign partners operate successfully.

Efficient foreign economic activities are carried out by the E. O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding, I. M. Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science, V. M. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials, Institute of Physics, V. E. Lashkaryov Institute for Semiconductor Physics, Institute for Single Crystals, Institutes of Engineering Thermophysics, Gas, D. K. Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology. Well-known research institutions and production companies of the USA, Japan, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, China, Egypt, Turkey and Iran are among their partners.