Ukrainian names in world science

Science is considered to be the highest form of human mental activity that reflects the development of nature, society and thinking. Each nation is proud of its scholars, re­searchers and inventors, because their work not only promotes the economic prosperity of the country, but also ensures the progress of mankind. The Ukrainian land has always been rich in talents, and the contribution of our countrymen to the world science and culture can hardly be exaggerated. However, until recently their names have not been as­sociated with Ukraine. The tragic fate of our country, divided and enslaved for many centuries, made a lot of Ukrainians leave their homeland, as foreign rulers were indif­ferent to the development of the province and didn’t encourage the work of scientists. Moreover, a lot of Ukrainian scientists are known to have been repressed in the Soviet period, as, for example, geographer Stepan Rudnytsky (1877-1937). Their scientific work was ignored, and their names were deliberately hushed up. As a result, other countries have benefited from the inventions and discoveries made by Ukrainians, while very little is known about them in Ukraine. On the other hand, those scientists of Ukrai­nian origin who did win the recognition in their Motherland (e.g. Volodymyr Vernad-sky, Kostiantyn Tsiolkovsky, Serhiy Koroliov), are world-famous as Russian or Soviet scientists.

One of the earliest-known Ukrainian names in the world of science is that of Yuriy Drohobych-Kotermak (1450-1494) who, like many of the prominent people of the Renaissance, was named after his native land. Having obtained education at the universities of Poland and Italy, Yuriy Kotermak became famous all over Europe as a physician, philosopher, astronomer, and poet. His creative activity was highly appreciated by Bologna University where he held the post of Rector.

The first academic centers appeared in Ukraine in the 16th and 17* centuries, among them: Ostroh College (1576), Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (1632) and Lviv University (1661). These educational establishments trained specialists both in humanities and natural sciences. The end of the 19lh century was especially fruitful for

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the development of the Ukrainian science. Numerous scientific societies, including Lviv Scientific Society named after Taras Shevchenko, were of particular importance, as they managed to create a proper atmosphere for training scholars devoted to their Motherland. Nevertheless, a lot of scientists had to go abroad ,in search for better conditions for their work. For example, Ivan Puluy (1845-1918), born in Ternopil region, is considered to have been one of the. greatest scientists of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Having gained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Vienna University, Ivan Puluy became Rector of Prague Higher Technical School. The author of more than 50 scientific works, he was the first to begin the investigation of invisible X-rays as early as 1877. But because of his indecision, the researcher didn’t publish the results of his work and couldn’t claim his right to the discovery. So, Wilhelm Roentgen who started investigating the rays in 1885, won all the fame and was awarded the Nobel Prize. The creative activity of Ivan Puluy was extremely versatile: he invented cathode-ray tubes, vacuum tubes and greatly contributed to the development of telephone networks, miners’ lamps and neon signs. Being linguistically gifted, Ivan Puluy worked successfully on the translation of the Bible into his native Ukrainian language.

One can hardly find a field of knowledge which has not been enriched by the many-sided activity of Ukrainian scientists. For example, Ukraine is represented in the field of mathematics by such outstanding mathematicians as Mykhailo Ostrohradsky (1801-1861), the author of works on mathematical analysis, analytical mechanics and hydromechanics; Heorhiy Vorony (1868-1908) who developed the theory of numbers; Volodymyr Levytsky (1872-1956) and Mykola Chaikovsky (1887-1970) who were educated and fruitfully worked in Lviv.

In the sphere of physics a great deal was done by Vasyl Milianchuk (1905 -1958) who concentrated on the spectrum analysis, quantum theory and electrodynamics; Olexander Smakula (1900-1983) born in Ternopil region, professor of the universities of Germany and the USA, was granted many patents in the field of optics and laser technology; Ostap Stasiv (1903-1985) who was educated in Lviv and worked as a professor at Drezden University for 20 years, carrying out research in solid-state physics; Mykola Pylchykov whose extensive research dealt with the problems of optics, Earth’s magnetism and radioactivity; Hryhoriy Sharpak who got the Nobel Prize in 1992 for the design of nuclear particle detectors. Invaluable contribution was made by Ukrainian physicists Kostiantyn Tsiolkovsky, Serhiy Koroliov, Arkhyp Liulka, Yuriy Kondratiuk and Ihor Sikorsky into the development of aircraft and space-rockets construction.

One of the well-known Ukrainian names in the field of civil engineering and mechanics is that of Stepan Tymoshenko (1878-1972) who was born in Chernihiv region. He made a successful career in Germany and the USA, carrying out research into strength of materials.

A lot of famous chemists worked at Lviv Polytechnic, among them: Roman Zalozetsky (1861-1918), famous for his research into the technology of oil, and Tymophiy Yurzhenko who developed methods of production of organic peroxides.

Ukrainian names in world science

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In economics Ukraine is represented by an outstanding economist Mykhailo Tuhan-Baranovsky (1865-1919) who held the post of Minister of Finance in the Central Rada.

It was only in the 1990s, due to the revival of national self-consciousness, that historians of independent Ukraine began to study the scientific legacy of our prominent countrymen. So, it is high time to both pay tribute to their genius and to use their brilliant ideas and inventions for the benefit of our Motherland.

Task З.27. Rearrange the following jumbled words to form sentences:

632. human, highest, is, form, the, science, of, activity, mental;

633. land, been, rich, talents, Ukrainian, in, the, always, has;

634. countrymen, the, science, hardly, contribution, our, the, of, into, world, can, exaggerated, be;

635. of, science, for, pf, end, the, fruitful, the, century, 19-th, was, development, especially, Ukrainian, the;

636. created, for, societies, scholars, scientific, the, training, proper, devoted, their, atmosphere, to, Motherland;

637. abroad, for, in, many, had, scientists, to, search, go, conditions, work, for, better, their;

638. independent, began, historians, Ukraine, of, scientific, to study, our, of, prominent, heritage, countrymen;

639. to pay, it, time, is, tribute, high, genius, their, to.

Task 3.28. Read the texts and present their contents in the form of interviews:

Text 1. THE CONTRIBUTION OF UKRAINIAN SCIENTISTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROCKET AND SPACE ENGINEERING

•Speaking about the development of rocket and space engineering, we usually associate it with the name of Academician Serhiy Koroliov. But let us first recollect the names of his predecessors. First, let us mention Olexander Zasiadko (1779-1838), a descendant* of the glorious Cossack family, who was born in Poltava region. His grandfather used to tell him stories about special pipes stuffed with gun powder, which flew to distant targets and exploded causing great damage. Olexander was so impressed by the stories, that he decided to find out the secret of those Cossack pipes. Two years after his retirement from the army Zasiadko succeeded in developing the first models of combat rockets, as well as a special installation for their launching. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829 Olexander Zasiadko’s rockets were used in action.

Kostiantyn Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935) is said to have been a descendant of the famous Cossack leader Severyn Nalyvaiko. Tsiolkovsky was the author of many impor­tant works in the field of aerodynamics and rocket engineering. Two very important contributions were offered by Tsiolkovsky: the notion of multi-stage rockets and the idea of using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel for rockets.

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Serhiy Koroliov not only studied Tsiolkovsky’s works, but also had personal contacts with him, which stimulated his fundamental research into space engineering. Serhiy Koroliov (1907-1966) was born in Zhytomyr. After finishing a vocational school in Odessa, he entered the Mechanical Department of Kyiv Polytechnical Institute, but later transferred to Moscow Higher Technical College. Koroliov developed a number of rockets and rocket-carriers. He was a leading designer of many space systems and trained a lot of scientists and engineers.

Another famous name in this field of science is that of Yuriy Kondratiuk.' It was an assumed name of Olexander Sharhei (1897-1942), who tried to avoid repressions for his participation in the anti-Soviet struggle. In his book “The Conquest of Interplanetary Space”, published in 1929, the scientist presented calculations which were used by Americans forty years later for launching their spaceship “Apollo” to the Moon. By the way, two other Ukrainians took part in the implementation** of the “Apollo” flight programme. They were Mykhailo Yarymovych (b.1933) and Ihor Bohachevsky (bom in 1928 in Lviv region). Yarymovych was appointed technical director for the designing of an orbital laboratory from which a space rocket could be launched to the Moon. And Bohachevsky considerably helped Americans to solve complicated problems connected with astronauts’ return from the Moon to the Earth.

So these facts prove that Ukrainian scientists have done a great deal for space exploration. And our sacred duty is to know the names of our countrymen who enhan­ced the glory of Ukraine in the field of scientific research and technological progress.

* descendant-нащадок,

** implementation - здійснення, виконання.

Adapted from ''News From Ukraine”