The information that prompted the publication of the article about the activities of the Serhii Boichenko, head of the Department of Automation of Electrical and Mechatronic Systems (AEMS) – a division of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Energy Saving and Energy Management (Institute of IEE), was information on social media that the distinguished professor had recently completed his master's degree at the Department of Automatic Control and Electric Drive Systems of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University.
- Serhii Valeriiovych, what motivated you, a Doctor of Technical Sciences and author of several hundred scientific papers in the field of efficient, energy-saving, and rational use of traditional and alternative fuels and lubricants, technological operations in the petroleum product supply system, and developer of energy technologies for the production and implementation of alternative motor fuels, in particular hydrogen motor fuel, to return to the student bench? Is it impossible, as some lazy people say, to act “without stress”?
- I'm convinced that nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. The subjects I teach at the Institute of IEE are: “Systems Engineering, Energy and Resource Conservation in Energy,” “Engineering and Technical Regulation in the Production and Use of Hydrogen,” “Infrastructure of Technologies for the Production and Storage of Hydrogen for Energy and Transport,” and “Fundamentals of the Rational Use of Traditional and Alternative Fuel and Energy Resources” already indicate by their names that as a teacher I must keep my finger on the pulse of modern science and practice. Imagine that the automation of the secondary resource processing process and the introduction of energy-saving hydrogen technologies require perfect knowledge in the field of information and smart technologies. For example, the automation of technological processes such as pyrolysis, hydrogenation, transesterification, etc., is impossible without the use of modern automation. In general, automation processes and the use of intelligent systems and complexes in energy and transport are already commonplace in this dynamically developing industry. In order to keep pace with modern technologies and be at the forefront of scientific and technical progress, it is necessary to develop systematically. Today, the university department that I have the honor of heading works precisely in the context of automation and the use of mechatronic complexes. It was these factors that prompted me to improve my knowledge and skills at the Kremenchuk National University named after Mikhail Ostrogradsky, one of the partner universities with a strong scientific and pedagogical school in the field of electrical engineering and energy technologies.
- Lectures, seminars, organizational work at the department, management of powerful scientific projects of the National Research Fund of Ukraine, preparation and publication of articles in scientific journals indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, participation in scientific conferences, etc. And that's not the whole list of concerns as a scientist, teacher, research engineer, and author of scientific works. Isn't that too much for one person?
– What if I ask you a counter question first? How can you change the worldview of a serious scientist who has devoted more than three decades to science? For now, I don't plan to change my scientific passions and views on the world around me. That's how it is in science: most projects that receive funding must have breakthrough ideas and technological value. So it's worth working towards a successful end result, regardless of the time it takes.
– In that case, please tell us more about your technological ideas. How did they come about?
– I'll start, as usual, with the factory gate. Back in 1990, I worked at the capital's civil aviation plant No. 410. I studied at the Kyiv Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers (now NAU). My diploma, with honors, by the way, is 33 years old this year. Then I became an engineer, a graduate student, a lecturer, an associate professor, a doctoral student, and the head of the Petroleum Products Testing Center at the Ukrainian Center for Aviation Chemomotology and Product Certification (UAC-SEPRO). In 2005, I founded and headed the Ukrainian Research and Training Center for Chemomotology and Certification of Fuels, Lubricants, and Technical Fluids. And there's more. In 2007, he founded and became head of the Department of Chemomotology at the National Aviation University (NAU), and later became head of the chemomotology research school as successor to his teachers, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Rector of KIICA Oleksandr Fedotovych Aksyonov, and Professor Viktor Petrovych Belyansky. At the same time, I was appointed deputy vice-rector for scientific work at the university. I headed the Department of Ecology at the NAU Institute of Environmental Safety and became director of this institute (dean of the reorganized Faculty of Environmental Safety, Engineering, and Technology). Later, I worked as a professor in the Department of Thermal Engineering and Energy Conservation at the Institute of IEE of the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky KPI”, and for more than three years now I have been heading the Department of AEMK. That's a brief overview of my career path. I can say that I have always been involved in generating and implementing new ideas, participating in the creation of new technologies, and solving other problems related to the rational use of energy resources (fuels and other materials used in the operation of aviation equipment, in particular), i.e., what the science of chemotology is all about.
– Name a well-known technology that you have worked on.
– I will never forget my teachers – Alexander Aksyonov, corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, head of the laboratory, winner of the State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology in the field of alternative aviation fuels, and Professor Viktor Belyansky. The experience they shared with me is invaluable. Under their guidance, I developed the Concept of Energy Efficiency in the Transportation and Storage of Motor Fuels, as well as a chemotological model of the petroleum product supply system and a set of technological equipment to minimize evaporation losses, which allows for more efficient use of traditional motor fuels. It was they who inspired me, even during my postgraduate studies, to devote my future work to the study of energy processes, in particular, alternative energy. At that time, the laboratory where I acquired my initial knowledge and skills while preparing my thesis project, and later my doctoral dissertation, was working on a large state project to create gas-liquid fuel as an alternative to traditional petroleum fuel and the infrastructure for its use. It was exciting and important creative work on the development of practical recommendations for the introduction of gas-liquid fuels for aviation and ground equipment. During his visit and familiarization with the work of scientists, Boris Paton christened these fuels the “champagne effect” because of the principle of preparing this fuel by saturating a hydrocarbon liquid with hydrocarbon gas. The lively, real-life practical work on this project inspired me and laid the foundation for further experience that is used in industry and continues to develop today.
- Serhiy Valeriyovych, during the XXVI International Scientific and Practical Conference “Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the 21st Century,” you presented three reports on the prospects for the development of biofuel production in Ukraine under martial law and the advantages of introducing biomass energy conversion technologies for the country's energy, ecology, and economy. Is this relevant? Absolutely. However, the third report is also important from an educational point of view. Its title speaks for itself: “On training personnel for the hydrogen and biofuel industries: status, challenges, prospects.” As a professor, what is your opinion on this article, which was published during the international conference?
The main purpose of this presentation was to announce that our team has launched a new interdisciplinary educational program, “Energy-Efficient Equipment for Biofuel and Hydrogen Technologies.” Due to a shortage of personnel in the bioenergy and hydrogen industries, we, together with our stakeholders—the Ukrainian Hydrogen Council and the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine—first developed certificate programs, and starting this year, a new full-fledged bachelor's degree program for the biofuel and hydrogen industries, which are developing dynamically and require new qualified personnel. We will educate creative young people.
– I know that a new textbook will be published soon. I would like to learn about the goals of the team of authors who created it.
– Yes, the new textbook "Alternative Motor Fuels. Properties and Quality" was prepared in the context of providing the educational process with modern teaching materials within the framework of existing certificate programs and a new interdisciplinary program. The creative team that came together and prepared the textbook consists of employees from leading Ukrainian universities – Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology (Dnipro), Lviv Polytechnic National University, together with stakeholders from leading companies in the industry. The presentation of the textbook is scheduled during the 10th International Conference “Theory and Practice of Rational Use of Traditional and Alternative Fuels and Lubricants,” which we organized and held from July 1-4, 2025, at our university.
- Serhii Valeriiovych, our conversation is taking place on the eve of the summer student holidays. Please share your plans for your vacation.
- My small homeland is in the village of Mykolaivka, in the Odesa region. The other day, during a family conversation, my eldest daughter Maria suggested taking a short trip to this unforgettable corner of Ukraine. So we will be implementing this plan together with my daughters and wife.
– I wish you and your family a happy journey and peaceful skies!