The 23rd International Scientific and Practical Conference of Young Scientists and Students, Contemporary Challenges in Scientific Support for the Energy Sector: Security, Resilience, Information Technologies, and Environmental Monitoring, was held from April 17 to 21 in the shelter of the Hryhorii Denysenko Scientific and Technical Library.
The conference was dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. As a result, the themes of the presentations and reports delivered during the event, organized by the Educational and Research Institute of Nuclear and Thermal Energy of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, acquired particular significance.
In his address to the conference participants, Anatolii Melnychenko, Rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, emphasized that even under the current conditions of constant wartime threats, the university's researchers have confirmed that certain areas within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone could be returned to economic use. He also noted that assessing and forecasting the state of the environment, as well as developing human capacity in the fields of nuclear safety and nuclear technologies, will remain among the university's key priorities. This is particularly important given the strong partnerships established by Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, including with experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which encourage the university's researchers to conduct scientific analyses of the feasibility of designing and deploying small modular reactors, as well as to advance energy resilience, environmental protection, and cybersecurity systems for nuclear power plants.
According to Academician Andrii Rusanov, Academic Secretary of the Energy and Energy Technologies Division of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, who participated in the conference's plenary session, today's students, master's students, and PhD candidates are continuing the scientific and engineering traditions established by previous generations of nuclear and thermal power specialists in advancing Ukraine's thermal, renewable, cogeneration, and nuclear energy sectors. This is why experienced researchers look to the next generation of proactive young scientists to develop and implement innovative solutions for the energy sector despite the challenges posed by russia's ongoing aggression. Meanwhile, Oleksandr Zeniuk, a representative of the NGO Scientific and Technical Association of Power and Electrical Engineers of Ukraine (NTSEU) and Vice President of the Ukrainian National Committee of CIGRE (Conseil International des Grands Réseaux Électriques), established to represent Ukraine's interests within the International Council on Large Electric Systems, shared his experience of working at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant between 1986 and 1994. At the time of the Chornobyl disaster, he served as Deputy Head of the plant's Production and Technical Department.
The plenary session also featured presentations by Mykola Shestopal, Head of the Occupational Safety Service at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant; Anatolii Nosovskyi, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Director of the Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants; Oleksii Dybach, Deputy Director of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS); and Yevhen Khlobystov, Academician of the Academy of Economic Sciences of Ukraine and Professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Their presentations examined the history and current state of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, provided expert assessments of the operational safety of the New Safe Confinement and the Shelter Object, and addressed a range of issues related to the sustainable reintegration of Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories.
Following the plenary session, the conference continued with parallel sessions on Nuclear Power: Safety Issues and the Development of the Nuclear Energy Sector; Nuclear Security and Non-Proliferation: Protection of Nuclear Facilities and Monitoring; Thermal-Hydraulic Processes in Heat- and Steam-Generating Systems: Research, Modeling, and Resilience Enhancement; Modern Technologies in Thermal and Renewable Energy: Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Efficiency, and Environmental Aspects; Challenges in Theoretical and Industrial Heat Engineering: Improving the Efficiency of Industrial Systems; Environmental Monitoring: Environmental Safety and Impact Assessment; and Information Technologies in Energy: Digitalization and IT Solutions for Modeling and Safety.
According to the conference organizers, the presentations sparked engaging and productive discussions. Particularly strong interest from the scientific community was generated by the presentations delivered by S. Turanskyi, M. Shvab, D. Zinchenko, S. Ometsynskyi, M. Sichkovskyi, D. Arshanskyi, K. Kuchynska, D. Buhai, D. Krasan, and other conference participants.
"The presentations were of a very high standard, and I would like to wish our students, master's students, PhD candidates, and young researchers every success in their future scientific careers," commented Olha Chernousenko, Acting Director of the Institute of Nuclear and Thermal Energy.