Our country, defending itself from its aggressive northern neighbor, suffers from damage to the energy structure and has difficulties supplying electricity to civilian consumers and military facilities. Due to the massive blackouts that occurred in Ukraine last year, the demand for diesel generators to solve power supply problems has increased dramatically. Halyna Belokha, Associate Professor of the Department of Power Supply at the Institute of IEE, is engaged in research aimed at supporting Ukraine's energy supply and building new energy systems with renewable energy sources.
The young researcher is a living embodiment of the events that have been taking place in Ukraine for ten years and an example of the resilience and indomitability of our people. In 2010, she graduated from Donbas State Technical University (Alchevsk, Luhansk Oblast) with a degree in Electronic Systems. It was time to create and act, to build our future. But Russia thought differently, starting the occupation of the eastern regions, which led to economic disruption, destruction of infrastructure and made it impossible for people to stay there.
It is quite natural that in 2014, the young specialist moved from the occupied territory to Sievierodonetsk and continued to work at the displaced university. She even managed to prepare and defend her PhD thesis. However, it was not easy to settle in and get set up for work: everyday problems and limited opportunities for full-fledged scientific work and further career growth were evident: there was a lack of classroom and laboratory space, equipment, etc. Therefore, in 2021, the scientist went to Kyiv to connect her fate with Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, one of the best universities in the country.
It should be noted that at that time she was not new to Kyiv Polytechnic. In fact, back in 2015, she defended her PhD in Semiconductor Power Converters. Halyna Belokha recalls: "Since the university where I studied did not have a dissertation defense council in my specialty, I chose the KPI's Specialized Academic Council among others for the significant scientific achievements of the scientists who were members of it. My opponent was Professor Vitalii Ivanovych Senko, whose textbooks I studied at the university. It was a great honor for me to meet him." She continued, thinking back to 2021: "Of course, I had my doubts when I moved to a new job, but after working here for two years, I have no regrets about my choice. I am grateful to Professor Serhii Petrovych Denysiuk, who was then the Director of the Institute of IEE, for supporting me as a teacher and a researcher. Thanks to him, my active scientific work at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute began: we worked on projects together, presented our achievements at conferences, and jointly published more than 15 scientific papers. I would also like to thank the Head of the Department of Electricity Supply, Associate Professor Denys Hryhorovych Derevianko, who always supports and facilitates participation in competitions and projects."
The young scientist is fully grateful for the care and opportunities provided. Today, she has more than 80 scientific works, including 2 monographs, 11 utility model patents, 2 copyright certificates, and 40 articles in professional publications in Ukraine. She was promoted to associate professor and worked as deputy director of the Institute of IEE for research. She speaks simply about her research interests: "Energy, in my opinion, is one of the most important industries. It is attractive because of the variety of areas: energy distribution and centralized generation, dispersed generation, use of renewable sources, energy markets, energy management, etc." The scientist conducts research related to optimizing the operation of local energy systems, which include distributed and renewable energy sources, and studies the construction of energy markets based on dynamic tariffing that is economically beneficial for both electricity consumers and suppliers. The developments relate to the construction of small local energy structures independent of the centralized grid and aimed at rebuilding the energy system of Ukraine. Based on the results of her work, she was named among the winners of the university competition "Young Lecturer-Researcher 2022".
It is worth noting that the researcher's working days are rich and diverse. In particular, she actively participates in organizing and holding international and national scientific and technical conferences - Energy Smart Systems (ESS-2022, ESS-2024), Energy Management: State and Prospects of Development (PEMS'22, PEMS'23), Energy of Ukraine: Restoration and Modernization - 2023 - and rightly believes that participation in such events helps to familiarize the world community with the scientific achievements of Ukrainian scientists and strengthen Ukraine's international authority.
In addition, Halyna Belokha is one of the executors of the EU international project "Stimulating the Blue Economy in the Black Sea Region by Developing a System of Business Cooperation in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Coastal and Marine Tourism and Maritime Transport" and the scientific and technical work "Smart Monitoring of the Efficiency of Local Energy Supply Systems with Alternative Energy Sources" ("Horizon 2020"). It is interesting to note that the EU project activities cover five countries in the Black Sea region: Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine. The task of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute's executors is to collect and process data on companies and projects in Ukraine aimed at developing the Black Sea region. Among other things, they organized a section dedicated to the blue economy at the Sikorsky Challenge Festival.
This summer, the young scientist took part in the Good Practice Days at the Faculty of Energy and Aeronautical Engineering of the Warsaw University of Technology: they discussed issues of further cooperation, double degree programs, joint research projects on energy efficiency, energy markets, rebuilding the energy sector of Ukraine, etc. In October, she made a second trip to Warsaw, this time to speak at an international conference on the challenges posed by climate change. Her report focused on the current trends in building transactive energy systems, i.e. economic structures whose management ensures a dynamic balance between supply and demand. According to the researcher, such systems are more environmentally friendly, as the use of renewable energy sources helps to reduce CO2 emissions. The conference also featured an exchange of experience and knowledge to achieve the common goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In Halyna's busy work schedule, working with students is one of the most important things. She is the group's curator, worked in the selection committee, etc. Recently, undergraduate students of the Department of Power Supply Daria Pluzhnyk and Bohdan Lisovyk, under her scientific supervision, took third place in the International Student Research Competition "Black Sea Science", held under the auspices of the Black Sea Universities Network and ISEKI-Food Association. The work was devoted to optimizing the fuel consumption of diesel generators for maritime transport in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
The young scientist never ceases to admire the opportunities provided by the university for scientific work. Therefore, her future plans include participation in projects, including international ones, related to the energy sector, which are a priority for the present and the future economic recovery of Ukraine.