With the post-war years the life and work of Academician Vitaly Nikiforovich Gridnev a prominent scientist and educator, a talented organizer of science and higher education, is closely associated with the KPI.
By the time he has had extensive experience of research and teaching. Indeed, since the mid-30s he worked in Metallurgical and Physico-Technical Institute in Dnepropetrovsk along with academics V.M. Svechnikov and H.V. Kurdyumov, internationally recognized specialists metallographers.
During the Great Patriotic War V.N. Gridnev at Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel integrated plant has been closely involved in mastering of alloy steels for defense industry, in the development of technological regimes of its heat treatment, in the quality control of finished products. Talent of V.N. Gridnev as disjoint scientist, organizer, curious explorer of phase and structural transformations in carbon and alloy steels became apparent.
Scientific and organizational skills of V.N. Gridnev fully opened in Kiev, where in February 1945 he was sent at the disposal of the Academy of Sciences and enrolled as a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy, and in March 1945 - Associate Professor of the KPI.
During the restore war-ravaged economy there was more pressing problem of learning various fields of engineering personnel and, in particular, as important as metallurgical. Metallographically direction of engineers composed of created in 1944 within Metallurgical Engineering Polytechnic Institute led by Academician V.M. Svyechnikov - Head of metallurgy and heat treatment department, which in 1948 was reorganized and created the Department of metallurgy led by V.M. Svyechnikov and a new department of heat treatment. The heat treatment department led by prof. V.N. Gridnev that summed up his research at doctoral dissertation.
Activity of V.N. Gridnev in this period was extremely active, and effects of it is quite bright. His teaching skills and methodical perfection of the maintenance of educational process, organizational skills received a worthy recognition: in August 1947 V.N. Gridnev was appointed as Deputy Director for Research and Academic Affairs of the KPI.
In 1948, KPI started taking students on a specialty "Physics of Metals." The first three years of study correspond to general technical training, and only from 1952 profiling experts of Metal’s Physics organized a new department of heat treatment and physics of metal, headed by prof. Gridnev. He invited from the Ural Polytechnic Institute Assoc. V.G. Permyakov, which provided training senior students with physical methods of research of metals, and left to work as an assistant graduate department to O.V. Belotsky. At the same time actively involved in training were such prominent scholars of Sciences of Ukraine, as Academician A.A. Smirnov, G.S.Pisarenko, A.M. A.G. Lesnik.
Issue specialists of Physics and Metals has become an important link in the development of a new system of Sciences of Ukraine Institute - Institute of Physics and Metal, fate of V.N.Gridnev was connected with it since its creation March 1, 1955 - and over the next thirty years when he was director of this institution.
In his role as head of the department physics of metals and heat treatment of metals V.N.Gridnev paid much attention to the development and introduction of new methods, developing original experimental methods and strengthening of material base of the department. He managed to create a creative atmosphere in the department, successfully combining the learning process with the research work. It was the school, in which grew and trained research and teaching staff.
In August 1952 V.N. Gridnev was appointed as rector of the KPI in this post he remained for three years. In 1957 the scientist was elected an associating member of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, he moved to a permanent job at the Academy of Sciences, while not breaking ties with the KPI and the Department, where he worked part-time. Management Department, he handed Associate Professor V.G. Permyakov, who in 1959 defended his doctoral thesis and headed the department until 1973.
Thus, with the KPI was due about 15 years of creative work of Academician V.N. Gridnev. In recent years, while as director of the Institute of Physics of Metals, while creative, commemorative meetings Vitaly Nikiforovich fondly recalled the years of hard work when he had to exert a lot of effort and energy to the development of the department and the Institute for the establishment of new research areas, training, equipping facilities, establishing links with academic and industrial organizations.
Suffice it to recall that in the created by V.N. Gridnev the department of physics of metals and heat treatment favorable creative atmosphere defended their dissertations: Y.A. Kocherzhynskyy, V.I. Trefilov, V.T. Cherepin, M.V. Belotsky, M.V. Belous, V.G. Nechyporenko, O.I. Efimov and doctoral thesis: V.G. Permyakov, O. of metals. Belotsky and M.V. Belous.
Creative communications of department with the USSR Academy of Sciences and in particular with the Institute of Metallophysics from year to year became stronger. Many graduates joined the departments of the Institute of Metallophysics, Institute of Materials, Institute for Superhard Materials, Institute of Electric E.O. Paton etc. Today Institute of Metallophysics more than half staffed at the expense of graduates and department of IFF. Almost half of the century Dean - A.M. Academy of Sciences of Ukraine D.F. Chernega, Sci. A.P. Somyk, Sci. O.M. Bialik - hard work and are working to expand these relationships.
With the support and active assistance Acad. V.N. Gridnev at one time established branch departments in the relevant departments of academic institutions that later became the basis for the creation of educational and scientific association " Materials Science" between IFF "KPI" and academic institutions: Metallophysics named after V.G. Kurdyumov, Problems of Materials Science named after I.M. Frantsevich, Electric named after Y.O. Paton, University of superhard materials named after V.M. Bakool, physical and technological Institute of Metals and Alloys.
Academician V.N. Gridnev was a talented academic leader of the school, who predicted the future. Cases initiated by him, is continuing in the Academy of Sciences and "KPI".
By O.V. Belotsky, J.N. Moskalenko
Translated by Khmelnyts’ka Darya, LA-02