Grateful memories are the best awards that could be given to people who put themselves on record.
The 23rd of December is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Valentyn Stepanovych Kocho – intelligent person, teacher and talented scientist. He was one of the pioneers who conduct the process of the recovery of Ukraine, took part in the industrialization of the country. During the Great Patriotic War he was nobly working in the name of the Victory, made a great contribution to the country’s revival and was one of the inventors of the new branch in national science – automation of production processes of the national economy.
He was born on 23rd of December, 1913 on the railway station Golta (now it is a part of the Pervomaysk town, Mykolayivska region). His parents were Stepan Ivanovych Kocho, a state doctor, and Oleksandra Manuyilivna Bartovs’ka.
In 1927 he finished primary school where he studied 7 years and began his working career as an apprentice on the engineering plant. But after a while, being taken with new electric machines and devices, he became apprentice of the electrician at the post-telegraph station. Having qualifications he worked as a mechanic in the car workshop. At the same time he attended night classes and graduated it with flying colours.
1932 was marked as a new period of Valentyn Stepanovych’s life. The reason for that was entering Electric Power Engineering Institute in Kharkiv. The first year turned out to be difficult, the famine (1932-1933) threw the student into a dilemma: continue studying or try to find a job. In 1933 he moved to Zaporizhya where he worked as an electrician on “Zaporizhstal” plant. But the desire to study prevailed. At the same year he was transferred to the night school of the Institute of Metallurgy, Dnipropetrovsk. In 1937 he graduated it with flying colours obtaining the degree of the steel manufacturing engineer.
Valentyn Kocho began to work as an engineer and researcher in the Institute of Metallurgy in Dnipropetrovsk. Within a short period of time he entered the PhD programme. The head of the academic department was outstanding scientist, professor Mykola Mykolayevych Dobrohotov. He became not just a master but a friend of the young gifted researcher. This friendship lasted their whole lives. In February, 1941 Valentyn Stepanovych Kocho defended the Master’s dissertation concerned with the problems of technological parameters measurement in metallurgy.
The war that began in 1941 was a great challenge for the country. Valentyn Kocho was transferred to Sverdlovsk to assist in production management and personnel training. Such severe environment of the war time stimulated the appearance of the ideas about the manufacturing improvements in the young engineer’s mind. It was for the first time when the technologies of tank turrets casting and pressing were designed. It was proposed not to weld the turrets with particular details but to cast them with armoured steel when teeming from the open-hearth furnaces. It would give an opportunity to increase the tank shell production by several times.
In March 1942 V. Kocho was transferred to the Heavy Engineering Plant in Ural. Firstly he worked as an engineer but soon was promoted as a head of experimental design-engineering department where he managed the design of the new technologies and production process. Also he met there his wife-to-be, Hanna Kologryvova who was his faithful companion and supporter all his life. In August 1942 on the termination of the production modernization and the launch of the armoured vehicles construction lines V. Kocho was transferred to the Institute of the Industry in Ural where he continued working as a research officer. In April 1944 he obtained the degree of the associate professor. In the same year his daughter Natalka was born.
On the war finishing the graduate M. Dobrohotov founded and then headed the metallurgy, steel and industrial furnaces academic department in Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Since the 1st September 1947 V.S. Kocho was transferred to KPI. In 1952 he defended PhD thesis and became a professor. Dealing with measurement and design of the automation methods professor V. Kocho organized the automation of metallurgical processes and furnaces academic department. Within a short period of time he headed one.
In 1962 this department changed its name to the automation of technological processes and production department. It became a part of the Heat Power Engineering Faculty. Gradually its traditional scientific and manufacturing relations extended. One of its most important focus area was studying the processes and methods of steel temperature measurement in open-hearth and electric furnaces. New different approaches and technical methods to measure aggregates heat currents of the heat transferring optimization and efficiency exceeding were designed. The results of the research were the basis for development of the schemes to design the programs of the automate control systems of industrial equipment.
Valentyn Stepanovych Kocho died on August 16, 1990. His artistic legacy consists of over 400 research works, including 5 monographs, 70 inventions, 11 educational books and 5 brochures. He taught more than 60 Doctors of Philosophy, many of them became renowned scholars, members of the Academy of Sciences and heads of leading institutions. For the merits to the Motherland, diligent work during the war and prolific scientific activities Valentyn Stepanovych was rewarded with 8 medals and the award pin “Inventor of the USSR”. Being a scholar and producer, he lived long and wonderful life, repleted with diligent work and difficult tasks. Due to the fact that his life was completely devoted to Fatherland service, he gained deserved respect, acceptance and remained in bright memory of his students and colleagues. Valentyn Stepanovyh Kocho was buried beside his wife, near the grave of his friend and adviser – academic Mykola Mykolayovych Dobrokhotov.
V.S Kocho’s colleagues continued his life work. Now the department prepares bachelors in “Automatization and computer integrated technologies”, as well as masters in “Automated control of technological processes” and “ Computer-integrated technological processes and productions. During 55 years of its existence, the department prepared about 3300 specialists, who are working in think tanks and design centers, start-control companies, departments of energy companies and enterprises of Ukraine as well as of other foreign countries.
Students of Valentyn Kocho venerate memory of their teacher, whose life was a great example of assiduous, honest and hard work, devotion to a nouble deed.