Ukrainian researchers narrate

My way in German academia

Since the beginning of 2022 I am working at the University of Stuttgart and doing research data management for catalysis research. This is closely connected with my background in chemical engineering, which I acquired in my studies.

[Photo: private]

The bonds that unite us

The train Zurich-Prague, on which I was returning from the mathematical congress (1994), made a 30-minute stop in Stuttgart. During this time, I managed to get to the beginning of Königstraße and understand that I want to visit this city again.

My dream came true. In 1998, I received a scholarship from the Humboldt Foundation at the invitation of Professor Wolfgang Wendland, who from 1986 to 2004 headed an institute of the University of Stuttgart, now it is called the Institute for Applied Analysis and Numerical Simulation (IANS).

My further scientific work was closely connected with this institute. It was here that I obtained my main scientific results. Thanks to the Humboldt Foundation, I had the opportunity every three years, after the basic scholarship, to conduct research at the University of Stuttgart in the summer. Stuttgart became my second hometown after Kyiv (Ukrainian name for Kiev).

Russia's full-scale war

In 2022, I was again going to come to the University of Stuttgart for two summer months at the invitation of Professor Christian Rohde, who is now the director of the IANS. However, Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine destroyed the lives and changed the plans of many people. After the first weeks of the war, when the Russian occupiers were on the outskirts of Kyiv, when cannonades outside the window did not stop, when Russian cruise missiles hit residential buildings in Kyiv, when the first news came from Bucha about the torture and execution of Ukrainians, which showed how cruel are the plans of Putin's regime, my wife and I decided to leave Kyiv. First, we went to Lviv in Western Ukraine by an evacuation train, and then, at the convincing invitation of Professor Rohde, to Stuttgart. The Humboldt Foundation gave us the opportunity to stay in Germany from May 2022 to the end of February 2023.

During this time, together with Professor Rohde, we obtained interesting results about the asymptotic behavior of solutions to convection-dominated transport problems in thin graph-like junctions. Now, we investigate similar nonlinear problems. These studies are related to research being carried out at the University of Stuttgart under the grant SFB 1313. Therefore, I have the opportunity to participate in all events connected to this project, present my results, and get acquainted with the new original results of other scientists involved in this project. At the same time, being a professor at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, I have the opportunity to give online lectures and conduct seminars on complex analysis for Ukrainian students.

What we have in common weighs more than what divides us

Many Ukrainian scientists and ordinary Ukrainians received support in Germany during the past several months of the war. Travelling on weekends around towns in Germany, my wife and I saw three flags at each town hall: the European Union, German and Ukrainian. I want to thank the German people and the government for the great support that you provide to refugees from Ukraine and our military who is fighting against the Russian invaders.

It was a pleasant surprise for me when I discovered that there are many similar words in the German and Ukrainian languages: Dach, Zucker, Kreide, Schublade, Krawatte. And there are many verbs with a common root and the same meaning, but different endings: drucken – друкувати (druck-uvaty),  färben – фарбувати (farb-uvaty),  warten – вартувати (vart-uvaty). 

It should be noted that in Russian these are completely different words. The reason for this was the migration of Slavic tribes from the territory between the Dnieper and Vistula rivers (present-day eastern Poland and Ukraine) in the 6th-8th centuries. One of these West Slavic tribes was called ”die Ukranen” Thus, Slavic toponyms, languages and other elements were eventually incorporated into today's Germanic culture.

However, the most similar are our values and common aspirations. Together we strive for Peace and hope for new political, economic, scientific and cultural bonds that will enrich us in every sense, and enrich us even more after the war.

[Photo: private]

When I met my current Stuttgart colleague on the train

In March 2020, I was in Stuttgart on a business trip under the Manager Training Program "Fit for Partnership with Germany" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy with Ukraine. At that time, I worked in the Ukraine as a deputy technical director and head of the department of innovative technologies at one of the leading Ukrainian enterprises, which developed and produced in the field of power electronics electrical converters for industry. Also, I conducted scientific and pedagogical activities (part-time) at the National University "Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic" and Tavria State Agrotechnological University.

Chance encounter on the train

I was traveling by ICE train to one of my business trips within the Training Program. At the Stuttgart main station, a fellow passenger entered the compartment. He took out his notebook and began to work enthusiastically on a presentation. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the topic of the presentation was very close to my professional activity. We briefly met and exchanged business cards. My companion introduced himself as Prof. Ingmar Kallfass, Director of the Institute of Robust Power Semiconductor Systems (ILH) of the University of Stuttgart. At the next station, he had to get off. It was a minute conversation, but Mr. Kallfass already left an indelible impression of a businesslike, kind, motivating person.

After we met, we kept up a business correspondence. After the start of the war in the Ukraine, I wrote a letter to him asking for personal cooperation. Mr. Kallfass has given me a lot of support. After a long, but operational correspondence, I received the possibility to work for his institute remotely, before travelling to Germany to continue my work at the ILH.

Arrival in Stuttgart

Thanks to the strong support of many persons at University of Stuttgart my family and I arrived with any incidents in Stuttgart. We particularly received support and help from Ms Bach from the Division Research and Transfer and Ms. Diel from the International Office. We were provided with apartments in the guesthouse of the university. Everybody took great care of my family, providing consistent and prompt support at all times. Mr. Kalfass gave my son a soccer ball and badminton set – both are now his favorite toys.

Currently, I am a researcher in the friendly team of the Institute of Robust Power Semiconductor Systems (ILH) at the University of Stuttgart. I am ready to apply my skills in control systems design for power electronics and electric drives, Digital Twin Development, Hardware-in-the-Loop testing and Rapid Control Prototyping on real-time hardware. As part of my collaboration with the ILH, the digital twin for state-of-health monitoring of power electronics systems based on wide-bandgap power semiconductor devices was developed. This digital twin helps to study reliability and lifetime of power electronics, and it will be improved and used in ongoing projects at ILH.

I am glad that my knowledge matches the activities of the ILH and I am very happy to be part of this team.

[Photo: private]

Even now it's not over

Since my first visit to the University of Stuttgart in 1973, I have been back many times as a guest lecturer. The last thing I had planned was a research stay at the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), which, unfortunately, I had to postpone due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The first time I came to Stuttgart not quite by choice was in March 2022, when well-known events in my home country prompted me to come here. I traveled to Germany as a refugee by bus via Dnipro, Lviv, and Warsaw. In no small part, it was the kind invitation of my colleague Prof. Michael Resch, Director of the HLRS, which encouraged me to brave the adverse circumstances and continue with my research at the HLRS, where I worked as a visiting professor from June to December 2022.

62 years of service to science

[Photo: privat]