Ukraine's achievements in aerospace industry to be highlighted in Edmonton lecture and exhibit (03/03/02)

Ukraine's achievements in aerospace industry to be highlighted in Edmonton lecture and exhibit

by Bohdan Klid

EDMONTON - The traditional view of Ukraine is that of an agricultural country whose people are largely agriculturists. Most Ukrainian immigrants to Canada did come from rural or semi-rural areas, which has reinforced this image and stereotype. Yet, Ukraine is a highly industrialized country,; it has a highly educated population, and its scientists and engineers have to their credit many notable scientific and technical achievements.

For instance, the first nuclear reactor in Europe was built in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and the first digital computer in continental Europe was made in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Ukraine's contributions in aircraft design and manufacture and aerospace technology also are notable, if little known outside the countries of the former Soviet Union.

On Friday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m., at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton, Dr. Ostap Hawaleshka, emeritus professor at the University of Manitoba, will deliver the Shevchenko lecture on Ukraine's achievements in aerospace science and technology. The lecture will be followed by the official opening of the "Mria Exhibition," featuring reproductions of airplane types designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau of Kyiv, as well as of rockets and space technology produced by KB Pivdenne of Dnipropetrovsk. The Pivdenne complex, which once produced the feared Soviet SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, now produces the Zenit rocket, which is used in the U.S.-led Sea Launch project.

Dr. Hawaleshka's intimate knowledge of Ukraine's aircraft, aerospace and related industries was garnered in 1994-1997, while he was the first executive director of the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), located in Kyiv. During his term as executive director, Dr. Hawaleshka supervised non-military R&D projects of Ukraine's top scientists who had worked in the former Soviet Union's weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery projects. He is a recent recipient of the Order of Canada, which was awarded in part for his work in Ukraine.

The STCU was established in 1994 to give former strategic weapons scientists and engineers, particularly those who possessed knowledge and skills related to weapons of mass destruction or missile delivery systems, opportunities to redirect their talents to peaceful pursuits. The STCU, an intergovernmental body, has received funding from the governments of Canada, the United States, Japan, the European Union and Sweden.

The government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), is committed to support the STCU to 2006 through a contribution of $3.9 million. Due to the STCU's work, many productive relationships have been established between Ukraine's scientists and Western industries, including and new products and technologies have been patented. The website of the STCU is located at www.stcu.kiev.ua.

The annual Shevchenko Lecture is co-sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, and the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club of Edmonton. The exhibit, which runs from March 9 to June 21, is being co-sponsored with the Alberta Aviation Museum and WestJet Airlines.

Bohdan Klid is a research scholar and assistant to the director at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, based in Edmonton.

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