NEWS AND VIEWS

Titanium specialist is, first and foremost, a patriot

by Danylo Kulyniak

KYIV - During a recent speech on cooperation between American and Ukrainian scientists in the field of aeronautics, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual expressed special appreciation for the input of Prof. Yaroslav Kompan, a doctor of technical sciences and a specialist on titanium alloys, for his assistance to the U.S. giant of aircraft manufacturing, Boeing.

Prof. Kompan is one of the world's leading specialists on titanium. During the Soviet era his scientific work was treated as a state secret because it involved the manufacture of the most advanced Soviet nuclear submarines, including the Barracuda submarine cruiser, which had a titanium skin.

Today Prof. Kompan is the chief of laboratories at the Kyiv-based E.O. Paton Institute of Electric Welding, which is under the jurisdiction of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He is responsible for many inventions, several of which have been patented abroad.

However, he is most noted for the development of Ukrainian technology for the production of titanium alloys using magnetically controlled electro-static fusing (MCES) technology - now considered state-of-the-art technology worldwide. Developed during the Soviet era, this technique was kept under wraps, but today it is beginning to find wider appreciation. It can honestly be called a Ukrainian technology.

Titanium belongs to the 21st century class of materials because it is twice as light and twice as strong as the most durable steel. Nonetheless, its production is considerably cheaper, and less energy-intensive, according to Prof. Kompan. The most important thing is that titanium alloys manufactured with this technology have a much higher quality than other comparable alloys; they stand up better under prolonged and extreme stress. That's most important for space, aviation, deep-sea technology and other high-tech areas of industry.

No wonder many leading world firms and governments are "hunting" for Prof. Kompan.

Prof. Kompan has furthered his initial research thanks to foreign sponsors, including the active support of the U.S. Science and Technology Center in Ukraine. This cooperation has generated certain positive results, including the development of high-quality titanium alloys for important sub-units of turbines at Boeing.

Nowadays he often gives lectures and consultations in the United States and other countries. For a long time he has been pushed to move abroad and continue his technological research in the United States. But he says he has elected to stay because he is a Ukrainian patriot. He believes that this technology belongs to Ukraine and will one day be brought to fruition in his homeland.

Considering that Ukraine has half of the world's ferrous titanium ore reserve, it is difficult to overrate the importance of this technology for Ukraine. A state program for the development of Ukraine's titanium reserves was approved a decade ago. The country should already be producing its own high-quality titanium alloys, but it has yet to produce a single ton, even while the worldwide demand for titanium alloys is 80,000 tons annually. Ukraine has an efficient cost-effective technology and huge reserves of the ore, but the finished product is still bought in Russia.

While some people share a conspiratorial theory that there is a secret agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, giving certain businessmen in Russia control over the industry, what is certain is that little money has been invested in titanium alloy development. The National Academy of Sciences has tried to obtain money from Ukraine's government for developing the sector and implementing MCEF technology since 1996 to no avail.

The creation and use of MCEF technology in metallurgy would permit the production of high-quality titanium for aerospace, shipbuilding and nuclear equipment. For a good portion of high-tech mechanical engineering - e.g., aerospace sub-units, which are required to withstand extreme temperatures - MCEF titanium is unrivaled due to its unique performance qualities. The largest exporting countries, such as the United States, Germany, Russia and Japan, all continue to use traditional technologies. Ukraine, with its MCEF technology, could offer much higher performance qualities for the titanium it would produce.

Today Ukraine imports expensive lower-quality titanium at higher prices. With titanium ore found in abundance beneath Ukrainian soil, MCEF technology could fulfill not only the country's needs, but also put it among the world's leading titanium alloy exporters. The cost of refined titanium is 10 times the cost of the ore, which is further proof that titanium alloy production is vital to Ukraine's economy.

With some state support, Ukraine could become the main exporter of titanium alloys to the world market. However, only politicians can resolve this problem because there seems to be little interest in the private sector. But the authorities do not seem to have the political will to inject life into the dormant Ukrainian titanium industry.

Prof. Kompan isn't rich. He lives in a two-room cooperative flat, which he bought from money earned while working in Siberia. He has no car and says he doesn't need one. His hobby is fishing, but he doesn't have time for it. He spends his time at work - very intensive and creative work. He is the son of a well-known Ukrainian historian. For him, the meaning of Ukrainian patriotism runs deep and includes developing and strengthening Ukrainian science and the economy.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 23, 2003, No. 12, Vol. LXXI

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