Ukrainian nuclear innovator competition winners announced
For the second consecutive year, the Ukrainian Nuclear Society (UkrNS) held its Nuclear Innovators competition, which was organized in partnership with the American Nuclear Society and other leading institutions in the nuclear sector worldwide. The two winners were announced on May 7.
Seth Grae, chair of ANS’s International Council and president and chief executive of Lightbridge Corporation, was a jury panelist at the competition, as was Jacopo Buongiorno, Tokyo Electric Power Company Professor in Nuclear Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other judges were from Ukrainian societies and industry, including NNEGC Energoatom, Energy Safety Group, and Phoenix Contact Ukraine.
Nuclear innovators: The objective of Nuclear Innovators is “to support applied science in Ukraine and promote the development of new technologies in the nuclear industry,” according to the UkrNS. Participants submitted projects in one of two categories: Scientific Research or Applied Development. This year, the competition objectives alight with that of Innovation for Nuclear (I4N) Europe. One participant in the Ukrainian competition will be invited this summer to participate in I4N later this summer.
Koval
Riedkina
Ganna Riedkina, a junior researcher at the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, took top honors in the Scientific Research category with her project "Ensuring Storage of Used Nuclear Fuel in Ukraine: Scientific Support."
Dmytro Koval, the department head for repairing relay protection devices of the main circuit at Ukraine’s Rivne nuclear power plant, took home the victory in Applied Development, with his project "Mathematical Model for Numerical Calculations of Electromechanical and Electromagnetic Transient Processes in the Scheme of Generation and Output of NPP Power."
The two winners will each receive cash prizes as well as comprehensive support to implement their projects. The jury also provided comments and recommendations for all participants.
Quotable: "Congratulations to the winners and participants of the Ukrainian Nuclear Society's 'Nuclear Innovators' competition. I was delighted by the creative and innovative submissions from nuclear professionals and students across Ukraine and Poland. The event not only highlights a growing partnership between the American and Ukrainian nuclear societies but also showcases the inspiring resilience and professionalism of our Ukrainian colleagues amid daily adversities,” said Grae.
